Scottish Catholic Observer

On the day he was chosen by Pope Francis as the next Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in late July, Mgr Leo Cushley was asked at a press conference for his views on the ‘crises’ facing the Church in           Scotland.

Astutely, the then Vatican diplomat said that poverty, hunger and violence were the true crises in our world today, no doubt referring to the sort of extreme religiously motivated violence witnessed this weekend in Kenya and Pakistan.

At that July 24 press conference,  Mgr Cushley went on to say that the challenges facing the Church in Scotland, and St Andrews and Edinburgh particularly, were something he would address with his brother bishops after he was ordained and consecrated as Scotland’s newest archbishop.

There was great joy when the Catholic community came together on Saturday for the archbishop’s Episcopal ordination. Going by the outbursts of applause during the Sacrament on the day, Scottish Catholics clearly wanted to show their support for the Church, the new archbishop, Scotland’s bishops, priests and religious.

The congregation inside St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, and those over-spilling onto the pavement outside, heard a great deal that day about human failings and weaknesses, and God’s mercy and                   forgiveness.

In his homily, Principal consecrator Cardinal Harvey reminded the congregation that God ‘desires mercy not sacrifice’ and that Jesus said ‘I did not come to call the righteous but sinners,’ and through such people He does ‘great things.’

It was a message than struck home for everyone, from the most senior clergy present there, to the seminarians taking part in the Mass (including two former SCO employees), to the school pupils from around the archdiocese present in significant numbers wearing their uniforms.

Pope Francis has called on Archbishop Cushley to be ‘merciful,’ in his ministry, not ‘soft’ but ‘gentle’ and ‘firm.’

The sun may not have shone on Saturday, but the rain stayed off and those leaving the ordination Mass felt a little lighter and more hopeful about what lies ahead.

The SCO staff would like to congratulate Archbishop Cushley, wish him well in his new ministry and keep him and all ordained men and women in our thoughts and prayers as we approach the future of the Faith in Scotland with renewed hope.