Scottish Catholic Observer

One hundred years ago, on August 21, 1916, Alexander MacCallum Scott MP—Coalition Liberal, Glasgow Bridgeton; an Advocate educated at Polmont Public School, Falkirk High School and Glasgow University; this was not, as some would have it, a Catholic-inspired conspiracy to get Rome on the Rates—whilst questioning the Prime Minister, HH Asquith, highlighted what few today seem to realise, that the need for a new system of education was something which was in the best strategic interests of the country.

Mr MacCallum Scott asked Mr Asquith to ‘take steps to secure that a comprehensive inquiry into the existing educational provision in Scotland from primary schools to the universities, with special reference to the experience gained during the War, should be conducted by people versed in the Scottish education system.’ It would be impossible here to go into detail of all that followed (and preceded) this parliamentary passage at arms. Suffice to say that the result, in time, was the Education (Scotland Act) 1918, of which our Scottish Catholic education system was and is one of the great fruits.

But make no mistake, after several years of sniping, war was openly declared on our Scottish Catholic education system on the evening of Thursday, March 31, at a Scottish parliamentary election hustings held in one of the most prestigious and expensive venues in Scotland— Surgeons’ Hall, Edinburgh—uniquely attended by all five parliamentary party leaders—Nicola Sturgeon (SNP); Kezia Dugdale (Labour); Ruth Davidson (Conservative); Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrats), and; Patrick Harvie (Greens)— with the great and the good of the media in dutiful attendance.

A consensus emerged amongst the platform party: The rights of Catholic parents enshrined in international law are to be abrogated.

A lifetime ago, on March 20, 1952, four weeks before your humble but esteemed scrivener here was born, the First Substantive Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights came into effect. Article 2 provided that: “No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching (be) in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.”

In thrall to the LGBTI Alliance Scotland, hosts of the hustings, the Famous Five are committed to abrogating this provision.

Four hundred years ago, in the bad old days of the 17th century in the Perverts to Papacy Act 1609 and the Mass Act 1661, it was enacted: “Likewise His Majesty, considering how dangerous it is that children are educated by persons Popishly affected, do therefore, conforming to former acts of parliament, appoint that children under popish parents, tutors or curators shall be taken from them and committed to the education of some well-affected and religious friend, at the sight and by order of His Majesty’s Privy Council.”

But our children’s education is not to be committed into the hands of ‘some well-affected and religious friend’ but to the agents of the LGBTI Alliance Scotland, the hosts of that hustings. One of the organisers recently wrote: “Approaching my teenage years and quickly falling into an abyss of self-discovery, I suddenly found myself suffocated by the heteronormativity that plagues our society. I struggled with self acceptance, I was confused—trapped by my identity and lost in my own head. With pressure mounting and a desperate desire to escape myself, I contemplated suicide.” (Scotsman, Sat, February 6, 2016; I resisted the urge to correct the grammar.)

This narrative of contemplation of suicide amongst gay teenagers is the latest tool to be deployed shamelessly to affect political and public sentiment. We are being told that one in four “LGBTI+ young people have attempted suicide as a result of homophobic bullying.” The only problem is that these are figures supplied by the LGBTI Alliance Scotland after a canvass amongst their own members and supporters and have no independent statistical validity whatsoever. They are not the product of rigorous, scientific investigation.

Moreover, we have to ask: What is meant by ‘attempted?’ What is meant by ‘contemplated?’ What are the statistics relating to other groups of children? For remember, every independent piece of research conducted on bullying in schools has shown that so-called ‘homophobic’ bullying is the least of the problems in this regard: Poverty is the biggest. But who cares about poor children whose parents can’t afford the latest smart phone? Or brand label trainers? Or the school outing? And be warned, in Canada, one of the most bullied group of children, much more bullied than self-identified ‘gay’ children, where Eastern-rite Christians, Catholic and Orthodox, but they were officially told they didn’t count because Christians were part of the problem. Coming to a school near you. Soon.

The Green Party’s Patrick Harvie at the hustings brought up what he called the issue in talking about ‘all teachers’ and ‘all schools’ becoming LGBTI-friendly. Of course, he meant our Scottish Catholic schools.

He is demanding that every teacher in every school is LGBTI-trained, compliant and supportive. Every subject area must be geared up to advancing the homosexualist agenda. As was indicated in that Scotsman article, how can you possibly teach history without teaching about the Stonewall Riots?

The next faleshood on the agenda—that 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the population being homosexual but too afraid to admit it (in fact less than 1.5 per cent).

This figure is an exaggeration but it is enough to have Scotland’s political leaders dancing to the LGBTI tune: “Let’s make our school toilets and changing rooms gender fluid if not neutral.”

Simple question: Are we prepared to fight for our Scottish Catholic school system?

We have friends in the Muslim, Hindu and other religious communities, as well as many atheists, who send their children by preference to our schools who will support us. But only if we give the lead.