Scottish Catholic Observer

The decision by David Mundell, the Scottish Home Secretary, to devolve abortion law to Holyrood has already provided a taste of what it is to profess to be Christian in modern Scotland. John Deighan, the chief executive of SPUC (among others including myself) has been targeted for stating the belief... read more

It was a surprise to see on the news recently that, during the forthcoming Year of Mercy, the Pope had given priests ‘permission to absolve from the sin of abortion’.  Surely they had that already? But the impression given was that hitherto abortion had been a kind of unforgivable sin.... read more

The abuse of children, and of the vulnerable more generously, is a serious evil and in theological terms a grievous sin. That it should have been perpetrated by some priests, religious and lay Catholics working with children is a scandalous evil: for the wrong done is not only to the... read more

The debate on the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill last week, which preceded the proposed legislation’s rejection by MSPs, was one that showcased the strengths of the Scottish Parliament. However, it also suggested that those who care about religious freedom in Scotland should fear for its future. In present-day Scotland, parliamentarians had... read more

BEING World Communications Day this Sunday, journalists and broadcasters get to emerge from underneath our ‘stones’ and ‘crawl’ slowly into the light. On this day, those of us who are professional journalists and who retain a patina of religious belief dutifully attend our church services and listen to an episcopal... read more

IT’S too easy, I think, for those of us who are Catholics living and working in Glasgow to fail to appreciate what a gift St Aloysius Church is to us. It is never been far away from all the big moments in my life and, if there was to be... read more

In the past weeks there has been a significant political event in Scotland. Surprisingly, it doesn’t relate to the general election campaign, which is underway and building up towards the frenzy of polling day on May 7. The big story—which you might even have failed to notice happening—was the launch... read more

A PUBLIC meeting held in a church hall in Milngavie earlier this month provided a snapshot of the travails that currently afflict the Labour Party in Scotland. The meeting was called to discuss issues surrounding the proposed closure of St Joseph’s Primary in Milngavie. It was organised by the action... read more

I am very thankful that I am making a good recovery from a heart attack and that I can now resume my duties as Archbishop and begin to lead a normal life again. For the next six to ten weeks, I will participate in a twice-weekly cardiac rehabilitation class, which,... read more

IN MY worst nightmares I am taken to a time in the future when only the most physically and mentally unimpaired of us will be accorded full human rights. HG Wells glimpsed something of this in 1895 in his great work The Time Machine when he imagined that in the distant future... read more