Glasgow archbishop hails ruling for midwives as victory for freedom of conscience
The Court of Session in Edinburgh’s ruling that two Scottish Catholic midwives cannot be forced to supervise abortions is being hailed as a landmark victory for religious freedom. Archbishop Philip Tartgalia of Glasgow, who is currently in Rome, said: “Today’s decision by the Appeal Judges is a victory for freedom of conscience and for common [...]
Priest escapes sanction after bullying claims
Scotland’s longest-serving Catholic bishop has backed down from moves to sanction a serving priest over claims the Church has covered up a culture of sexual bullying. Joseph Devine, Bishop of Motherwell, issued a notice this week stating no action would be taken against Father Matthew Despard, who has alleged sexual misconduct has been rife for [...]
Alex Salmond: ‘Without the Catholic Church there would be no Scotland.’
The Catholic Church in Scotland will recover from its current troubles and remains at the heart of Scottish life, First Minister Alex Salmond said. Speaking to The Tablet after attending Lady Thatcher’s funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral yesterday, he told The Tablet of the enduring importance of the Catholic Church to Scotland as a nation [...]
Grayling: ‘Argument against faith schools summed up in two words: Northern Ireland. Or one: Glasgow’
A leading atheist who led Time for Reflection at the Scottish Parliament has outraged the Catholic Church with his comments on the contribution he believes faith schooling makes to bigotry. Professor AC Grayling criticised the whole concept of faith schools during a brief visit to the Scottish Parliament yesterday. Speaking at a meeting in Holyrood [...]
Obituary: Rev Frank Haughton
Rev Frank Haughton, who has died aged 97, was one of the Church of Scotland’s longest-serving ministers with a career that spanned almost six decades. He devoted 53 of those years to St Mary’s Parish Church in Kirkintilloch, witnessing the East Dunbartonshire town grow significantly during the post-war era and making his own substantial contribution [...]
Tom Devine: Catholic leaders have created the rift between scholars and the Church
Letter to The Herald: Herbert Coutts writes that attacks on Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti by those opposed to the relocation of the Historic Archives from Columba House in Edinburgh “are becoming tedious” (Letters, April 13). I strongly beg to differ. It is the unconvincing attempts at defence of the archbishop and the overt special pleading [...]
Choir walks out after row with Edinburgh church
An unholy row has erupted at an Edinburgh church, prompting a walk-out by the choir. The choir, choirmaster and organist have all walked out of historic St Patrick’s Parish Church in the Cowgate following a bitter spat with church bosses. The choirmaster and organist are said to have found it “increasingly difficult” to work with [...]
Glasgow nurse is ‘angel’ to ‘slumdogs’ of Calcutta
There were three reasons why Glasgow-born nurse Janie O’Reilly left the luxury of her adopted home to help the inhabitants of Calcutta’s slums. The first was a life-long interest in the life and work of the late Mother Teresa. The second was, having been shocked by the poverty she witnessed holidaying in Delhi, to mark [...]
Scottish Catholic Archives closed after mould find
The Scottish Catholic Archives have been shut down after mould was discovered on items in the collection. Columba House, an early 19th-century townhouse in Edinburgh, which has been home to the archives for over 50 years, will be closed to researchers and members of the public until further notice, said a spokesman for the Catholic [...]
Scottish Catholic church’s handling of abuse is a sham, says former insider
A former child protection consultant for the Scottish Catholic church has criticised its procedures for dealing with abuse, branding them a sham, only weeks after the country’s most senior cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, was forced to resign over allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct. As evidence mounts of the chaotic response in the church to the [...]
