Children visiting the Edinburgh Dungeon tourist attraction are being invited in to Satan's Grotto to "confess their secret desires" to the Devil. The alternative grotto replaces the traditional Father Christmas with a macabre figure in a dark cloak, red face and horns. Rev Andrew Anderson, the minister at Greenside Parish Church, said: "I'm very alarmed about this because there is a tendency to trivialise Satan, which is very dangerous. Many young people have unfortunately been caught up in Satanism. I do believe in evil forces - and so did Jesus himself - so we shouldn't meddle with these dangerous forces." An Edinburgh Dungeon spokeswoman said: "Our Satan is a figure of fun that would help ease the anxieties of anyone who genuinely believes that Satan is a real entity. If the Church is concerned about evil influences, there are any number of places far more worthy of their attentions than the Dungeons."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 4:48 PM

The head of the Church of Scotland has hit out at Christmas partying that "pretends all is well and everyone is happy". In her Christmas message, Dr Alison Elliot, the Moderator of the General Assembly, said the festival should be a "chance to heal the wounds in our world" instead of a celebration of gluttony.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 9:34 AM

Labour and Liberal Democrat MSPs were last night accused of abdicating their responsibilities after caving in to Executive demands not to have a full debate in Holyrood over UK-wide proposals to liberalise the gambling industry. The Scottish Parliament's Labour-dominated local government committee supported calls by ministers to pass responsibility for the controversial issue to Westminster under a so-called Sewel motion. The decision came despite opposition by the SNP, Tories and the churches for greater scrutiny of the Gambling Bill in the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, which represents the Catholic Church, the Church of Scotland and other major denominations, insisted a full debate at Holyrood was the only way forward. The Rev Graham Blount, an official with the organisation, expressed his concern at the committee?s approach. "If your committee will not hear oral evidence from those concerned ... this surely calls the Sewel process into serious question as a way of avoiding debate," he said.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 9:32 AM

Roman Catholics are being asked to mount a voting campaign following a BBC2 documentary and debate about "the moral dilemmas and big questions" surrounding the issue embryonic stem cell research. The programme, If... Cloning could cure us, airs at 9 pm on Thursday 16 December.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 6:59 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has welcomed the appointment of Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz as Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. Archbishop Sainz was born in Spain in 1937 and ordained in 1964. His postings have included Senegal, Scandinavia, Cuba, Zaire, and latterly he was Apostolic Pro-nuncio to the European Union in Brussels. The role of the Apostolic Nuncio, or Ambassador, is to ensure that the ties between the Holy See and the local Churches are ever firmer and more effective. Consequently, within his circumscription the papal legate is in charge of informing the Apostolic See about conditions existing in local Churches and about all that affects the life of the Church itself and the good of souls; to give help and advice to Bishops, without infringing on their legitimate authority; and to maintain frequent relations with the Episcopal Conference.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 5:11 PM

The Christmas Message from Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, is now online.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 10:52 AM

A Dundee church has joined forces with the city's biggest shopping centre to remind people of the true meaning of Christmas. The Steeple Church, which stands in the heart of the city, is opening its doors to welcome shoppers and staff from the Overgate Centre and beyond. Rev David Clark said: "It's great to be able to serve the city-centre community in this way and hopefully it will remind people of the true meaning of Christmas. Yes, this time of year is about giving presents but it's also about celebrating God's love and the unique gift of his son."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 10:48 AM

Groups representing more than 850,000 volunteers claim that thousands of youth groups and voluntary organisations will be forced to close because of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003, which comes into effect on January 10, 2005. They say they face months of delays for new checks to work with children under the age of 18. Tom Leishman, head of Boys and Girls Clubs Scotland, said he believed it would mean the end of thousands of volunteers. "We are already struggling to retain volunteers because of all the form-filling and checks but when this comes in on the 10th it will mean disaster ... These people volunteer because they want to work with young people but they are just spending all their time filling in forms."The numbers involved are ridiculous and will have a serious impact on the waiting times for checks from Disclosure Scotland. Technically volunteer-led organisations could cease to operate."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:42 AM

Feudalism may not have been abolished on November 28 as completely as had been thought. Under the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scotland) Act 2000, the right to control developments ? which was previously enforced by feudal superiors over their vassals ? can be transferred if the superior lives within 100 metres of the controlled property. The Scottish Land Register has received about 3000 such notices to continue burdens, some of which are thought to be centuries old. Nearly 600 of them were made by the Church of Scotland. A spokesman for the keeper of the register said there had been a last-minute rush of applications before November 28, the day feudalism was abolished. The 100 metre clause was introduced after heavy lobbying by the Church of Scotland, which argued that it should not lose the right to control developments on buildings which were previously Kirk-owned.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:08 AM

Scottish churches have called for a full public debate in Holyrood on legislation to liberalise the gambling industry. The call came after it emerged that those with a view on the industry are unlikely to be able to use the Scottish parliament to comment on the Gambling Bill now going through Westminster. The Rev Graham Blount of the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office - which represents the Catholic Church, the Church of Scotland and other denominations - said: "We were encouraged by the First Minister's reported view against the proliferation of supercasinos, but remain concerned at how the possibility of a distinctive line can be safeguarded."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:05 AM

A young boy has been taken into care after police raided a string of addresses connected with a church at the centre of an international baby smuggling scandal. Officers from the Metropolitan Police?s Child Abuse Investigation Command entered five Gilbert Deya Ministries properties across the country on Friday morning. It is understood that a four year-old boy was taken into care following the raids in Birmingham, south London, Manchester and Scotland.
Source: Sunday Mercury, Birmingham.
posted at 5:39 PM

Siubhal nan Salm, on Scottish TV and Grampian tonight at 6.05pm and next Sunday at 5.40pm, explores Professor Willie Ruff's theory that 'lining out', the form of call and response which was once widespread in the black Presbyterian churches of the American South, has its origins in Gaeldom. Ruff takes a group of precentors from the Back Free Church on Lewis to Killen, Alabama, to meet and worship with the black congregation of Mt Zion church. Church elders from both sides nod in recognition as each takes turn to precent, or line out. There are tears, there is knowing. America?s top gospel star Bobby Jones is shown a video tape of the Gaelic precentors and congregation at Back Free Church. The star throws himself back in his seat. "We?re cousins!" he shouts. "It?s the same, it?s amazing. This is what we did in our churches and some churches still do."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 5:35 PM

"Christmas, much deplored as swamped by commercialism, is making a comeback in its original religious character," says Scotland on Sunday. "Councils in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Glasgow are to be congratulated for listening to Christian protests and restoring nativity scenes to public display."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 5:28 PM

The Venerable David Chillingworth has been elected as the new Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane in the Scottish Episcopal Church at a meeting of the Electoral Synod today in Perth. He is currently Archdeacon of Dromore, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He succeeds the Rt Rev Michael Henley, who retired in July, and will be consecrated and installed at a service planned for 2 March 2005 in St Ninian?s Cathedral, Perth.
Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release.
posted at 6:37 PM

Dr Roy McLachlan has resigned from the board of Crawford Arts Centre in St Andrews over the staging of Terrence McNally's play 'Corpus Christi'.
Source: Fife Now - St Andrews Citizen.
posted at 7:10 PM

St Andrews Presbytery has approved proposals for the launch of a £500,000 fund-raising drive to refurbish Cupar Old Parish Church.
Source: Fife Herald.
posted at 7:07 PM

Restoration of the western boundary area at St Mary?s Parish Church in Haddington, including the replacement of railings removed during the Second World War, has been given the green light with the aid of a £38,000 grant.
Source: East Lothian Courier.
posted at 7:04 PM

Canon Thomas Joseph Murphy, who was parish priest of St Mary?s Church in Irvine for 20 years, has died aged 85. Better known as Canon Tom, he oversaw great change in the town with the growth of two new parishes of St Margaret?s Church and St John Ogilvie?s Church.
Source: Irvine Herald.
posted at 6:41 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien has issued his Christmas message.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 6:25 PM

December marks the first anniversary for a group of Christians who are praying for Perth. Exactly a year ago, members of the Perth Christian Centre placed a giant Christmas message on a billboard reading "Jesus is the reason for the Season". The group now have four billboards located at busy city junctions, with a fifth addition to come early in the New Year.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 6:20 PM

Rural residents will be celebrating a new era for a north-east church at its first festive service in years - after they bought it for £1,000. This week saw the keys to 129-year-old Tullynessle Church handed over to the country community. Declared surplus to Church of Scotland needs three years ago, a Friends of Old Tullynessle Kirk group was set up to preserve the building. It is anticipated funerals and weddings will again be held in the church.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 6:19 PM

Police investigating a controversial theatre production in which depicts Jesus as homosexual have said they will be taking no further action at the moment. Christian Voice has labelled Corpus Christi, now playing in St Andrews, a "hate-filled mockery". Stephen Green, director of Christian Voice, said he has not seen the play but stressed: "What we have here is our beliefs, our saviour, being vilified and insulted and this wouldn't happen against any other religion. If they did this to Mohammed or Buddha all hell would break loose around them. The fact is that Jesus Christ is being portrayed here as a foul-mouthed, drunken, promiscuous, homosexual and that is an insult to my faith." But the director of the play, Zsuzsi Lyndsay, was unbowed by the criticism. She said: "What we were trying to do is to reiterate the fact that Jesus is for everyone, not just for people who are straight but for homosexuals as well. I have the deepest respect for their beliefs, I'd have even more respect for them though if they came to see the show and saw what they were picketing against. I'm afraid that Jesus is not portrayed as a drunken, foul-mouthed messiah and if you read the play you would know that. He doesn't say one bad word throughout the play."
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 6:13 PM

Volunteers from the Phoenix Centre in Glasgow recently made a pilgrimage to Peebles to present a framed copy of part of a mural based on the work and miracles of St Kentigern (Mungo) to the Rev Calum Macdougall at Peebles Parish Church. The main mural is displayed at the Phoenix Centre, set up to provide therapeutic help for people suffering from stress-related problems.
Source: Peeblesshire News.
posted at 5:35 PM

There are signs that the politically correct trend to opt out of delivering a Christian message in Christmas cards, for fear of offending those of other faiths, is disappearing like snow off a dike. In what might be regarded as a backlash against the bland all-things-to-all-men "compliments of the season" message, more politicians and public bodies are putting the Christmas spirit back into their greetings cards. Three of the four major political parties in Scotland, the LibDems, the SNP and the Tories, all feature the word "Christmas" in their 2004 cards. The Scottish Labour Party has decided not to send cards this year, choosing instead to make a donation to charity. "But if we were going to send cards, they would say 'Christmas' on them," said a spokesman.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 5:32 PM

Reports of Britain's descent into atheism seem to have been a little premature. According to a new survey for the Wall Street Journal, 72% of the population believe in some kind of god, while almost as many - 69% - associate themselves with a particular religion.
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 5:27 PM

The 18th century Drymen Church on Loch Lomondside church is to undergo a large extension project to create a new annexe, subject to approval from Historic Scotland. The work will involve excavating part of the graveyard in which the church is situated.
Source: icDunbartonshire - Lennox Herald.
posted at 5:25 PM

Delays in calling a new minister for the Queen's holiday church at Crathie and neighbouring Braemar on Royal Deeside have been criticised by Simon Blackett, a congregational board member at Braemar, who believes Church of Scotland procedures are too complicated. Former local minister the Rev Robert Sloan left the upper Deeside churches in October having announced his intention to do so in March. It is hoped that a new minister can be called early in the new year. Mr Blackett said local congregations wanted to see a replacement minister join their church, without the need for bureaucracy. A spokeswoman for the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh, said that it was understandable some members might be frustrated by delays. "However I think that, if we were to remove the consultation process which involves those same congregation members, they would complain to us," she added.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 5:14 PM

Local church drop-ins have played a key role in providing a very personalised and humane quality of service to asylum seekers in Glasgow, according to research carried out by Dr Karen Wren at the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice (SCRSJ).
Source: Innovations Report, Bad Homburg.
posted at 12:36 PM

Feature on Sue Jansen, the only English-speaking Methodist minister in Argentina, who spent time in Scotland after her ordination in 1997. Sue suffered detention and torture while working as a teacher and lay preacher in Peru, where she went following the reported death in Bosnia of her husband, a government agent alleged to have authorised the torture and assassination of IRA leaders in Northern Ireland.
Source: Cape Times, Cape Town.
posted at 12:30 PM

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament's transport and local government committee decided yesterday to prevent a major public debate on the liberalisation of the gambling industry, and may pass the entire issue down to Westminster. SNP MSP Bruce Crawford said: "I am very disappointed the committee did not take on board the need to scrutinise the Gambling Bill. There is wide concern in Scotland." Mr Crawford wanted the churches, charities, trade unions and other interested bodies to be given the chance to give evidence to the committee but his suggestion was rejected.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 12:20 PM

Two factions are locked in an expensive and potentially destructive wrangle over symbols and artefacts used in the Presbyterian Church of East Africa and linked with Freemasonry. At the heart of the dispute are the heritage and traditions of Scottish missionaries, who established the PCEA, originally known as the Church of Scotland Mission. Their defenders say the targeted symbols and designs have been in the PCEA churches for more than a century and were simple Scottish internal decor engravings and patterns on stained glass windows with links to Freemasonry but not necessarily satanic. Among those pushing for the destruction of "satanic or devil worship" symbols are the moderator of St Andrews Church in Nairobi, Rev Dr George Wanjau, and PCEA secretary General Samuel Muriguh. At least 30 stained glass windows and metal grilles more than a century old have previously been removed from St Andrews Church. A demolition squad will be sent to the PCEA's oldest church, the Church of the Torch, in Thogoto, in Kikuyu, on December 19.
Source: allAfrica.com.
posted at 12:14 PM

Portraits of the late Cardinal Thomas Winning and Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, are included in the Keeping Faith exhibition currently showing at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition recognises the importance that faith plays in the lives of many Scots and presents, through a collection of paintings and photographs, the diversity of religious faiths in Scotland.
Source: Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) news.
posted at 7:40 PM

The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society Lothian will be holding a special Christmas memorial service for families at Craiglockhart Parish Church, Edinburgh, next Monday.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 7:29 PM

Muslims should broaden their charitable habits to help themselves integrate further into British society, a major conference on the subject will be told this week. Research by the Centre for the Study of Islam at Glasgow University found Muslims were some of the most generous donors in the UK, giving £90 per month, or 5% of their income, to charity. However, the study also found that most donations were channelled through mosques, which tend to have a different set of concerns to that of most British charities.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 7:25 PM

Bethany Christian Trust has launched its its winter care shelter service in Edinburgh.
Source: Bethany Christian Trust.
posted at 7:22 PM

Worshippers didn't want their church turned into a pub - so it got a cinema-style makeover. They raised £1million to turn the ramshackle kirk into a hi-tech house of God. And Gilcomston kirk in Aberdeen hosted its first service yesterday. A sign reading 'This church will not be a nightclub' hung on the doors during the work. Rev Dominic Smart said: 'Most people think churches are old fashioned and uncomfortable. We wanted to shed that image.'
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 5:00 PM

The Christian Voice organisation is organising a protest in St Andrews from December 9-11 and lobbying University staff against a student production of Terrence McNally's play 'Corpus Christi', which will portray Christ as a promiscuous homosexual and His mother Mary as an alcoholic. (Protest details)
Source: Christian Voice.
posted at 4:37 PM

Handel's Messiah is to be performed by the Dunedin Consort this month in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dunkeld in the version Handel used for the work's 1742 premiere in Dublin.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 4:25 PM

Jack McLean commends Rev Bill Shackleton's latest book, Keeping it Cheery: Anecdotes from a Life in Brigton. "It should be bought by the congregations for every cleric of every religion as a lesson in how to cheer up the flock. And how to promote God."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 4:16 PM

Scots emigrant Tommy Douglas, founder of Canada's health service and grandfather of actor Kiefer Sutherland, has been voted the greatest Canadian of all time. Douglas was born at Sunnybrae, Camelon - a house owned by the family of TV inventor John Logie Baird - on October 20, 1904. He left Falkirk in 1919, when his family emigrated, but his first career was in the Church, not politics. His first church ministry was in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, where he witnessed the suffering caused by the Depression and decided that political action was needed.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 5:53 PM

Government ministers have been accused by Catholic insiders of "prejudice" against the Church over the issue of abuse in children's homes. Jack McConnell's public apology last week to the victims of care home abuse was quickly overshadowed by reports that ministers believed the Church itself should admit to its failings. The calls have enraged Catholic leaders who believe they are being unfairly singled out as a result of the high-profile nature of abuse cases involving priests and nuns. Scotland on Sunday understands that the fury within the Church has been heightened because Education Minister Peter Peacock let Archbishop Mario Conti know about McConnell's apology last week, but did not give any indication that the Church would be singled out afterwards.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 5:49 PM

The official opening of the newly-renovated Scots Hotel in Tiberias marks the transformation from a small Scottish hospital built in 1884 to a magnificent hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Source: Jerusalem Post.
posted at 5:45 PM

Representatives of the Presbytery of Edinburgh have attended the funeral in Cowdenbeath of the Rev Jim Bain, 40, who was found dead at his Portobello home by police on Sunday night. Mr Bain was suspended from his post at Corstorphine Old Parish Church in June pending his trial in connection with the possession of indecent images of children. A spokesman for the Kirk said: "We extend our deepest sympathy to Mr Bain's family on this untimely loss."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 12:22 PM

A Chinese Christian has won a legal fight in his bid to stop him being deported from Scotland as an illegal immigrant. Chen Ri Lin, who lives in Nairn, arrived in Britain illegally and claimed asylum, saying he feared persecution in his homeland for being a member of the True Jesus Church in China.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 12:18 PM

A reckless driver who killed with his speeding car was spared 14 years in jail after friends and relatives of his victims asked St Louis Circuit Court for clemency. The dead included Tirzah Berthoff, 70, herself a victim's advocate and an elder with First Presbyterian Church of St Louis, Missouri. She came to the United States from Scotland in 1954 with her husband, Rowland Berthoff, former history department chairman at Washington University.
Source: St Louis Today.
posted at 12:06 PM

December engagements for Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the Kirk's General Assembly, include hosting a reception for industrial mission chaplains and leading one of a series of reflections at an Advent service at St Andrew's and St George's Church in Edinburgh. Dr Elliot leaves Scotland on 3 January 2005 for an extended visit to India and Bangladesh.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 8:47 PM

Two Assynt residents have been formally congratulated in the Scottish Parliament for winning a prestigious international peace award. Helen Steven and Ellen Moxley, of Raffin, won the Gandhi International Peace Award in recognition of their lifelong commitment to peace and for their achievement in setting up the Scottish Centre for Nonviolence. Earlier this year Ms Steven was fined at Helensburgh District Court for blockading the entrance to Faslane naval base, home to Britain's Trident nuclear weapon submarines. She told the court that her Christian conviction made opposition to Trident imperative.
Sources: Northern Times, Trident Ploughshares.
posted at 8:35 PM

Allan Haldane, a devoted Christian and an Elder in St Clement's Church in Dingwall for some 30 years, has died. During his illness over the past four years, Allan set himself the task of writing and illustrating a book entitled Ye His Saints. This is an anthology of excerpts from the Psalms and Gospels with illustrations of crosses, sites and buildings associated with Scotland's saints and commentaries on their lives and legends. This book will be published in the near future.
Source: Ross-shire Journal.
posted at 8:24 PM

St Andrew's Church in Peterhead officially opens its new extension to the public this weekend.
Source: Buchan Observer.
posted at 8:17 PM

The Reverend Canon Jeanette Jenkins of Kilwinning was one of the women priests who gathered to mark the tenth anniversary of the ordination of women to the priesthood of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the diocese of Glasgow and Galloway at a special service held in St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow.
Source: Irvine Herald.
posted at 8:02 PM

Members of St Margaret's Church Guild in Glenrothes were in a party mood last week as the organisation celebrated its 50th birthday.
Source: Fife Now - Glenrothes Gazette.
posted at 7:58 PM

Young thugs are causing mayhem at a popular Dumfries kirk. Parishioners at Lochside Church have suffered a catalogue of abuse over the past few months.
Source: Dumfries & Galloway Standard.
posted at 7:50 PM

Parishioners gathered at Crossmichael Church on Sunday for a special dedication service for the new church hall.
Source: Galloway News.
posted at 7:48 PM

The Church has been guilty of "marginalising" and "downgrading" the role of Joseph in helping to raise Jesus, according to the Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme. He said: "The Holy Family was not a single parent. Joseph helped provide Jesus with a secure and happy environment in which he grew up. Excluding him from the Nativity and downgrading him as of no significant influence on Jesus seems a great injustice."
Source: Church of England Newspaper.
posted at 7:43 PM

A historic cross which was found on sale in a junk shop after being stolen from an Edinburgh church has been reunited with its owners. The 100-year-old three-foot cross taken from the Scottish Episcopal Church of St John the Evangelist in Princes Street was spotted by police during checks on a second-hand dealer.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 7:34 PM

A minister at the centre of a paedophile computer porn probe in Edinburgh has been found dead in his Portobello home. The Rev Jim Bain, 40, was suspended from his post at Corstorphine Old Parish Church in June and was waiting to stand trial in connection with the possession of indecent images of children. The minister's death is not thought to be suspicious and it is understood police have ruled out suicide.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 7:17 PM

Drymen Parish Church's plans for an extension have been backed by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority. The B-listed building, built in 1771, could soon have a modern annexe as well as adjoining parking.
Source: icStirling - Stirling Observer.
posted at 7:11 PM

The chaplain to the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse has announced he is to retire. Canongate Kirk minister Reverend Charles Robertson will leave next October after serving for 27 years as minister of the church. Mr Robertson, who has witnessed a massive regeneration of the once-depressed Canongate and even had his name etched into the masonry above the church itself, today revealed how he was initially asked to take on the job for just three years. When the long-serving Reverend Ronald Selby Wright, the radio padre to the nation during the Second World War, retired in 1977, the Church of Scotland planned to close down the parish.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 7:09 PM

In the Scottish Parliament yesterday Jack McConnell, the first minister, unexpectedly made a 'sincere and full apology' to all people who suffered abuse and neglect while in institutional care in the past. One of his motivations was, it is alleged, to enable the Scottish Executive to create a clear divide between itself and the Catholic Church in Scotland. Mr McConnell is said to believe privately that the Catholic Church should also apologise because many of the victims were housed at homes run by Catholic orders. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, now the most senior Catholic clergyman in Scotland, but then archbishop of Edinburgh and St Andrews, said three years ago: "As an archbishop in the Catholic Church, I apologise unreservedly to those who, over the years, have suffered any form of abuse at the hands of those representing the Catholic Church." However, Chris Daly, a victim of abuse in a Catholic home as a youngster, whose petition to the Parliament in 2002 led to yesterday's statement, said: "I hope this might now turn things round. Other organisations such as Quarrier's and Barnardo's appear to be more open about things and are trying to redress wrongs of the past, but the Catholic Church are stonewalling all attempts at reconciliation and dialogue." Meanwhile, Government files are to be opened to the public as ministers move to "shed more light on the national shame" of abuse in Scottish children's homes. Education minister Peter Peacock has urged other bodies to open up their files, including the Catholic Church, the Church of Scotland, the Quarriers charity, Barnardo's, local authorities and the Care Commission.
Sources: Scottish Executive news release, The Herald, The Scotsman, Scottish Catholic Media Office, BBC Scotland News.
posted at 10:25 AM

The Methodist Church in Britain has a new poster campaign carrying the stark message: 'The Body of Christ has AIDS'. Susan Johnson, Mission Education Co-ordinator, said: "Methodists around the country are looking at their theology, and at what it means to be part of the Body of Christ when people are suffering."
Source: Methodist Church news release.
posted at 9:24 PM

The Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, Dr Alison Elliot, today delivered the St Andrewstide sermon to Scottish MPs and peers in the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel at the Palace of Westminster. Taking AIDS as her theme, Dr Elliot said: "A judgmental culture that was certain about right and wrong has done huge damage. And the church has to take its share of the blame for that. With misplaced zeal, it has turned aspects of behaviour into measures of Christian faithfulness and pursued those who deviate from them with all the moral censure it can muster."
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 9:23 PM

Catholics in north east Scotland have been asked by Bishop Peter Moran to "deepen their knowledge of the Mass".
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 9:23 PM

Red oak trees have been planted in Newlands Park in Glasgow as a living tribute to the late Cardinal Thomas Winning.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 9:22 PM

Old Firm supporters last night said they were ready to have talks in an attempt to rid Scottish football of sectarianism. The Celtic Supporters' Association said: "We are willing to engage in debate ... in an effort to admit to our failings in Scottish football and get together to make a serious effort in ridding our game of sectarianism and racism." John Macmillan, general secretary of the Rangers Supporters' Association, welcomed the call for talks. He said: "This is more than worth considering. We do have a problem in the Scottish game." A spokeswoman for Nil by Mouth, the anti-sectarian charity, said: "It will be interesting to see just what follows these statements and how the initiative is developed."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 9:22 PM

Partners in Change ... United Reformed Church general secretary David Cornick reviews the progress of the 'Catch the Vision' process.
Source: United Reformed Church Synod of Scotland.
posted at 9:20 PM