The Scottish Executive has proposed a single registration district for all Scottish waters in its Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Bill, now being examined in committee. Church of Scotland solicitor Jeanette Wilson told MSPs of one minister who was particularly buoyed by the provision for marriages at sea. She said: "Seemingly he recently had to conduct a wedding on the Waverley as it chugged across the Firth of Clyde. And he was told very clearly that he had to keep things moving and had to get all the legal bits done before the ship steamed from one registration area into the next."
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.

Rev Alex Barr, who was minister of Buckie Baptist Church from 1948 until his retirement in 1982, has died aged 89.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

The Rev Donald Macaulay, the first leader of Western Isles Council, has died aged 79 at his home on Bernera, Lewis. Mr Macaulay, a Church of Scotland minister and Gaelic speaker, became leader when the islands were united as an administrative area 32 years ago.
Source: The Scotsman.

The Catholic Church, the Grand Orange Order and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities all said they were disappointed at the lack of consultation in the build-up to yesterday's announcement of anti-sectarianism measures by First Minister Jack McConnell. Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: "There was not even a mention of the Act of Settlement, which represents institutionalised sectarianism at the highest level, despite Cardinal O'Brien raising this issue at the summit ... When the British constitution entrenches sectarianism, it will make anything the Scottish Executive tries to do harder." The Grand Orange Order offered its qualified support for the move, but Robert McLean, executive officer, said: "We definitely weren't consulted. Personally, I don't see how these banning orders will work at marches and parades… but if the executive thinks it will work we shall see." Other groups were more supportive of Mr McConnell. David Lacy, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: "We have made progress on the ground to establish projects in some of the most deprived areas of Glasgow, in co-operation with the Catholic Church and Glasgow City Council."
Source: The Herald.

Some congestion-busting measures planned for the Forth Road Bridge may have to be scrapped if proposals to raise tolls to £4 are abandoned. The Rev Sandy Brown, of Inverkeithing Baptist Church in Fife, who has lodged a petition against toll increases, told MSPs yesterday the bridge should be funded "from the common purse".
Source: The Scotsman.

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, described anti-sectarian measures launched yesterday by First Minister Jack McConnell as "idiosyncratic". He said: "We now have statistics showing that where sectarian offences take place. Only 15 per cent relate to football, none take place in schools, and yet these are the two main targets for the plan. It's alcohol-related incidents outside pubs and bars that are the main source of sectarian incidents." Osama Aseed, of the Campaign for Muslim Schools, said: "These measures will not end bigotry and sectarianism. The Muslim community already suffers racism ... without a single Muslim school being in existence, so it's misleading to put schools at the heart of hatred."
Source: The Scotsman.

The Archbishop of Glasgow has been urged to hand over a former college for priests to conservationists. Campaigners warned time was running out for St Peter's College in Cardross, Argyll and Bute, which has been eroded by weather and targeted by vandals. In an open letter to Archbishop Mario Conti, the St Peter's Building Preservation Trust said the Grade A listed seminary was on its last legs.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

The Evangelical Alliance has launched a re-designed website that houses over 500 articles, press releases and information on issues ranging from ‘what is an evangelical?’ to ‘how to combat gambling in your area’.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release.

The Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, the Right Reverend David Lacy, is set to spend three days this week visiting the Scottish Parliament. He said: "It is very important for the Kirk to maintain open lines of communication with our politicians, and I hope that my visit to the Parliament will prove to be a learning process on both sides."
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Parishioners at St Mary's RC Cathedral in Edinburgh raised £40,000 for homeless charity Bethany Trust's drive to sell Christmas trees to raise money for rough sleepers.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

Archaeological experts from all over the world are hoping to find the remains of a 12th-century church at Aberdeen's historic Kirk of St Nicholas as a major excavation project gets underway today.
Source: Aberdeen City Council news release.

Community-led action and 'people power' will have an increasing impact in stamping out bigoted attitudes, First Minister Jack McConnell said today as he launched the Scottish Executive's action plan on tackling sectarianism in Scotland.
Source: Scottish Executive news release.

"Bigots cause bigotry, not schools," writes Osama Saeed. "Catholic schools were originally brought into the state sector to ensure their quality and this is the situation Muslims find themselves in. The current one-size-fits-all model has, to date, failed Muslim pupils."
Source: Sunday Herald.

Habib Malik, fundraiser for Islamic Relief Scotland, returned last week from one of several visits to earthquake-hit Kashmir. "In the 21st century I would never have thought I would see human beings drinking water from puddles where animals were drinking as well," he says, adding: "People think Islamic Relief doesn’t help Christians, but the south of Sudan is mainly Christian and we do work there. When you see families suffering, you just want to help them regardless of their faith. They’re a creation of God, or whatever you want to call it, and you want to do your best for them."
Source: Sunday Herald.

Jack McConnell has succeeded in uniting the Orange Lodge and the Catholic Church in anger by freezing them out of his bid to stamp out sectarianism in Scotland. The First Minister will unveil an action plan on religious bigotry tomorrow in a Roman Catholic primary school, laying out moves to provide anti-sectarian classes in schools and legislation to control religious marches. However, both Catholic leaders and Protestant marchers claiming they have been deliberately ostracised, only learning of tomorrow's announcement through an e-mail from the Scottish Executive on Friday. They claim this flies in the face of promises that they would be fully involved in the action plan.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

The sectarianism summit of Jack McConnell has been condemned as a publicity stunt designed to deflect attention from the “Villagate” sleaze row. The Orange Order has accused the first minister of using last year’s meeting of religious leaders to diffuse the controversy over his failure to declare a holiday at the villa in Majorca of Kirsty Wark, the Newsnight TV presenter. The Catholic church has also criticised the summit, which brought together representatives from more than 30 organisations, including churches, police and councils last February, as little more than a political gesture.
Source: Sunday Times.

One of Britain’s leading architectural historians has blamed Catholic councillors for allowing a famous Protestant landmark in Glasgow to fall into disrepair. Professor Gavin Stamp said that the “Catholic-dominated” Glasgow city council was responsible for neglecting the St Vincent Street church - designed by Alexander “Greek” Thomson - for 40 years.
Source: Sunday Times.

West Dunbartonshire is taking the fight against under-age drinking into the area's primary schools. Controversially, and to the dismay of some parents, the scheme will shy away from the traditional "just say no" approach. Instead it will aim to teach children aged nine to 11 how to drink sensibly. Rev Graeme Blount, the Scottish churches' parliamentary officer, said: "We clearly welcome any sensible attempt to tackle the problem of alcohol abuse among young people. Parents may be concerned, however, if there are some unintended consequences of this kind of project that make alcohol seem more attractive to young people." A recent survey of Scottish schoolchildren found that 13-year-old boys are drinking an average of 10 units of alcohol a week while girls drink an average of eight. The recommended weekly limit is 14 units for adult women and 21 for men.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

A plaque has been unveiled near Buckhaven Parish Church in memory of 10 people, including eight children, who died when a landmine exploded more than 60 years ago.
Source: Dundee Courier.

Profile of Peter Hughes, chief executive of Scottish Engineering, the industry body representing 400 firms. Mr Hughes is an elder of the Church of Scotland.
Source: The Scotsman.

Reverend Joseph Naika, who is more used to preaching in poverty-stricken South African townships, has taken up a post at the Ebenezer United Free Church on Bangor Road, Leith. The United Free Church of Scotland decided to invite ministers from South Africa after they faced a shortage of church leaders. Now three experienced ministers, including Mr Naika, have taken up posts in Leith, Stonehouse and Wishaw.
Source: The Scotsman.

The centenary of St Andrew's Church in Bo'ness was celebrated last weekend. Among those marking the event with present minister, the Reverend Albert Bogle, and the congregation, was the Reverend John Anderson, minister from 1969-76, and his wife, Elizabeth. Also there were Mrs Ruth Johnston and Dr Mary McMillan, whose late husbands were also ministers.
Source: Linlithgow Gazette.

The churches of St Aidan's and St Ninian's in Galashiels, which already worship under the same roof, are now of the same name – Trinity Church. Members of the joint congregation voted unanimously on the new title following morning worship at last Sunday's service, conducted by the Rev Morag Dawson.
Source: Southern Reporter.

Fiona Clark is hosting a charity meal in Crieff's Shampan restaurant to raise funds for the Indian charity Empower the Children. Fiona has recently returned from her fourth visit to Calcutta, where she first worked in 2000 as a volunteer with Mother Teresa's charity Missionaries of Charity.
Source: Strathearn Herald.

Sex toys and aids can be ordered from a new Christian website, Wholly Love. Its message is: "Sex is a great gift from God - we stock products to enhance your sex life with your spouse!" It has been set up by Stan and Stella Hagarty of South Wales, who describe themselves as a happily married young couple with three children. Mrs Hagarty said Christians needed to be positive about sex and its place in marriage. "We are constantly told as Christians what we can’t do, but there is little promotion of what we can."
Source: Church Times.

More than half of clergy wives have suffered from work overload and feeling isolated, according to a study, due to be published next month, which highlights the extent of their involvement with parish ministry and the level of the challenges they face. As an increasing number of clergy wives are choosing to work to support their husbands financially, the book, We’re in This Together, found that over a third of them say that finding the right balance in their married life is their biggest challenge.
Source: Church of England Newspaper.

Mearns Coastal Parish has launched a fundraising appeal to help bring its church buildings at Johnshaven and St Cyrus up to modern standards.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

Thousands of churches and church-goers around the world will celebrate unity in diversity during the World Council of Churches’ General Council to be held in February in Porto Alegre, Brazil. According to Norman Shanks of Scotland, moderator of the assembly planning committee, the theme reflects both the global and individual need for “healing and change, recognizing our dependence on God and acknowledging that we all have a part to play in the process of transformation".
Source: Christian Post.

Obituary of Dorothy Morrison of Montrose: historian, teacher, author, and for seven years a member of the Church and Nation Committee of the Church of Scotland.
Source: Dundee Courier.

Obituary of Wallace McIntyre renowned local historian, charity worker and poet in Clydebank. Born in Fushun as his parents served with the China Inland Mission, he was sustained by his Christian faith throughout his life. As session clerk of Kilbowie Parish Church he was involved in the establishment of the Blitz Memorial Chapel and in the negotiations that led to the union of Kilbowie and St Andrew's churches.
Source: The Herald.

James George Hargreaves will stand in the forthcoming Dunfermline and West Fife parliamentary by-election for the Scottish Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship". Labour is defending an 11,500 majority in the seat following the death in January of Labour MP Rachel Squire.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

The first woman moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, Dr Alison Elliot, has been named a Scot of the Year by the Institute of Contemporary Scotland.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Following recent changes in the law relating to family life in Scotland, Archbishop Mario Conti, on behalf of the Bishops of Scotland, has written a pastoral letter on the subject. Some 65,000 copies of the letter have been printed and sent to each of Scotland's 500 Catholic parishes for distribution to Catholic households this weekend.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.

Speaking yesterday in Nairobi, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, David Lacy, urged international pharmaceutical firms to reduce or subsidise the cost of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) sold to Africa as one way of fighting the HIV/AIDS scourge in the continent. Speaking at the end of his month long tour of Africa, Lacy complained that the cost of ARVs in Africa was too high for the locals to afford.
Source: Angola Press, Luanda.

A manuscript of a Robert Burns poem which had been torn apart has been put back together in time for his birthday celebrations. The two pages of manuscript for "Holy Willie's Prayer" were separated in the 19th century. In the poem, Burns attacks the hypocrisy of Willie Fisher - a drinking and womanising kirk elder from Mauchline in Ayrshire - who complained that Burns' friend Gavin Hamilton had breached God's law by having men working on the Sabbath.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

Scotland's only Muslim school is to close voluntarily. The Imam Muhammad Zakariya school in Dundee, which has 20 female pupils, had been struggling to survive after a report highlighting poor standards. However, the Campaign for Muslim Schools, which wants state-funded Muslim schools in Scotland, said that the closure strengthened its case. Spokesman Osama Saeed said: "Catholic schools were brought into the state sector to ensure the quality of education that was provided in them."
Source: BBC Scotland News.

The congregation of St Andrew's Parish Church, Inverurie, will be pulling out all the stops in the coming years to fund a £100,000 renovation of their church organ.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

The number of one-parent families in Scotland has risen by a quarter since Labour came to power, official figures show. There are now 174,000 single-parent families in Scotland, up from 140,000 in 1997. And families in Scotland are disintegrating faster than those in other parts of Britain: Scotland's 24 per cent rise outstrips the UK-wide increase of 17 per cent. A spokesman for the Catholic Church said: "Fiscal and social incentives to marry have largely disappeared. The benefits system has an inbuilt bias against marriage. The result is that we're left with a system where the state is actually promoting social instability and insecurity, and children are the ultimate victims."
Source: The Scotsman.

The Apostleship of the Sea has appointed four new chaplains to key Scottish ports to provide pastoral and practical assistance to visiting seafarers and start to build a network of volunteer ship visitors. They will serve at Grangemouth, Aberdeen and Clydeport.
Source: The Universe.

Report on a five-day summit on the future of efforts to promote Christian unity, which "brought together some of the best ecumenical minds in the English-speaking world" earlier this month in Durham. Among those participating was Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow.
Source: National Catholic Reporter.

Glens and Kirriemuir Old Parish Church in Angus is making audio versions of prayers and sermons from Sunday services available from its website.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

A Roman Catholic priest who made his first cousin pregnant during the course of an affair has been told he is unlikely ever to be allowed to return to his parish. Father Roddy MacNeil has been suspended from the Our Lady Star of the Sea parish in Barra after it emerged his married cousin was carrying his baby. Father MacNeil, 45, who was a close friend of Princess Diana's late mother Frances Shand Kydd, is understood to have left the island. Last night Father Paul Conroy, the general secretary of the Bishops' Conference, said there appeared to be little chance of Father MacNeil being able to return to the priesthood. "In moral terms it would be unacceptable to get anybody pregnant if they are married and you are a priest," he said.
Source: The Scotsman.

Obituary of Rose Dorman MBE of Clydebank, whose Christian principles led her to pioneer credit unions in Scotland.
Source: The Herald.

A Christian church is teaming up with a city mosque for a house-building mercy mission to an impoverished Asian country. The Nicolson Square Methodist Church and neighbouring Central Mosque are banding together to help some of the poorest people in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. They will be joining the Edinburgh Interfaith Association to form the first UK multi-faith team working for the charity Habitat for Humanity.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

Excellent feature on St Albert's Roman Catholic primary school in Glasgow, where the vast majority of pupils are Muslim and which some would like to become Scotland's first state-funded Muslim school. Wide range of views from 'experts', spokespeople and parents of several faiths at the school gates.
Source: The Herald.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of Scotland's Catholics, has issued a fresh plea for help for poverty-stricken Sudan during a two-week visit to the African country. He said: "I have been in Rwanda, Congo, Ethiopia, but I have never seen anything like this. This is the poorest country I have ever seen."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

The Scottish Parliament is being asked to ditch the Saltire as Scotland’s national flag because its “Christian symbolism” has little relevance to large sections of the population. The Scottish Socialist party wants to replace the Saltire, which features the cross of St Andrew, with a "rainbow" flag reflecting Scotland’s cultural and ethnic diversity. Ian Scott, chairman of the Saltire Society, said: "The idea that Scotland should pretend that it hasn’t got a long Christian heritage is ludicrous." Ayub Khan, chairman of the Multi-Faith Coalition, which represents young Muslims, said: "Whenever I change my car I stick the Saltire badge on the back. I also wear the Saltire on my T-shirt when I go to Pakistan. I have two identities, my first is as a Muslim, and my second as a Scot. I’m proud of the Saltire and don’t think it should be changed."
Source: Sunday Times.

The Free Church of Scotland is under pressure to apologise for its role in the slave trade. Kevin Douglass Green, great-great grandson of one of America’s most famous abolitionists, said the Church accepted £3,000 - now worth £2m - from southern slave owners during a fundraising trip to America in the 1840s. Free Church spokesman Alex MacDonald said: "The Free Church had great struggles of conscience over the issue of its relations with slave-owners, but was very explicit in its condemnation of slavery itself."
Source: Sunday Times.

Hundreds of Scots women are travelling to England every year to have abortions they can not get in Scotland because of long waiting lists or because hospitals here refuse to carry out the procedure on women who are more than 15 weeks pregnant. Private clinics in England regularly terminate pregnancies up to the legal limit of 24 weeks. The Catholic Church blamed the increase on lack of support for new mums. It added: "It is deeply saddening that so many women feel the need to do this."
Source: Sunday Mail.

James Island Presbyterian Church, founded by Scottish minister the Rev Archibald Stobo, celebrates its 300th anniversary this year. Mr Stobo originally crossed the Atlantic for Darien, but discovered that the Panama colony's original settlers had been killed or assimilated into the culture of local Indian tribes.
Source: Charleston Post and Courier.

Sister Clare McHale and Sister Patricia Mitchell, who worked with parishes in Lochaber for more than 20 years, were given a send off by pupils and staff at Lochyside Primary school, close to their convent, which is to close because of lack of numbers. After three months in New Mexico, Sister Patricia will work in an inner city area of Newcastle while Sister Clare becomes involved in student chaplaincy in Oxford.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

Leven's only Roman Catholic church is set to close its doors in Easter. A shortage of priests and the hefty cost of maintaining the church signalled the end for St Peter's on Durie Street.
Source: Fife Now - East Fife Mail.

Edinburgh's ten-year-old Metropolitan Community Church has appointed a new pastor. Rev Kerri Mesner will be installed on Saturday at 2pm in Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge. The congregation was founded in 1995 by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and has been involved in equality campaigns.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

In next month's issue of the Church of Scotland's magazine, MSP and former Scottish Executive minister Wendy Alexander reflects on her faith and how it has shaped her political views. And following a year of dramatic natural disasters around the world, including famine in Africa, hurricane flooding in the US and a devastating earthquake in Pakistan, former Moderator the Very Rev Dr James Simpson offers a theological perspective, explaining how God shares our grief.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Worshippers at a growing church in the west of Fife could soon be forced to turn the volume down after a flood of complaints from neighbouring residents. People living next to Vine Church in the Garvock Hill area of Dunfermline have bombarded Fife Council with letters and phone calls about noise levels from the former factory.
Source: Dundee Courier.

Profile of St Albert's primary school in Glasgow - a typical Catholic school where around 90 per cent of the pupils are Muslim.
Source: The Scotsman.

Wendy Alexander, a leading figure in Scottish Labour, has spoken publicly for the first time about her Christian faith and giving up her dream of becoming a medical missionary in Malawi. She talks about having been the daughter of a Church of Scotland minister in Bishopton, at a church where Annabel Goldie, the Tory leader, was an elder.
Source: The Herald.

Wendy Alexander revealed yesterday that she worked in Africa as a missionary before deciding she could achieve more by going into politics. The former Holyrood cabinet minister spent time as a medical missionary for the Church of Scotland in Malawi but quit when she was 18, much to the disappointment of her grandmother, who had been a missionary before her.
Source: The Scotsman.

A Celtic fan has been fined £300 for singing a sectarian song normally association with Rangers. Mark Shaw, who was caught singing the "Billy Boys" song last October in Greenock, admitted breach of the peace, aggravated by religious prejudice.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.

Kenyan-born father-of-two John Ragwar, whose wife Karen is a Church of Scotland clerk, has been granted leave to appeal against his deportation following an outcry by his supporters.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

Scottish ministers are battling to have a potential £8.5 million compensation claim from scores of abused former school pupils thrown out, despite a public apology for their suffering from the First Minister, Jack McConnell. The Executive is appealing against a judge's ruling that appeared to pave the way for legal actions from 170 ex-pupils of three residential schools run by monks from the Catholic order De La Salle.
Source: The Scotsman.

Doctors broke the law to help nearly 3,000 patients die in a single year, according to new research, published in the journal Palliative Medicine, which has reignited the debate on euthanasia. Morag Mylne, convener of the Church of Scotland's church and society council, said the Kirk was against legalising euthanasia or liberalising the law.
Source: The Scotsman.

Former Scottish cabinet minister Wendy Alexander has admitted she was not ready to lead Scotland after the resignation of ex-First Minister Henry McLeish. The MSP was tipped to succeed Mr McLeish but opted not to run for the post, controversially withdrawing from the cabinet five months later to concentrate on policy-making from the backbenches. Ms Alexander told the Church of Scotland's Life and Work magazine of her decision to quit: "I think both having a religious upbringing and being a woman contributed to it. Being a woman partly because women do tend to live their lives in cycles and it's possible to believe that wisdom does come with age. I think also that having a Christian faith gives you a sense that prophecy isn't something that always goes with youth."
Source: The Scotsman.

The Orange Order plans to stage its biggest parade in Scotland on Glasgow Green again on July 1 this year after talks with the City Council over switching the venue to Bellahouston Park ended in deadlock.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.

Carmelite monk Mark Paterson was yesterday convicted of at Aberdeen Sheriff Court of sexually assaulting a woman at the Aberdeen University Chaplaincy between August 2002 and May 2004, when the religious centre in Old Aberdeen's High Street was run by Carmelite friars. Sentence was deferred.
Source: The Scotsman.

The Bishop of Motherwell last night called on the Catholic Church in Scotland to stop "cowering" before the government. The Rt Rev Joseph Devine warned Christians against the "creeping political correctness" that was stifling religious expression. He said: "The situation is that there are people in authority in this country who are determined to stamp out all Christian influence. They regard the Church as a social nuisance." Bishop Devine also claimed there was "worrying evidence" that the law was being used to "intimidate and silence" the expression of Christian views.
Source: The Herald.

Rev John Bell of the Iona Community is to be a guest speaker during 'Living the Questions', a 12-week program scheduled at Vermont Street United Methodist Church in Quincy, Illinois.
Source: Quincy Herald Whig.

The new Roman Catholic Bishop of Paisley will hold talks with community leaders next week. Bishop Philip Tartaglia will meet East Renfrewshire Provost Betty Cunningham, council leader Jim Fletcher and other officials at a civic lunch.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell is speaking at a fund-raising event at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow organised the Jewish National Fund (JNF).
Source: BBC Scotland News.

An Islamic campaign group has called for a Catholic primary school to be based on the Muslim faith. The Campaign for Muslim Schools said 90 per cent of pupils at St Albert's Primary, in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, are Muslim, yet children are having to take part in Catholic rituals like saying the Lord's Prayer and attending mass. Osama Saeed, co-ordinator of the alliance of Glasgow's main mosques and Muslim organisations, said he could see no reason why the main faith of the school should not change.
Source: The Scotsman.

The ethical debate over the role of genetic research has taken a new twist after the Church of Scotland claimed plans to liberalise stem-cell laws would effectively authorise "murder". The Kirk argues in a new report that human embryos have the same moral status as newborn babies and should not be treated as "research objects". The report by Donald Bruce, director of the church's science, religion and technology project, says the use of stem-cell research should be "absolutely impermissible". Ian Gibson, the Labour MP who chaired the Commons select committee on science and technology when it produced a report on the issue last year, said last night that the tone of the Kirk's intervention was "appalling". Mr Gibson, who holds a PhD in genetics from Edinburgh University, said: "They're trying to scare the public about the nasty, horrible people in white coats, when in fact this research is for the best of medical purposes."
Source: The Scotsman.

Helen Martin comments: "We live in strange times when to be "spiritual" is good, cool, enlightened and fashionable but to be "religious" is suspicious, old-fashioned and partisan. Cuban heels are more in vogue than church membership. I was taken aback by the furore that greeted Cardinal Keith O'Brien's statement that people of other religions living here should realise they are in a Christian country."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.