Holy Mass celebrated by Bishops at Holyrood

Bishops from across Scotland gathered at the Scottish Parliament to celebrate Mass with MSPs and staff.

The Mass marked the feast of Ss John Fisher and Thomas More, the patron saint of politicians, and featured

MSPs from all parties and the Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone, attended the Mass, with the Presiding Officer and sponsoring MSP, Mark Griffin, assisting with readings.

Alison Johnstone, the Parliament’s Presiding Officer, reads the bidding prayers during the Mass.

After the Mass, Paul O’Kane MSP presented the bishops with a framed copy of a parliamentary motion welcoming the election of Pope Leo and which attracted cross-party support in the Parliament.

Paul O’Kane MSP presenting Bishop Keenan with a framed copy of a parliamentary motion.

The motion highlights how Pope Leo’s first words from the balcony at St Peter’s Square included the need to “build bridges”.

After accepting the motion and thanking Mr O’Kane, Bishop John Keenan, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said: “That’s what Pontifex literally means, being a bridge builder.

“That’s part of why we are here today – to build bridges between the church and parliament and we appreciate this opportunity to come here, to make friends and discuss things.

“Some things we’ll agree on, some things we won’t, that’s part of the process.

“But there is so much work to be done in Scotland together as we continue to get to know each other, to think how we can work better together for the common good.”

In his homily during the Mass, Archbishop Leo Cushley, said: “One of Pope Francis’ lessons was that we listen to each other and be merciful to each other; listen to each other without prejudice and with humility and goodness and openness of heart.

“The Bishops and the Catholic Church in Scotland is a willing and open partner to work with you and to listen to you and, for our part, to accompany you when we possibly can.”

Archbishop on dangers of Assisted Suicide

Archbishop Leo Cushley visited the Scottish Parliament to highlight the dangers to vulnerable people of legalising assisted suicide.

He met with MSPs from the three largest parties yesterday ahead of a Spring vote on the Assisted Dying (Terminally Ill Adults) Bill.

All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament are being given a special scroll which highlights heartbreaking cases where vulnerable people have either died as a result of an assisted death or have been offered it instead of care, including

Archbishop Cushley said: “I was pleased to meet MSPs from different parties who are very concerned about the Assisted Dying Bill.

“There are arguments in favour of choice, and in a democracy we have to consider them. But more importantly we must have a special concern for the poorest and the weakest in our society.

Archbishop Cushley and Paul Atkin, Pro-Life Officer for the Archdiocese, with a promotional copy of the scroll.

“In other countries where this has taken place, they are the ones to suffer, they have been the ones who have died as a result of this.”

Mark Griffin, Labour MSP for Central Region, said: “The proponents of legislation talk about ‘a choice’, but I have a real concern that a choice becomes an obligation.

“People may feel that they are a burden on society or their families, when that couldn’t be further from the truth; people want to look out for their family, they want to look out for their loved ones, and any kind of societal change that flips that perception needs to be avoided at all costs. That’s a real danger in this legislation.

“There are no safeguards strong enough to protect the most vulnerable in society. This Bill will put them at risk.”

This article reproduced with kind permission from the Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office. See the scroll here. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has strongly opposed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, urging UK Parliamentarians to abandon it in a submission to Bill’s Committee.