Pope Francis commended the deepening Catholic-Protestant friendship in Scotland during a recent meeting with leaders of the Church of Scotland. “We talked about how we both recognised ourselves in what is happening to the ordinary people there and how we need to recognise our common humanity more openly” said Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, the Moderator Read more
Princess Anne has officially endorsed a historic friendship agreement between the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church in Scotland. Anne, Princess Royal, formally signed the St Margaret’s Declaration at Dunfermline Abbey in Fife. The Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly and the Most Rev’d Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St Andrews Read more
Scotland’s Catholic bishops and the leader of the Church of Scotland have agreed to a Declaration of Friendship in a monumental agreement more than 100 years in the making. The declaration speaks of the shared faith and common ground that unites the Churches, saying “We recognise each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and Read more
More than 70 Church of Scotland delegates – including the outgoing moderator the Very Rev Susan Brown – have formally lodged their frustration at the decision of its general assembly not to divest from fossil fuels, with advocates describing Wednesday’s vote as “an embarrassing abdication of moral leadership”. Although the general assembly voted to “recognise Read more
Very Rev Dr Sheilagh Kesting has been named a Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Francis. She is a former moderator of the Church of Scotland. She was awarded the honour for her ecumenical work. Read more
Scotland’s Catholic Church must change its culture and theology to protect children in its care, says the Protestant minister asked to review its safeguards. Dr Andrew McLellan announced the remit and membership of a new commission to investigate how the Catholic Church handles abuse. The former Moderator of the Church of Scotland believes his own Read more
The Bishop of Aberdeen, Hugh Gilbert, on Sunday issued an apology for the abuse allegedly suffered by young boys at a Scottish boarding school over 30 years. “It is a most bitter, and distressing and shameful thing that in this former Abbey school there were a small number of baptised, consecrated, ordained Christian men, who Read more
A retired social worker in Scotland who did a research on “problem priests” said a “secret archives” of the Church could contain allegations of sexual abuse by as many as 100 priests and other staff in cases stretching back 50 years. Alan Draper said an independent commission should be allowed access to the archives of Read more
Scotland is pushing to become the first UK nation to introduce legislature approving same-sex marriage, though their plans are being opposed both by the Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland. Currently, Scotland allows for same-sex civil partnerships, but an entire “rainbow coalition” of organisations, which includes the Equality Network, Amnesty International, Unison and the Read more