Scots Catholic

News and views on faith and life from a Catholic in Scotland. Visit

[Being Catholic TV @BeingCatholicTV]

COMING TOMORROW | Unpacking Magnifica Humanitas

Everyone thinks Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical is about Artificial Intelligence.

But is that really the story?

Tomorrow, Bishop Frank Dougan and Fr Michael Kane sit down for a discussion exploring Magnifica Humanitas and what Pope Leo's new encyclical has to say about AI, human dignity and the kind of world we are choosing to build.

🎥 Unpacking Magnifica Humanitas

Tomorrow at 7pm on Being Catholic TV.

[Scots Catholic @ScotsCatholic]

Christ is Risen!

[RC Politics @rcpoliticsuk]

𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

MSPs can be confident that they have taken the correct and responsible course of action. Their vote serves to protect some of Scotland’s most vulnerable individuals from the risk of being pressured into a premature death.

Every human life possesses inherent value. Genuine compassion is not expressed through ending a life, but through accompanying those who suffer and ensuring they receive the medical, emotional, and spiritual support that recognises their dignity. No life is without worth.

As a society, our responsibility is not to address suffering by eliminating the sufferer, but to surround each person with care, respect, and dignity until their natural end. Today’s decision moves Scotland further in that direction, and MSPs should be commended for this. However, we must continue to make progress.

Our next priority must be to strengthen palliative care by ensuring that it is properly funded and accessible to all who require it.

I would like to express my gratitude to all MSPs for their serious engagement with this issue and for the thoughtful and considered attention they have given to the bill. I am especially grateful to those who upheld the principle of human dignity and advocated on behalf of the vulnerable. Your principled commitment has not gone unnoticed.

Bishop John Keenan, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

[RC Politics @rcpoliticsuk]

𝗠𝗦𝗣𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘀

The Scottish Parliament stands at a moment of profound moral consequence. On Tuesday, MSPs will cast their final vote on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill—legislation that would change healthcare forever by permitting, for the first time, physician-assisted suicide.

This Bill is a serious threat to vulnerable Scots, including the elderly, disabled, those who suffer from poor mental health, and victims of domestic abuse. In a world that often prizes independence, those who are vulnerable can easily feel like a burden.

An amendment to the Bill that would have prevented doctors from being able to raise assisted suicide unprompted with patients, was rejected; a decision that, in one move, dismantles thousands of years of Hippocratic tradition of ‘first do no harm’.

This decision only adds to already significant concerns expressed by MSPs about the risk of coercion, demonstrating a keen awareness of their responsibility to protect vulnerable people from this threat.

The crucial conscientious objection clauses that offered protection to doctors have been stripped out of the Bill which means MSPs will be asked to vote on an incomplete Bill devoid of a key protection for healthcare workers. This has moved the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Scotland to switch from a position of neutrality to one of opposition to the Bill.

Furthermore, an institutional opt-out was disappointingly voted down by MSPs, meaning Catholic hospices and care homes would be forced to close rather than provide assisted suicides in a hammer blow to an already creaking palliative care system.

True compassion is not found in killing but in walking with those who suffer, ensuring they receive the medical, emotional, and spiritual care that affirms their inherent worth. Every person—regardless of age, illness, disability, or circumstance—is a gift from God. There is no such thing as a life without value. Our task as a society is not to eliminate suffering by eliminating the sufferer, but to surround every individual with love, support, and dignity until their natural end.

I understand how the choice before our MSPs is unenviable, because it is now a binary one; either they vote to allow some citizens a new autonomy, or they vote to protect thousands of vulnerable and fearful Scots who do not want this legislation and who will suffer most if this Bill passes. They cannot do both at the same time, and I would urge them, in the last analysis, to think of those who, in the months and years ahead, will find themselves defenceless and who, at this moment, are depending on them most.

Bishop John Keenan
President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

[RC Politics @rcpoliticsuk]

Choosing Compassion, Not Assisted Suicide – A Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Scotland https://t.co/gzzjq8ct6U

[Being Catholic TV @BeingCatholicTV]

“The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” - Pope Benedict XVI

[RC Politics @rcpoliticsuk]

MSP withdraws support for Holyrood Assisted Suicide Bill.

The SNP’s Audrey Nicoll cites significant concerns around coercion, the risk of a slippery slope and rejection of reasonable safeguards by Holyrood’s Heath Committee as the reasons why she has changed her mind.

https://t.co/81lV7jzQty

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

Pope Leo Warns of Global Drift Toward Conflict, Urges Renewal of Dialogue and Human Dignity https://t.co/5TbmpcQw2r

[Being Catholic TV @BeingCatholicTV]

This evening, Pope Leo spoke with deep honesty about assisted suicide, following the recent legalisation of euthanasia in his home state of Illinois.

After meeting with the Governor of Illinois, the Holy Father said he was “very disappointed” by the decision and reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on the sacredness of human life, from conception to natural death. He urged people, especially during these Christmas days, to reflect on the goodness and dignity of every human life, reminding us that God became human to show us what it truly means to live a human life.

These words resonate strongly here in Scotland.

As many will know, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is approaching a final Stage 3 vote at Holyrood early next year. This is a critical moment. Religious groups, medical professionals, disability groups and charities are working together to protect the most vulnerable and to uphold the dignity of life at its most fragile.

Pope Leo’s message is about compassion that does not abandon, care that does not hasten death, and a society that values every life until its natural end.

Now is a time for prayer, reflection, and respectful engagement with our MSPs. If you wish to make your voice heard in a courteous and constructive way, you can contact your MSPs and learn more about the legislation here:
👉 https://t.co/dSjJ8Ob88W

“I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence.” — Pope Leo

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

Boiling live lobsters and crabs to be banned in the UK.

Deliberate killing of live unborn humans to continue as normal.

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

We must never forget that, at the heart of this debate, is the innocent life of an unborn child and his or her mother who may be struggling to cope with her pregnancy.
The Scottish Government should focus on what it can do to work with other public bodies and the third sector to provide vital help and support to these vulnerable women instead of following the extreme recommendations of a biased group that lacks both legitimacy and credibility.

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

URGENT - please use this simple tool to contact your MSPs about assisted suicide!
On Tuesday, a group of MSPs rejected amendments that would protect vulnerable people from state-assisted suicide. It is vital that you let your own MSPs know how concerned you are about this deeply troubling development.
Please click below to access the Care Not Killing Scotland online mailing tool and email your MSPs in a few clicks.

[Being Catholic TV @BeingCatholicTV]

Bishops’ Conference of Scotland Announces New Office of Communications and Evangelisation

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

An astoundingly oppressive and undemocratic amendment to Liam McArthur's assisted suicide Bill has been put forward by Patrick Harvie MSP.
The amendment, which would establish censorship zones around hospitals and GP surgeries, is designed to silence any and all possible opposition to assisted suicide within that zone.
This would have a chilling effect on conversations between doctors and patients about suicide.
It will force GP surgeries to take down suicide prevention posters.
It could even prohibit conversations between family members about suicide.
MSPs must reject this amendment and reject this dangerous and sinister Bill.

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

Pope Leo to politicians: be true to Christ and have the courage to suffer for his name https://t.co/Md8oG40XQh
(Image: Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo)

[RC Politics @rcpoliticsuk]

Assisted Suicide Vote this Tuesday!

Please use this updated tool to make one last pitch to your MSPs to vote against the dangerous Assisted Suicide Bill.

Protect the vulnerable and uphold the dignity of life. Vote against this deadly bill!

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

The McArthur bill is drafted so widely that people who are frail will qualify for #AssistedDying -@jamiehepburn @MGallacherMSP @GrahamSMSP #AssistedSuicide via @CNKScotland

[Anthony Horan @AHoran79]

Today is a National Day of Prayer for Life in Scotland.
Please join us in prayer for the defeat of assisted suicide, the safety of the vulnerable and the dignity of life.

[RC Politics @rcpoliticsuk]

As the Scottish Parliament prepares to vote on assisted suicide, join our Day of Prayer for Life this Sunday 4th May.
You can also join online at @BeingCatholicTV

[Scots Catholic @ScotsCatholic]

Requiescat in pace, Papa Francisco

[Vatican News @vaticannews_pt]

#PapaFrancisco