• edinburgh2
  • ayr2
  • glasgow1
  • edinburgh1
  • ayr1
  • oban1
  • Slider1
  • Slider1
  • fortrose1
  • paisley1

The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

24th February 2026


24 February 2026

Statement on the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill

The Bishops thank the Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES) and the Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office (SCPO) for the considerable work undertaken to present the Church’s strongly held views on this issue.

We recognise a number of important protections which have been secured. Religious Education remains a central part of the curriculum and will continue to be an entitlement for all pupils. In Catholic schools, Religious Education will remain within the authority of the Bishops’ Conference. The Scottish Government has acknowledged the intrinsic nature of Religious Education and Religious Observance in Catholic schools and, despite these being de-coupled in law, has committed to respecting and continuing both. The Government has also committed to involving SCES in drafting the statutory guidance. Furthermore, the retention of the term “Religious Instruction” in law ensures that the Religious Character of Catholic schools is not reduced solely to classroom learning.


However, we are deeply concerned by the decision to grant Scottish Ministers the power to introduce regulations that would permit young people to withdraw from religious observance without parental involvement. Article 14 of the UNCRC is often quoted selectively, overlooking its clear emphasis on the essential role of parents in a child’s religious upbringing. This narrative risks creating a false divide between children’s rights and parental responsibilities. Any future legislation must uphold the UNCRC’s intention to support families, not diminish their role.

We remain deeply concerned at the official policy of the Scottish Greens to impose a fully secular model of state education – an approach that would strip away Scotland’s denominational schools entirely.
We will work firmly and constructively with the Scottish Government to ensure that Catholic schools continue to be protected in law and safeguarded for the communities they serve.


ENDS

Contact:
Media Office

Bishops’ Conference of Scotland
64 Aitken Street, ML6 6LT
Tel: 01236 764061
Email: [email protected]

The Roman Catholic Bishops in Scotland work together to undertake nationwide initiatives through their Commissions and Agencies.

The members of the Bishops' Conference are the Bishops of the eight Scottish Dioceses. Where appropriate the Bishops Emeriti (retired) provide a much welcomed contribution to the work of the conference. The Bishops' Conference of Scotland is a permanently constituted assembly which meets regularly throughout the year to address relevant business matters.

Being Catholic TV

Members of The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. 

To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

News from the Commissions and Agencies

Archive by category: BCoS FacebookReturn
March 2024
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-03/pope-francis-angelus-appeal-prayer-moscow-ukraine.html


Pope Francis offers his prayers for the victims of Friday’s terrorist attack on a concert hall in the Russian capital of Moscow, and invites everyone ...

(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More



We are celebrating the beauty of life on National Pro-Life Chalk Day!???? Every life in the womb deserves the right to life!??

(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More



Palm Sunday
#art #artist #artgallery #painting

(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More
https://stpaulcenter.com/audio/sunday-bible-reflections/darkness-at-noon-scott-hahn-reflects-on-passion-sunday/


Crowned with thorns, our Lord is lifted up on the Cross, where He dies as “King of the Jews.” Notice how many times He is called “king” in today’s Gospel—mostly in scorn and mockery.As we hear the long accounts of His Passion, at every turn we must remind ourselves—He suffered this

(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/2024/03/catholic-archbishop-speaks-of-horror-and-pain-of-terrorist-attack-in-moscow


Archbishop Pavel Pezzi of Moscow on Saturday offered his “deepest condolences” to the victims and relatives of a “brutal terrorist attack” in Russia’s capital on Friday evening.

(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More
When was the first Papal visit to Scotland?


THE cathedral in Siena stands at the top of the city’s central Campo, around which are grouped the spectacularly beautiful Renaissance buildings…

(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More
Our prayers are with Princess Kate and all those fighting cancer

Prayer to St. Peregrine, Patron of Cancer Patients
Glorious wonder-worker, St. Peregrine,
You answered the divine call
With a ready spirit,
And forsook all the comforts of the world
To dedicate yourself to God
In the Order of His Most Holy Mother.

You labored manfully
For the salvation of souls;
And in union with Jesus Crucified
You endured the most painful sufferings
With such patience
As to deserve to be
Healed miraculously
Of an incurable cancer
In your leg by a touch
Of his divine hand.

Obtain for me
The grace to answer
Every call of God
And to fulfill His Will
In all the events of life.

Enkindle in my heart
A consuming zeal
For the salvation of souls;
Deliver me from the infirmities
that afflict my body

(State your intention(s) here)

Obtain for me
Perfect resignation to the sufferings
It may please God to send me,
So that, imitating our Crucified Savior
And His Sorrowful Mother,
I may merit eternal glory in heaven. Amen.

St. Peregrine, pray for me
And for all who invoke your aid.

St. Peregrine, pray for me
And for all who invoke your aid.

St. Peregrine, pray for me
And for all who invoke your aid.



(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-03/gaza-strip-parish-priest-suffering-violence-war.html


Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza, speaks of the “extremely grave” situation in the Gaza Strip, ...

(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
Read More
Page 179 of 188 [179]