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The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

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.

Members of The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

25th October 2026


25 October 2026

Archbishop Cushley welcomes honour for Pope Leo

Archbishop Leo Cushley has welcomed the announcement that Pope Leo XIV has accepted an invitation to become Papal Confrater of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Archbishop Cushley is the Bishop President for Ecumenical Relations of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.

This honour follows The King’s own appointment as Royal Confrater of the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome during his State Visit to the Vatican in October last year.

Welcoming the announcement, Archbishop Cushley said:

“I warmly welcome the news that His Majesty The King has approved the nomination of Pope Leo as Papal Confrater of the College of St George at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. By this gesture, both His Majesty and the Holy Father have shown their clear wish to promote Christian unity through emphasis on all that we treasure in common, not least our respect and friendship for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

...ENDS

Notes for editors

  • Photo of Bishops’ Conference of Scotland: Photo of Bishops' Conference of Scotland
  • The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland (BCoS) is the assembly of the Catholic bishops of Scotland, working together on national pastoral, social and legislative matters on behalf of the Church. www.bcos.org.uk
  • For further information, contact Fr Michael Kane, Director of the Communications and Evangelisation Office. Email: [email protected]

Contact:

Media Office

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

23rd October 2026


23 October 2026

The UK Budget, to be delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 28 October, will set out the UK Government’s plans for taxation and public spending alongside an independent assessment of the economic and fiscal outlook from the Office for Budget Responsibility. Its decisions will shape the resources available for public services, devolved governments and support for households and communities across the country.

The Catholic Parliamentary Office of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland urges the Chancellor to put human dignity and the common good at the heart of the Budget.

That means tackling poverty in all its forms, protecting people who need care, sustaining families and community services, and reversing international aid cuts. Poverty, inadequate housing and healthcare, family breakdown, unemployment and environmental neglect all undermine the dignity of individuals and the wellbeing of society.

For households struggling with living costs, this must include targeted energy support for those unable to afford adequate heating, alongside sustained investment in affordable housing and warmer homes. The Budget must address the cost-of-living crisis head on and provide the support people need to meet essential costs, keep their homes warm and live with dignity.

The welfare system must also provide adequate support for those in need and practical routes into employment for those able to work.

Alongside these commitments, the Budget must provide sustainable funding settlements that enable devolved governments to support all these key areas.

Our responsibility to those in need also extends beyond our borders. We urge the UK Government to reverse the planned cut in Official Development Assistance from 0.5% to 0.3% of national income by 2027 and work towards restoring 0.7%. This would support low-income countries and protect essential humanitarian and development programmes from further disruption.

The same commitment to human dignity must guide our response to refugees and people seeking asylum. We urge the UK Government to provide safe, legal routes to protection, including resettlement and family reunion, backed by adequate funding. The Budget should also support local authorities and community organisations to welcome people seeking safety and help them rebuild their lives.

Community organisations also play a vital role in supporting people in need. They require fair, sustainable and predictable funding, and their experience must help shape policy.

Finally, care for the environment must go hand in hand with care for those most affected by change. The Chancellor must provide predictable international climate finance for communities in greatest need and protect low-income households from disproportionate costs in the transition to cleaner energy.

..ENDS

Notes for editors

  • Photo of Bishops’ Conference of Scotland: Photo of Bishops' Conference of Scotland
  • The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland (BCoS) is the assembly of the Catholic bishops of Scotland, working together on national pastoral, social and legislative matters on behalf of the Church. www.bcos.org.uk
  • For further information, contact Fr Michael Kane, Director of the Communications and Evangelisation Office. Email: [email protected]

Contact:

Media Office

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

22nd October 2026


22 October 2026

Statement from the Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Bishop John Keenan, Bishop of Paisley and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, has announced that he is stepping back from his daily duties until further notice, following medical advice.
Bishop Keenan has been undergoing medical investigations and will require further tests and examinations over the coming weeks.
During this time, Vicar General Monsignor Joe Burke will oversee the day-to-day running of the Diocese of Paisley.
Bishop Keenan hopes to provide a further update once these investigations are concluded and is grateful for your prayers at this time.

...ENDS

Notes for editors

  • The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland (BCoS) is the assembly of the Catholic bishops of Scotland, working together on national pastoral, social and legislative matters on behalf of the Church. www.bcos.org.uk
  • For further information, contact Fr Michael Kane, Director of the Communications and Evangelisation Office. Email: [email protected]

Contact:

Media Office

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

News from the Commissions and Agencies

Archive by category: BCoS FacebookReturn
March 2024
ST. PATRICK'S BREASTPLATE:
PRAYER FOR PROTECTION
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the
invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth
with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion
with His burial,
Through the strength of His
resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for
the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of
cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet
with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those
evils,
Against every cruel and merciless
power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths
and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts
man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an
abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who
thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who
speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.



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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Christ beside me,
before me,
behind me,
within me,
beneath me,
above me.

- St. Patrick ????

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All human activity is to find its purification in the Paschal mystery

Holy Scripture, with which the experience of the ages is in agreement, teaches the human family that human progress, though it is a great blessing for man, brings with it a great temptation. When the scale of values is disturbed and evil becomes mixed with good, individuals and groups consider only their own interests, not those of others.
The result is that the world is not yet a home of true brotherhood, while the increased power of mankind already threatens to destroy the human race itself.
If it is asked how this unhappy state of affairs can be set right, Christians state their belief that all human activity, in daily jeopardy through pride and inordinate self-love, is to find its purification and its perfection in the cross and resurrection of Christ.
Man, redeemed by Christ and made a new creation in the Holy Spirit, can and must love the very things created by God. For he receives them from God, and sees and reveres them as coming from the hand of God.
As he gives thanks for them to his Benefactor, and uses and enjoys them in a spirit of poverty and freedom, he enters into true possession of the world, as one having nothing and possessing all things. For all things are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
The Word of God, through whom all things were made, himself became man and lived in the world of men. As perfect man he has entered into the history of the world, taking it up into himself and bringing it into unity as its head. He reveals to us that God is love, and at the same time teaches us that the fundamental law of human perfection, and therefore of the transformation of the world, is the new commandment of love.
He assures those who have faith in God’s love that the way of love is open to all men, and that the effort to restore universal brotherhood is not in vain. At the same time he warns us that this love is not to be sought after only in great things but also, and above all, in the ordinary circumstances of life.
He suffered death for us all, sinners as we are, and by his example he teaches us that we also have to carry that cross which the flesh and the world lay on the shoulders of those who strive for peace and justice.
Constituted as the Lord by his resurrection, Christ, to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given, is still at work in the hearts of men through the power of his Spirit. Not only does he awaken in them a longing for the world to come, but by that very fact he also inspires, purifies and strengthens those generous desires by which the human family seeks to make its own life more human and to achieve the same goal for the whole world.
The gifts of the Spirit are manifold. He calls some to bear open witness to the longing for a dwelling place in heaven, and to keep this fresh in the minds of all mankind; he calls others to dedicate themselves to the service of men here on earth, preparing by this ministry the material for the kingdom of heaven.
Yet he makes all free, so that, by denying their love of self and taking up all earth’s resources into the life of man, all may reach out to the future, when humanity itself will become an offering acceptable to God.
From Gaudium et Spes



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https://www.spuc.org.uk/manchester-pro-life


Please consider sending a message of solidarity to the pro-life students at the University of Manchester, to ensure they are supported and bolstered in the fight for life!

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https://youtu.be/Bf70FCeCyqg
As Scotland pushes for buffer zones to suffocate the right to life, the right to free expression to support the unborn child and fragile mothers is more threatened than ever in our society by insults and violence. Politicians should take note. Write to your MSP.


Catholic Unscripted invite you to join them at a meeting in London to meet them and support our work of resisting growing action against Christian, Catholic ...

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-03/pope-francis-saints-decrees-metzger-nuns-soviet-union.html


Pope Francis authorizes the promulgation of several decrees recognizing the martyrdom of a priest guillotined in Nazi Germany and 15 German-born nuns ...

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-03/pope-francis-indicates-to-cardinal-grech-ten-themes-for-synod.html


Pope Francis sends a letter to Cardinal Mario Grech, the Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod, and outlines ten discussion points ...

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Bishops’ Conference of Scotland Spring Meeting 2023
From Monday 11th till Wednesday 13th March, the Bishops of Scotland met at Schoenstatt Retreat Centre, Clachan of Campsie for their Spring meeting. Bishop Francis Dougan, newly ordained Bishop of Galloway, came along for the first time and also Canon Kevin Golden, Diocesan administrator of Dunkeld attended for the final time, prior to the episcopal ordination of Fr Martin Chambers on 27th April in Dundee. Also present were Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the UK and Bishop Mar Joseph Srampickal of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy.
Topics discussed included current consultations at Holyrood regarding buffer zones and assisted suicide, ecumenism, including the recent joint pilgrimage of Catholic and Anglican Bishops to Rome and Canterbury for the Octave of Christian Unity, a presentation of the books of the new translation of the lectionary that will be launched in parishes from Advent 2024, by the publishers, the Catholic Truth Society, planning for national pilgrimages in Carfin and St Ninian’s Cave later in the summer, the training of seminarians, ongoing formation of the clergy, safeguarding, care of creation, the new Scottish Catholic Museum and Archive, marriage, family and life issues, Catholic education, the training of deacons and finance.
The Conference was also joined by Fr Bruno Le Peu, of the Paris Foreign Mission Society who spoke about the Catholic Hong Kong communities in Scotland and also by Shabir Beg of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society to mark the anniversary of Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq.
There was also the opportunity for the Conference to celebrate Mass in the Schoenstatt Shrine and pray for the Church in Scotland.



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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-03/fr-faltas-we-cannot-close-our-eyes-to-children-dying-in-gaza.html


In an interview with SIR news agency, the Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land calls for immediate action to save children’s and mothers' lives in ...

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-03/christians-pakistan-punjab-zafar-iqbal-interview.html


As Pope Francis invites the Church to pray during March for Christian martyrs, Fr. Zafar Iqbal highlights the difficulties facing Christians in ...

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Page 241 of 248 [241]