The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

17th March 2026

17 March 2026

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

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.

Members of The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

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November 2025

23Nov

Report: One-third of recent Catholic priests in England are Anglican converts

23 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/amp/news/267967/one-third-of-recent-catholic-priests-in-england-are-anglican-converts-according-to-new-report

The U.K. has seen a significant rise in Anglican clergy, including bishops, converting to Catholicism, according to a new report released Nov. 20.

23Nov

'Demise of the Kirk has had negative effect on Scotland

23 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25641313.historian-tom-devine-catholic-mourns-demise-church-scotland/

'The Church of Scotland has not always in the past been kind to people like me who are Roman Catholics,' says historian Sir Tom Devine but he…

23Nov

Over 300 students kidnapped from Catholic school in Nigeria - Vatican News

23 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Pray for them 🙏🙏🙏

Gunmen stormed and kidnapped more than 300 students at a Catholic school in Nigeria. The United States and local Church have condemned the act, voiced ...

23Nov

Who can tame Trump?

23 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/23/who-can-tame-trump-pope-leo-xiv-catholic-church-usa

Inequality, immigration and civil rights are the battlegrounds on which the church, and some other Christian denominations, are fighting, says Guardian foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall

23Nov

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, formerly referred to as "Christ the King," was established by Pope...

23 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, formerly referred to as "Christ the King," was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man's thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ's royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.
Today's Mass establishes the titles for Christ's royalty over men: 1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; "All things were created by Him"; 2) Christ is our Redeemer, He purchased us by His precious Blood, and made us His property and possession; 3) Christ is Head of the Church, "holding in all things the primacy"; 4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.
Today's Mass also describes the qualities of Christ's kingdom. This kingdom is: 1) supreme, extending not only to all people but also to their princes and kings; 2) universal, extending to all nations and to all places; 3) eternal, for "The Lord shall sit a King forever"; 4) spiritual, Christ's "kingdom is not of this world." —Rt. Rev. Msgr. Rudolph G. Gandas
Today is the The Annual Global Celebration of Youth and Young Adults.

22Nov

The name of St

22 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

The name of St. Cecilia has always been most illustrious in the church, and ever since the primitive ages is mentioned with distinction in the canon of the Mass, and in the sacramentaries and calendars of the church. Her spouse Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus, an officer, who were her companions in martyrdom, are also mentioned in the same authentic and venerable writings.

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/cecilia-520

22Nov

Human Dignity is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching

22 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Human Dignity is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching. The Church teaches that we are made in the image and likeness of God and that human life is sacred.
Each week we will reflect on a quote that demonstrates this vision for society.

22Nov

🩵DIGNITY NOT DETENTION🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

22 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

🩵DIGNITY NOT DETENTION🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

On St Andrew’s Day, Justice & Peace Scotland invites you to ‘Dignity Not Detention’, a peaceful solidarity gathering outside Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre.

In a climate of increasing hostility around immigration this small act of witness is a way to offer an alternative message of fraternity and compassion.

The UK remains the only country in Europe with no statutory time limit on immigration detention. This means that people can be held in prison-like conditions indefinitely, with no idea when they will be released. The prolonged uncertainty causes profound mental distress, exacerbates trauma, and tears individuals away from their communities, studies, work, and families.

We gather to bring attention to this unjust and inhumane practice, mindful of Pope Leo’s recent reflections on the moral responsibilities governments bear in shaping their immigration systems:

“I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”

📆Sunday 30th November
🕐1.00PM
📍Dungavel IRC, Strathaven, ML10 6RF

21Nov

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Health Committee have voted to allow doctors to initiate discussions about assisted suicide un...

21 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Health Committee have voted to allow doctors to initiate discussions about assisted suicide under the proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill. This follows the rejection of several key safeguards designed to protect vulnerable people — including limits on eligibility, protections for those affected by poverty or poor housing, and transparency around complications from lethal drugs.

Allowing doctors to raise assisted suicide unprompted marks a serious shift in the doctor–patient relationship and increases the risk of subtle pressure being placed on those who are already vulnerable.

Contact your MSP today and make your voice heard:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

21Nov

A post from Bishops' Conference of Scotland

21 Nov, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |