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

3rd September 2026

3 September 2026

Scotland Must Stand with Both Mother and Child

I note with concern the Scottish Government’s response to a recent parliamentary question on abortion law and access to later-stage abortion services. While the Government has indicated that it has no immediate plans to reform abortion law in 2026–27, it has also reaffirmed its intention to consult on the recommendations of the abortion law review advisory group and to establish a nationally commissioned later-stage abortion service in Scotland.

The advisory group, which excluded prolife voices and which adopted a principle of “non-regression” on abortion provision, lacks both legitimacy and credibility. It has made radical recommendations to the Scottish Government which, if implemented, would effectively permit abortion up to birth for any reason and remove the current requirement for two doctors to approve abortions up to 24 weeks. It is astonishing that the report also recommends that future legislation should make no reference to sex-selective abortion, paving the way for unborn babies to be aborted simply because they are deemed to be the wrong sex.

I recognise the real fear, pressure and hardship that can accompany an unexpected or crisis pregnancy. Women in such circumstances deserve compassion, practical assistance, emotional support and the assurance that neither they nor their children will be abandoned. A truly caring society must respond to vulnerability by offering hope and help, not by making abortion more readily available at later stages of pregnancy.

The establishment of later-stage abortion provision in Scotland, alongside proposals to weaken existing legal safeguards, raises grave moral and social questions. Every unborn child is a unique human life deserving of protection, and every mother should be supported in ways that uphold her dignity and the dignity of her child. I therefore make a direct appeal to all elected representatives who recognise the inherent dignity of every human life, to reject any further liberalisation of abortion provisions in Scotland and to oppose measures that would remove essential safeguards or further weaken protection for unborn children.

I urge the Scottish Government and all MSPs to prioritise policies that expand support for women and families, reduce the pressures that lead to abortion, and foster a culture in which every life is welcomed and protected from conception to natural death. Scotland should aspire to be a nation where compassion means standing with both mother and child.

Bishop John Keenan,

President of the National Office for Marriage, Family and Life, Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

...ENDS

Notes for editors

Photo of Bishop John Keenan: Photo of Bishop John Keenan

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]

21st August 2026

21 August 2026

Final appeal to Catholics ahead of Westminster assisted suicide vote

Bishop John Keenan has issued a pastoral letter urging Catholics across Scotland to contact their MPs ahead of the return of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to the House of Commons on Friday 11 September.

The Bill, reintroduced by Lauren Edwards MP, would permit eligible terminally ill adults in England and Wales to receive assistance to end their lives. A similar Bill was defeated in the Scottish Parliament last March.

Although this new legislation would apply only to England and Wales, Bishop Keenan stresses that this remains an important moment for Catholics in Scotland. The outcome at Westminster could have significant consequences north of the border and potentially reignite attempts to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland.

In his letter, Bishop Keenan describes the coming vote as a “grave moment for the protection of human life” and urges Catholics to contact their MPs “without delay” and ask them to oppose the Bill.

Bishop Keenan said:

“Our opposition to assisted suicide is rooted in compassion. Every person, from conception until natural death, possesses an inviolable dignity as one made in the image and likeness of God.”

Warning particularly of the potential consequences for vulnerable people, he added:

“Illness, frailty, disability, dependence or fear must never lead society to conclude that some lives are no longer worth living.”

The Bishop calls instead for greater investment in palliative and hospice care and better support for carers, insisting that “the proper response to suffering is care, presence, skilled palliative medicine and practical support—not the deliberate ending of life.”

Scotland’s Catholic bishops encourage all who stand on the side of life to contact their MP today and without delay, asking them to protect vulnerable people, support better palliative and hospice care, and vote against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

...ENDS

Notes to Editor

Photo of the Bishop John Keenan: https://www.bcos.org.uk/portals/0/@publications/photos/bishop%20john%20keenan.gif

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Keenan: https://www.bcos.org.uk/portals/0/@publications/letters/Pastoral Letter - Assisted Suicide Westminster - August 2026.pdf

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. Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

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

June 2026

06Jun

Photos from Bishops' Conference of Scotland's post

06 Jun, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Pope Leo XIV has left Rome and is now en route to Madrid aboard the papal plane, marking the start of his seven-day Apostolic Journey to Spain.

📸 Vatican Media

06Jun

Gospel

06 Jun, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Gospel
Mark 12:38-44
‘This poor widow has put in more than everyone.’

At that time: In his teaching Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the market-places, and have the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honour at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and, for a pretence, make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’

05Jun

Holy Mass of the Memorial of Saint Boniface | 05 June 2026

05 Jun, 2026 | Being Catholic | Being Catholic |

Holy Mass of the Memorial of Saint Boniface | 05 June 2026
This music is licensed under one license number: A-623356

05Jun

Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his lif...

05 Jun, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his Christian orthodoxy and his fidelity to the pope of Rome.

How absolutely necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out by the conditions Saint Boniface found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II. Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were in many instances uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops. In particular instances their very ordinations were questionable.

These are the conditions that Saint Boniface was to report in 722 on his first return visit to Rome. The Holy Father instructed him to reform the German Church. The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders. Boniface later admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint, without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was finally made a regional bishop and authorized to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful.

In the Frankish kingdom, he met great problems because of lay interference in bishops’ elections, the worldliness of the clergy and lack of papal control.

During a final mission to the Frisians, Boniface and 53 companions were massacred while he was preparing converts for confirmation.

In order to restore the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, Saint Boniface had been guided by two principles. The first was to restore the obedience of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope of Rome. The second was the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries. A great number of Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns followed him to the continent, where he introduced the Benedictine nuns to the active apostolate of education.

05Jun

Gospel

05 Jun, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Gospel
Mark 12:35-37
‘How can they say that the Christ is the son of David?’

At that time: As Jesus taught in the Temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’ ” David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?’ And the great throng heard him gladly.

04Jun

Football is a universal pursuit that brings joy and happiness to millions of people throughout the world

04 Jun, 2026 | Missio Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Football is a universal pursuit that brings joy and happiness to millions of people throughout the world. In many ways, it mirrors the joy and happiness that the universal Church brings to people across the continents through our beloved faith and that's something to celebrate!

04Jun

Gospel

04 Jun, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Gospel
Mark 12:28b-34
‘You shall love the Lord your God. You shall love your neighbour.’

At that time: One of the scribes came up to Jesus and asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

03Jun

What holds a life together?

03 Jun, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

What holds a life together?

In tonight’s video, Bishop Hugh Gilbert reflects on the meaning behind his episcopal motto: “In him all things hold together.”

Taken from St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, Bishop Hugh shares how these words have shaped his understanding of faith, reminding us that amid the complexity of life, it is Christ who brings unity, purpose and meaning.

Reflecting on our relationships, activities and responsibilities, Bishop Hugh explains why Christ remains the centre around which everything finds its proper place.

Watch now as Bishop Hugh shares the inspiration behind his motto.

03Jun

Holy Mass of the Memorial of Saints Charles Lwanga and Companions | 03 June 2026

03 Jun, 2026 | Being Catholic | Being Catholic |

Holy Mass of the Memorial of Saints Charles Lwanga and Companions | 03 June 2026
This music is licensed under one license number: A-623356

03Jun

Saint Charles Lwanga was one of the 22 Ugandan Martyrs who gave their lives for Christ in the late nineteenth century

03 Jun, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | Being Catholic |

Saint Charles Lwanga was one of the 22 Ugandan Martyrs who gave their lives for Christ in the late nineteenth century. He embraced the Catholic faith and was baptised in November 1885, less than a year before his martyrdom. He became a courageous witness to the Gospel and a moral leader among the young pages of the royal court.

As chief of the royal pages, Charles was respected for his strength, leadership, and character. He instructed many of his companions in the Catholic faith and even baptised some of the younger boys himself. During a time of growing persecution under the ruler Mwanga, Charles encouraged his fellow pages to remain faithful to Christ and to live lives of purity and courage.

Mwanga, influenced by fear and superstition, began to see Christianity as a threat to his power. Christians refused to take part in immoral acts, violence, and pagan worship, which caused suspicion within the royal court. Charles and his companions were eventually imprisoned for refusing the king’s demands and for remaining steadfast in their faith.

Condemned to death, Charles faced martyrdom with remarkable peace. On 3 June 1886, at Namugongo, he was burned alive for refusing to renounce his faith. Even in the face of death, he remained calm and prayerful, offering his life for Christ.

When Pope Paul VI canonised Charles Lwanga and his companions in 1964, the Church recognised their extraordinary witness of faith, purity, and courage. Today, Saint Charles Lwanga is honoured as the patron saint of African youth and Catholic Action throughout much of Africa.