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.

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Archive by tag: Justice and Peace ScotlandReturn

August 2024

28Aug

Are you joining us for the first Season of Creation Conference hosted by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland's Care For Creation...

28 Aug, 2024 | Justice and Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

Are you joining us for the first Season of Creation Conference hosted by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland's Care For Creation Office? It will be a great day of discussion, reflection, ideas and inspiration. 🌱💚

🗓️Sat 7th September, 10am - 3pm
📍St. Margaret's Parish, Raploch, Stirling
🎟️Get your ticket: https://pulse.ly/zgg4zev7oy

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21Aug

FAVOR UK MEMORIAL VIGIL 💟

21 Aug, 2024 | Justice and Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

FAVOR UK MEMORIAL VIGIL 💟

Last night Justice and Peace Scotland braved the rain to stand in solidarity with Faces & Voices of Recovery UK and those impacted by the loss of family members and friends to addiction at a memorial vigil and protest at George Square.

📈 Figures released yesterday revealed that drug deaths in Scotland had risen 12% in the last year to 1172, giving Scotland the worst drugs deaths record in Europe and highlighting a desperate need for a change in drug and alcohol policy.

💔 Family members and friends shared heart-breaking testimonials to loved ones lost which served as a reminder that human dignity should never reduce any person to a mere statistic, especially in such tragic circumstances as the illness of addiction.

📄It is for this reason that Justice and Peace Scotland are advocating in support for the Right to Recovery Bill, promoted by FAVOR UK CEO Annemarie Ward, that will go before the Scottish Parliament in the autumn. The Bill would strengthen rights for those affected by addiction to access rehabilitation services, and would place rehabilitation services on the same standing as harm reduction measures, such as methadone prescription.

📝 To learn how to get involved in the letter writing campaign to MSPs, and find out more visit: https://www.facesandvoicesofrecoveryuk.org/back-the-bill-at/

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21Aug

Justice & Peace Scotland > Home

21 Aug, 2024 | Justice and Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

Archbishop Nolan recently joined Christian faith leaders to visit Glasgow Central Mosque in an act of unity and solidarity in the wake of the violence, hatred, and Islamophobia that disgraced the UK earlier this month. Read the full story on our website👇

Justice and Peace, Scotland

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08Aug

We are a proud member of Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees and we send our solidarity to people seeking asylum, refugees, frie...

08 Aug, 2024 | Justice and Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

We are a proud member of Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees and we send our solidarity to people seeking asylum, refugees, friends of the Muslim faith and all who have been traumatised by the recent racist violence across the UK.🧡

SFAR has co-authored the statement below on behalf of all its member groups and we fully endorse its content. 👇

Although it was promising to see so many anti-racist gatherings last night and communities coming together in friendship and support, the sentiments, rhetoric and political influences that have led to the entrenchment of intolerance and hatred has not gone away.

Division must be replaced with dialogue, violence with peace, and intolerance with respect and understanding. 🕊

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06Aug

Photos from Justice and Peace Scotland's post

06 Aug, 2024 | Justice and Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

📆On this day in 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, by US air forces. This was the first time a nuclear weapon had ever been used: it destroyed 13 square kilometres of the city and killed up to 180,000 people.

The power contained in some modern nuclear weapons could kill around 583,000 people. This is five times the devastation and five times the death toll seen in Hiroshima 79 years ago.

On Saturday 3rd August, we gathered outside Faslane Naval Base, the home of the UK's nuclear submarines for a Christian Peace Vigil in opposition to the threat and possession of these weapons. The gathering was led by Archbishop Nolan, President of Justice and Peace Scotland and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, the Right Rev Shaw Paterson, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church 's Bishop Andrew Swift, Bishop of Brechin.

All three Faith Leaders highlighted the incompatibility of nuclear weapons with respect for God's Creation and with the love of Christ for all His people. We must never give up on the call to be peacemakers. ✝️🕊️

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