The timing of the consecration of the
new incumbent Roman Catholic Archbishop of Edinburgh and St Andrews on Saturday
21 September in Edinburgh, sandwiched between the SNP Scottish Government's
promotion of independence in a debate in the Scottish Parliament and a
pro-independence rally in the same city on the day following the religious
service, can be no accident. The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland appears
to be indicating sympathy for a 'yes' vote in the independence referendum in a
year's time.
At a time when a substantial number of citizens in
Scotland are thus calling into question many aspects of the UK union to which
the majority of Scots have assented for over three centuries then it would also
seem also appropriate to challenge aspects of the prevailing religious
settlement which privilege the Roman Catholic Church whether in an independent
Scotland or within a continuing UK.
The scandal over the retirement and enforced exile
of the previous incumbent and the appointment of his successor highlights that
fact that bishops and Archbishops of the Church of Rome are appointed by the
Vatican. They are agents of a foreign multi-national organisation headquartered
in Rome and are subject to its discipline and dependent on it for their future
career and personal well being. The ultimate loyalty of the leaders of that
Church, but not the ordinary Roman Catholic Scottish citizen, lies beyond the
boundaries of Scotland. It is thus understandable that some states at some
times have not allowed Rome to appoint the bishops of the Church in their
countries.
There is, then, a need to ask whether the apparent
support of the Church of Rome for Scottish independence does not conceal a
desire to expand its influence in a possibly independent Scotland beyond its
current control of a large multi-million pound chunk of the current Scottish
education budget which the Scottish Government and Parliament currently grants
to it.
The issues surrounding the appointment of the new
Archbishop make it clearer as to why UK laws require a new sovereign,
according to the Accession Declaration Act of 1910, to repudiate, before
Parliament, the doctrines and authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church is governed by a foreign power and
citizens in determining their vote in the referendum in a year's time will need
to bear in mind the possible implications of the result for the power and
influence of this Church in the future life and government of Scotland.
