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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

BISHOPS RESPOND TO SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT'S PALLIATIVE CARE CONSULTATION

Scotland’s Catholic Bishops: Scottish Government’s laudable draft strategy on palliative care stands in stark contrast to dangerous assisted suicide proposal
The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has responded positively to Scottish Government proposals for a new strategy on palliative care.

In its submission to a recent consultation the bishops declared their support for the draft strategy, stating that the proposals “uphold the dignity of human life for those at the end of life, their families, and carers” and said that the “laudable” proposals “stand in stark contrast to the dangerous Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill” currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament.

The bishops said: “rather than being used to kill people, many of whom are vulnerable, public resources should be invested in helping people to live and to be more comfortable at the end of life.”

The bishops emphasised the crucial role of palliative care, declaring it to be “a precious and crucial instrument in the care of patients during terminal illness” and encouraged the government to ensure that a framework is in place to allow hospices to be appropriately funded to continue to deliver end-of-life care to all those who need it.

The bishops also stressed the importance of spiritual care and assistance for patients and their families at the end of life and called for such support to be a key element of a holistic approach to end-of-life care. Please see the full submission at the Catholic Parliamentary Office website

https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html

Click here to visit the Jubilee 2025 website

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. 

To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.

Amen
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News from the Commissions and Agencies

December 2024
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-lucy/
For all those suffering from failing eyesight and illnesses🙏


Little is known about Saint Lucy except that she had taken a vow of virginity, and that she was martyred in 304. Yet devotion to her sprung up in the early Church, and she is mentioned among the martyrs in the first Eucharistic Prayer.
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https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/catholic-to-represent-king-at-church-of-scotland-general-assembly-tctvzl530


Lady Elish Angiolini, who was born in Glasgow and has Irish heritage, says her appointment as Lord High Commissioner is a “fabulously significant gesture”
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https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/news/articles/


A trailblazing lawyer who was Scotland’s first female Lord Advocate has been appointed Lord High Commissioner to the 2025 General Assembly of the...
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https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/notizie/comunicati/2024/Giubileo-24-dicembre-alle-19-messa-apertura-con-santo-padre-piazza-san-pietro.html#:~:text=The%202025%20Jubilee%20will%20officially,the%20Holy%20Door%20will%20follow.


The 2025 Jubilee will officially open on December 24, 2024, at 7pm with a Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square. The rite of the ...
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https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/our-lady-of-guadalupe/


The Blessed Virgin’s appearance at Tepeyac to Saint Juan Diego in 1531, was the beginning of a beautiful story of God’s and Mary’s love and care for the peoples of Mexico. As Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Blessed Virgin was named patroness of all of the Americas in 2003.
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The Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh runs a Diploma in Catechetics that begins in January. All are welcome to register.

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https://www.ncregister.com/features/loreto-or-bust-bishop-kevin-rhoades
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto


What began as a simple pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto for Bishop Kevin Rhoades turned into a memorable Marian ordeal.
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BCOS Meeting 5th December 2024 Online- please share
The Bishops’ Conference met for its regular online meeting on the 5th Dec 2024. Archbishop Cushley began the meeting with an account of the successful visit of Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to Edinburgh the previous weekend. His Eminence gave an emotional description of those suffering in the Holy Land during the present conflict and the plight of the Church especially in Gaza and the West Bank.
Bishop Keenan opened the ordinary business of the meeting with a discussion on the procedures for the selection of candidates for the episcopacy. This is the theme of one of the Synodal Working Groups. There was a consensus that clergy and laity should be consulted as part of the structural process.
The Bishops also considered media and evangelisation and how social media could best be employed by BCOS. Bishop Dougan agreed to take this discussion forward with stakeholders. In the field of Catholic education, the Bishops expressed concern at the falling numbers of Catholic teachers and how this might be remedied. A scholarship to highlight the contribution of Catholic education in Scotland was also suggested for a candidate to undertake at the School of Education of Glasgow University. Archbishop Cushley and Bishop Gilbert spoke about recent discussions with the Scottish Episcopal Church Bishops.
Bishop McGee reported on the publication of the Synodal document in English and it was agreed that the Bishops would meet for an extraordinary meeting in Feb 2024 to outline a way forward for synodality at national, diocesan and parish levels. He also mentioned the proposed updates to In God’s Image V2 and the recent National Safeguarding Conference held at Strathclyde University.
Bishop Keenan spoke about the launch of a national resource for marriage preparation and also the provision of marriage counselling. The Bishops supported Bishop Keenan’s recent statement regarding the membership of the Abortion Review Group of the Scottish Parliament. The one-sided make-up of this consultation had been highlighted to the First Minister John Swinney at the recent meeting at Bute House. The Church will make it views known more in-depth as part of the consultation.
The Conference also exchanged views on priestly formation and ongoing formation, taking into account the proposed Pastoral Year and Vocational Synthesis for seminarians. A short history of the Catholic Church in Scotland has been written by Fr Briody of Motherwell Diocese and it was agreed to integrate this within the BCOS website as a concise and informative introduction to the Church in Scotland. Finally, there was a brief reminder of the 700th anniversary celebrations of the presence of the Scottish Catholic Church in France and Bishop Keenan was happy to be nominated as the new Bishop Chaplain of the Union of Catholic Mothers.

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🚨NEWS: Justice & Peace Scotland together with the Church of Scotland urge MSPs not to penalise vulnerable groups for political gain ahead of a planned debate today in the Scottish Parliament.

🚌Debate is expected this afternoon on the 2025-2026 budget provision to honour promises made to introduce free bus travel for people seeking asylum.

📰Read the full story on our website: justiceandpeacescotland.org.uk

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The Bishops' Conference of Scotland have released the following statement in response to the Scottish Government's commitment to lift the two-child benefit cap.
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