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

30th July 2026

30 July 2026

Bishop Welcomes Prime Minister’s Call to Prioritise Care Reforms Before Westminster Assisted Suicide Vote

Bishop John Keenan, the Bishop with responsibility for Marriage, Family and Life for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, has welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s call for the serious gaps in palliative and social care to be addressed before the Westminster Parliament considers assisted suicide legislation.

Bishop Keenan said:

“The Prime Minister’s intervention is both timely and welcome. We have a duty to ensure that every person approaching the end of life has access to the compassionate palliative and social care they deserve. No one should ever feel driven towards assisted suicide because they lack the care, support or dignity they need.

“We were grateful that the Scottish Parliament resolutely rejected assisted suicide only recently. We hope this latest intervention will encourage Members of the Westminster Parliament to reflect carefully before taking a step that would fundamentally change the way our society cares for the sick and vulnerable.

“As our Catholic Parliamentary Officer, Anthony Horan, has rightly said: ‘The last thing the country needs is another divisive debate about assisted suicide. We need to make progress in improving palliative and social care, not offering vulnerable people state support to end their lives.’ I share that conviction wholeheartedly.

“This is an opportunity to rethink the whole approach to assisted suicide. The compassionate response to suffering is never to help people end their lives, but to ensure they receive the high-quality care, love and accompaniment they need. Let us pray for all who are seriously ill, for their families and carers, and for those in public office, that they may always uphold the dignity of every human life and work to build a society that truly cares for its most vulnerable members.”

Bishop John Keenan

President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

Contact:

Media Office

Bishops’ Conference of Scotland
64 Aitken Street, ML6 6LT
Tel: 01236 764061
Email: [email protected]

News from the Commissions and Agencies

July 2026

28Jul

Gospel

28 Jul, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Gospel
Matthew 13:36-43
‘Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.’

At that time: Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.’

27Jul

It's time to build a fairer world and remove the hurdles to justice

27 Jul, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

It's time to build a fairer world and remove the hurdles to justice.

Commonwealth countries face the constant hurdle of debt and it’s getting worse every year. They need to pay debts back at a much higher rate, meaning there’s little left to spend on things like health and education.

These hurdles represent unjust debt. And it’s not hard to imagine what happened: higher hurdles for many of SCIAF’s partner countries made it impossible to run a fair race.

Cancel debt. Please watch and share this video today.

To find out more, visit: sciaf.org.uk/debt

27Jul

Medjugorje Mass | 27 July 2026

27 Jul, 2026 | Being Catholic | Being Catholic |

Medjugorje Mass | 27 July 2026
This music is licensed under one license number: A-623356

27Jul

We are saddened to share the news that Canon Leo Glancy has died, aged 87

27 Jul, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

We are saddened to share the news that Canon Leo Glancy has died, aged 87.

He was ordained in St Mary's Cathedral in 1963 by Cardinal Gray and began ministry as a curate at St Francis Xavier's in Falkirk. He volunteered for missionary work in Nigeria from 1968-1971 and played a pivotal role in rebuilding the Catholic community in Gombe after the devastation of unrest, restoring the parish and helping it flourish once again.

Canon Glancy faithfully served the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh for more than six decades.

His parishes included St Mary’s Cathedral; Our Lady’s, Currie; St Mary’s, Haddington; St Catherine’s, Edinburgh; Christ the King and Sacred Heart, Grangemouth. He also served as Spiritual Director at the former Gillis Seminary.

He was latterly living at Nazareth House in Glasgow and died in Gartnavel Hospital on Thursday. We give thanks for Canon Glancy's long and devoted priestly ministry, and we commend him to the mercy of God.

Please keep him, his family, friends and all who mourn him in your prayers. May he rest in peace.

[Image: Holy Mass at Sacred Heart Primary, Grangemouth, in 2013, the year he celebrated his Golden Anniversary, by Gary Hutchison.]

27Jul

Holy Mass of Monday of the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time | 27 July 2026

27 Jul, 2026 | Being Catholic | Being Catholic |

Holy Mass of Monday of the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time | 27 July 2026
This music is licensed under one license number: A-623356

27Jul

Gospel

27 Jul, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Gospel
Matthew 13:31-35
‘The mustard seed becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

At that time: Jesus put another parable before the crowd, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’

26Jul

Holy Mass of the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time | 26 July 2026

26 Jul, 2026 | Being Catholic | Being Catholic |

Holy Mass of the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time | 26 July 2026
This music is licensed under one license number: A-623356

26Jul

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26 Jul, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Today we celebrate the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

Grandparents and older people are a precious gift to our families, our parishes and our communities. Their faith, wisdom and witness continue to inspire each new generation.

Join us this afternoon for Holy Mass, celebrated by Bishop John Keenan, at 3.00pm in Carfin Grotto as we celebrate this special day together.

Everyone is warmly welcome.
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26Jul

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ family line through his legal ancestry, showing that he is the fulfilment of God’s ...

26 Jul, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ family line through his legal ancestry, showing that he is the fulfilment of God’s promises. Yet we know very little about Mary’s own parents. Apart from the fact that they existed, there are no historical details about them. Even the names Joachim and Anne come from an early Christian writing composed more than a century after Jesus’ death, rather than from Scripture itself.

Even so, we can glimpse the holiness of Mary’s family through the person she became. Whether we consider the later traditions about her childhood or simply reflect on what the Bible tells us about her, Mary stands out as the fruit of generations of faithful people who lived lives of prayer and were deeply rooted in the faith of Israel.

Mary’s courage, her life of prayer, her obedience to God’s will, her faith in times of uncertainty, and her loving care for others all point to a close, faithful family. It was a family that treasured its traditions while preparing the next generation to serve God.

In this way, Joachim and Anne represent the countless ordinary men and women who quietly lived out their faith, fulfilled their responsibilities, and created the conditions in which the Messiah could come into the world. Though history remembers little about them, their hidden faithfulness played a vital part in God’s plan.

26Jul

Gospel

26 Jul, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Gospel
Matthew 13:44-46
‘He sells all that he has and buys that field.’

At that time: Jesus said to the crowd: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.’