The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

20th March 2026

20 March 2026

Statement from the Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Following a request from the Holy See, the Bishops of Scotland have been invited to reflect on how the structures of the Church in our country can best serve her mission in the years ahead, specifically whether the present situation of eight dioceses is suitable.

We are all aware of the challenges before us — fewer clergy, changing patterns of practice, and increasing pressures on our diocesan resources, among other things. Yet our mission remains unchanged: to proclaim the Gospel and to lead our people to Christ.

Two possible pathways are being proposed for careful discernment: developing deeper cooperation and the sharing of resources across dioceses within our present structures, or the merging of some dioceses.

In order to best inform ourselves and the Holy See, each bishop will engage with his diocese over the coming months for the first part of this process. Everyone will be given the opportunity to pray, reflect, and contribute.

Following-on from the presentation of a discussion paper, responses from each diocese will contribute to the initial findings which will be given to the Holy See in the Autumn.

This is not simply an administrative exercise. It is a pastoral and missionary response to our changing landscape. This process will ensure our Church in Scotland will continue to grow ever more missionary, more Christ-centred, and more collaborative in the service of God’s people.

Entrusting this work to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to the intercession of Our Lady, we move forward together with confidence and renewed hope.

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.

Members of The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

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News from the Commissions and Agencies

October 2025

26Oct

Church Moderator accompanies the King to meet Pope

26 Oct, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/news/articles/church-moderator-accompanies-the-king-to-meet-pope

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Reflection on today’s Gospel

26 Oct, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Reflection on today’s Gospel
Luke is the evangelist of prayer, offering frequent hints about it. In his Gospel Jesus is explicitly mentioned as being in prayer more often than in any other, at the Baptism, the Transfiguration, when called upon to teach his disciples the Lord’s Prayer (3.21; 6.12; 11.1). The Agony in the Garden is shaped to show the need for prayer in time of testing (22.40). In the Infancy Narratives his characters burst into prayerful praise on every occasion, and from these we derive the three great canticles of the Church, the Magnificat, the Benedictus and the Nunc dimittis. His parables insist on the need for perseverance in prayer, especially the parables of the Friend at Midnight (11.5-8) and the Unjust Judge (18.1-5). Their motives may not be perfect: the Friend at Midnight eventually caves in because he does not want to be shamed for inhospitable behaviour when the whole village hears the hammering on the door. And the appellant to the Unjust Judge seems to be on the edge of violence, threatening to hit the Judge in the face! But the message is to persevere!
Today, in this parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-Collector, Luke combines deadly earnestness with humour in a typically Lukan fashion. The pompous and self-contradictory bragging of innocence by the Pharisee is duly repellent, while the humble self-accusation of the tax-collector is something to which we can all aspire.

HW
from Universalis today

26Oct

Photos from Bishops' Conference of Scotland's post

26 Oct, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

National pilgrimage for Holy Year to Markinch St Andrews and Dunfermline 25th Oct 25

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📜In his new Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te, Pope Leo XIV calls us to rediscover an active, practical love for people who are m...

25 Oct, 2025 | Justice & Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

📜In his new Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te, Pope Leo XIV calls us to rediscover an active, practical love for people who are marginalised, vulnerable, or experiencing poverty.

⚖️Completing the work begun by Pope Francis, Dilexi te offers a profound reflection on the societal structures that keep people in poverty by challenging economic systems that entrench inequality and injustice.

❤️The Holy Father reaffirms the Church’s duty to exercise a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, one of the core principles of Catholic Social Teaching; this means prioritising the needs not only of those in material poverty, but of all who are marginalized, including prisoners, migrants, and the sick.

✝️Placing the inseparable link between charity and justice at the heart of his exhortation, Pope Leo reminds us that our faith demands both acts of charity to assist those in immediate need and acts of solidarity to change these very structures that create and sustain hardship, inequality, and oppression. He stresses that both actions are essential expressions of our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ and a living demonstration of our love for God.

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Pope approves beatification for priests martyred under Nazism and Communism - Vatican News

24 Oct, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

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Justice & Peace Scotland's cover photo

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Photos from Justice & Peace Scotland's post

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📸DIGNITY NOT DETENTION: National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention

Justice & Peace Scotland joined with Scottish Detainee Visitors and Glasgow Solidarity Stall last Saturday for a community advocacy event marking the National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention.

We reflected on the growing injustice of immigration detention in the UK, shared stories, and wrote postcards to people currently detained in Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre.

We’re especially grateful to Ronnie Tagwireyi, Scottish Detainee Visitors board member, for sharing his first-hand experiences of detention, reminding us of the human cost of this inhumane system and the urgent need for change.

💬Our Campaigns & Communications Officer, Andrew Smith, said:

“At a time when the cruel and unjust practice of immigration detention is becoming more prevalent in the UK, it was affecting to come together with empathy to show our opposition to the detention system. As Pope Leo XIV has said of those seeking sanctuary, safety and security, ‘it is important that there be a growing desire in people’s hearts for a future of peace and respect for the dignity of all.’”

We are deeply grateful to all who joined us in solidarity last weekend and were encouraged by those who left inspired to take further action: to volunteer, campaign, demonstrate, and advocate for change.

Justice & Peace Scotland continues to call for an end to indefinite detention and for an immigration system rooted in human dignity, compassion, and respect.

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24 Oct, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/statement-on-newman-to-be-declared-patron-of-catholic-education-and-doctor-of-the-church/

The Cardinal Newman Society joyfully celebrates the Vatican’s announcement that our holy patron, St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, will be named the universal Church’s Patron of Catholic Education on October 28 and Doctor of the Church on All Saints Day (November 1). Praise be to God! Deo gratias!...