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.

Members of The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Empty
Click + to add content

News from the Commissions and Agencies

Archive by tag: Bishops' Conference of ScotlandReturn

August 2025

21Aug

✝️JOIN US TOMORROW - POPE LEO'S DAY OF PRAYER & FASTING FOR PEACE🕊️

21 Aug, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

✝️JOIN US TOMORROW - POPE LEO'S DAY OF PRAYER & FASTING FOR PEACE🕊️

Pope Leo XIV has called for a global Day of Fasting and Prayer this Friday, August 22nd, on the Feast of the Queenship of Mary.

The Holy Father has especially asked us to remember Ukraine and The Holy Land where countless lives are torn apart by violence, war and hunger. He also reminds us not to forget those many more countries caught up in other conflicts, in places such as Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, and the many regions around the world where violence and war are occurring daily.

In Pope Leo’s own words, may our prayers help to “wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of ongoing armed conflicts,” and may Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede for us all so that nations can find the path of peace.

You are invited to join us tomorrow in whatever way you can; through fasting, attending Mass, or simply taking a moment in the day to pray before the Lord for those places in the world that are torn apart by violence and for the people who are most in need of His justice and peace.

Mary, Queen of Peace, Pray For Us!

20Aug

Fr. Romanelli: Gaza parish area not under evacuation order - Vatican News

20 Aug, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-08/gaza-holy-family-parish-not-under-evacuation-order.html

Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, tells Vatican Media that the parish neighborhood in Gaza City is not ...

20Aug

Pope calls for day of prayer and fasting for peace - Vatican News

20 Aug, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Pope Leo XIV invites the faithful to unite in prayer and fasting on 22 August for peace.

20Aug

Cardinal Zuppi leads seven-hour prayer, naming every child killed in Holy Land war

20 Aug, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.ncronline.org/news/cardinal-zuppi-leads-seven-hour-prayer-naming-every-child-killed-holy-land-war

The head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference took turns with dozens of other members of his diocese reading the names and ages of the 16 Israeli children and the 12,211 Palestinian children who have been killed in the war.

19Aug

Saint John Eudes | Franciscan Media

19 Aug, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-eudes/

Saint John Eudes was a noted preacher and confessor. He founded several seminaries because he saw the need for clerical formation. He also founded a couple of religious communities to address other needs that he saw. Saint John had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Hea...

19Aug

Fr. Romanelli: Evacuation order issued for Gaza parish neighborhood - Vatican News

19 Aug, 2025 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza, says “an evacuation order has been issued for the entire neighborhood,” as ...

18Aug