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

8th September 2026

8 September 2026

Proposed Abortion Motion Raises Profound Ethical Concerns

It is deeply troubling to hear that SNP members may be asked to vote on a motion seeking to remove legal protections relating to self-administered abortion in Scotland. Human life possesses inherent dignity and worth from conception until natural death, and any proposal that would further weaken safeguards for unborn children, including abortion up to the point of birth and sex-selective abortion, raises profound moral and ethical concerns.

I urge the SNP, and all parties and politicians, to uphold both compassion for women facing difficult pregnancies and protection for the most vulnerable members of our human family. Rather than expanding access to abortion, Scotland should focus on providing practical support to mothers, children and families, ensuring that no woman feels alone or without alternatives.

What the people of Scotland need now is for government, political parties and MSPs to focus on the priorities that affect daily life: easing the cost-of-living pressures facing households, addressing the housing crisis, strengthening local health services, improving access to high-quality palliative care, and working for peace and reconciliation both at home and abroad. We do not need an extreme abortion law. Scotland deserves better.

Anthony Horan
Director
Catholic Parliamentary Office
Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

...ENDS

Notes for editors

Photo of Anthony Horan, Director of the Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office: Photo of Anthony Horan
The Scottish Catholic Parliamentary Office works on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, by engaging with politicians and policymakers on matters central to the life and mission of the Catholic Church.
For further information, contact Fr Michael Kane, Director of the Communications and Evangelisation Office, Email: [email protected]

Contact:

Media Office

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

21st August 2026

21 August 2026

Final appeal to Catholics ahead of Westminster assisted suicide vote

Bishop John Keenan has issued a pastoral letter urging Catholics across Scotland to contact their MPs ahead of the return of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to the House of Commons on Friday 11 September.

The Bill, reintroduced by Lauren Edwards MP, would permit eligible terminally ill adults in England and Wales to receive assistance to end their lives. A similar Bill was defeated in the Scottish Parliament last March.

Although this new legislation would apply only to England and Wales, Bishop Keenan stresses that this remains an important moment for Catholics in Scotland. The outcome at Westminster could have significant consequences north of the border and potentially reignite attempts to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland.

In his letter, Bishop Keenan describes the coming vote as a “grave moment for the protection of human life” and urges Catholics to contact their MPs “without delay” and ask them to oppose the Bill.

Bishop Keenan said:

“Our opposition to assisted suicide is rooted in compassion. Every person, from conception until natural death, possesses an inviolable dignity as one made in the image and likeness of God.”

Warning particularly of the potential consequences for vulnerable people, he added:

“Illness, frailty, disability, dependence or fear must never lead society to conclude that some lives are no longer worth living.”

The Bishop calls instead for greater investment in palliative and hospice care and better support for carers, insisting that “the proper response to suffering is care, presence, skilled palliative medicine and practical support—not the deliberate ending of life.”

Scotland’s Catholic bishops encourage all who stand on the side of life to contact their MP today and without delay, asking them to protect vulnerable people, support better palliative and hospice care, and vote against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

...ENDS

Notes to Editor

Photo of the Bishop John Keenan: https://www.bcos.org.uk/portals/0/@publications/photos/bishop%20john%20keenan.gif

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Keenan: https://www.bcos.org.uk/portals/0/@publications/letters/Pastoral Letter - Assisted Suicide Westminster - August 2026.pdf

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland (BCoS) is the assembly of the Catholic bishops of Scotland, working together on national pastoral, social and legislative matters on behalf of the Church. Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

For further information, contact Fr Michael Kane, Director of the Communications and Evangelisation Office. Email: [email protected]

Contact:

Media Office

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

News from the Commissions and Agencies

March 2026

11Mar

“Be careful what you wish for.”

11 Mar, 2026 | Being Catholic | Being Catholic |

“Be careful what you wish for.”

Laws introduced with safeguards and good intentions often expand over time. What begins as a limited measure can quickly grow beyond what was first promised.

Experience from other countries shows that once the door is opened, it rarely remains closed to further change.

Scotland must consider the long-term consequences.

The more we KNOW, the more we say NO.

Write to your MSPs by visiting:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

Carefully read the wording of the email before sending. Click the button and enter your postcode when prompted.

11Mar

Dr Gillian Wright raises serious concerns about the impact of assisted suicide legislation on the most vulnerable in our society

11 Mar, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Dr Gillian Wright raises serious concerns about the impact of assisted suicide legislation on the most vulnerable in our society. While no one wants to see people suffer at the end of life, she warns that laws like this risk sending a dangerous message that the lives of those who are frail, terminally ill, elderly, lonely, or struggling with mental illness are somehow less valuable.

Experience from other countries shows how quickly such laws can expand. In Canada, legislation that was first presented as tightly restricted to those who were terminally ill has since been widened to include people with chronic illness and is moving toward including those with psychiatric conditions.

These developments raise important questions about whether any system can truly safeguard those who may feel pressure, isolation, or a sense of being a burden.

The more we know, the more we say no.

Learn more and contact your MSP today:
🌐 http://carenotkilling.scot

11Mar

An amendment to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill proposes that eligibility should depend on a six-mo...

11 Mar, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

An amendment to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill proposes that eligibility should depend on a six-month prognosis.

But leading palliative care experts warn that predicting how long someone has left to live is not an exact science. Prognosis is often uncertain, and many people live far longer than expected.

Turning population averages into legal deadlines risks serious and irreversible mistakes.

When the stakes are life and death, uncertainty matters.

The more we know, the more we say NO.

Learn more and contact your MSP:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

11Mar

As the final vote approaches at Holyrood next week, the Catholic Bishops of Scotland urge you to contact your MSP asking them to...

11 Mar, 2026 | Justice & Peace Scotland | Justice & Peace Scotland Facebook |

As the final vote approaches at Holyrood next week, the Catholic Bishops of Scotland urge you to contact your MSP asking them to reject the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

All information and links you need are in the post below. ⬇️

𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has expressed deep concern over the Scottish Government’s response to proposed amendments to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. The amendments, tabled by John Mason MSP and Paul O’Kane MSP, seek to introduce provisions allowing organisations—including hospices, care homes, and faith‑based institutions—to exercise conscientious objection.

In its response to these reasonable amendments, the Scottish Government stated that “it is not clear how an institution might demonstrate what their ‘conscience’ position is.”

The Bishops’ Conference strongly disagrees with this position, noting that every organisation has guiding values that shape its mission and practice.

For many faith‑based organisations, including Catholic hospices and care homes, these values are fundamentally incompatible with the introduction of assisted suicide. The Bishops’ Conference maintains that no organisation should be compelled by the State to participate in the deliberate ending of life when doing so would violate its ethical or religious principles.

The Bishops’ Conference urges the Scottish Government and MSPs to recognise and respect institutional conscience rights, ensuring that organisations are not forced into actions that contradict their foundational values.

Bishop John Keenan,
President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

11Mar

“Be careful what you wish for.”

11 Mar, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

11Mar

Holy Mass of Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent | 11 March 2026

11 Mar, 2026 | Being Catholic | Being Catholic |

Holy Mass of Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent | 11 March 2026
This music is licensed under one license number: A-623356

11Mar

Gospel

11 Mar, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Gospel
Matthew 5:17-19
‘Whoever does them and teaches them will be called great.’

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’

10Mar

𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀

10 Mar, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

10Mar

Palliative care is one of the most compassionate and skilled areas of modern medicine

10 Mar, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

Palliative care is one of the most compassionate and skilled areas of modern medicine.

When delivered well, it relieves suffering, supports families and upholds dignity right to the very end.

But if intentionally ending life becomes an accepted option, what signal does that send about investing in care?

Scotland should strengthen palliative care, not risk sidelining it.

The more we know, the more we say no!

Write to your MSPs by visiting:
👉 carenotkilling.scot

Carefully read the wording of the email before sending. Click the button and enter your postcode when prompted.

10Mar

What happens to medicine if doctors are asked to help end life?

10 Mar, 2026 | Bishops' Conference of Scotland | BCoS Facebook |

What happens to medicine if doctors are asked to help end life?

The foundation of medical practice has always been to heal, to relieve suffering, and to protect life. Changing that role would fundamentally alter the relationship between patient and doctor.

Care and killing are not interchangeable. They represent two very different visions of what medicine is for.

Watch the video to hear why this question matters so deeply.

The more we know, the more we say no!

Write to your MSPs by visiting:
👉 https://carenotkilling.scot/

Carefully read the wording of the email before sending. Click the button and enter your postcode when prompted.