Mother Rosaria, 79, and Mother Martin, 77, had been accused of hitting pupils at Dalbeth Approved School in Bishopton between 1969 to 1971.

The ruling came after questions were raised about the credibility of their accusers and allegations of religious bias against the police officer investigating the sensitive case.

Paisley Sheriff Court (above) heard during the trial claims that pupils were held in a cupboard and hit with a carpet beater but the two nuns were found not guilty.

Sheriff Susan Sinclair told the nuns, who have had this case hanging over them for five years: “You are free to go.”

Afterwards the nuns hugged their supporters.

During their trial, the nuns told the court that the only punishment for bad behaviour at Dalbeth was for pupils to be put in a detention room.

Any girl sent there, they said, was monitored and given food and water.  Other former pupils came forward to say how the nuns had turned their lives around.

However, six of the former pupils— some with criminal records for dishonesty— falsely claimed that they were bodily dragged to the detention room and spoke of being beaten with a riding whip and a carpet beater.

It also emerged that the police officer in charge of investigating the claims, DC Lesley McAuley, was seen wearing a ‘No Surrender’ sticker on her uniform at a Rangers football game.

DC McAuley, who drives a blue car with a RFC number plate, is also facing assault charges, including allegations of a racist attack.  The trial heard that during the investigation she gave phone numbers of alleged victims to other alleged victims and also encouraged them to go to lawyers to seek compensation.

DC Moira Fyffe, who was briefly involved in the investigation, described this behaviour was described by as ‘highly unprofessional.’

—ian@sconews.co.uk

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French activist fatally shoots himself in Notre Dame cathedral in same-sex ‘marriage’ protest.

Vatican denies Pope Francis performed ‘exorcism.’

Church pledges support for tornado victims in the US.

Melbourne archbishop has admitted that church leaders helped cover up clerical abuse in Australia.

A trans-Atlantic collaboration is to put online fragile, handwritten letters and notes Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Teacher training college in Ireland vows to protect its Catholic ethos.

Pakistan: 250 Christian families  driven from their homes.

Pope criticises ‘savage capitalism‘ on visit to food kitchen.

Kirk’s charity wing head warns it will be forced to consider the future of some care services if local authorities keep cutting funding.

AND FINALLY

The first-ever statue of Pope Francis has been unveiled in a potato field near Naples.

—Cross Wires is The Scottish Catholic Observer blog. Follow breaking news from the SCO through the day on Twitter at SCO_NEWS

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At least 51 people are now known to have died, including 20 children, when the massive tornado swept through the suburbs of Oklahoma City, US. Officials, have said the death toll is expected to rise, as search and rescue operations continue through the rubble (above).

One primary school was destroyed and another was damaged by the half-mile wide tornado. The storm was on the ground for about 45 minutes, sparking fires and flattening homes. Worst hit was the suburb Moore, south of Oklahoma City, where whole neighbourhoods were levelled by winds of up to 200mph.

About 120 people are currently being treated in hospitals. President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma.

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Over the course of the next year, a legal framework will be developed to accommodate the proposals, which will then be ratified by presbyteries, before finally being rubber-stamped by the general assembly in 2015.

The vote was the result of a late intervention by former moderator Albert Bogle (above), who stood down from the role on Saturday. He successfully persuaded delegated to back a third choice between traditionalists do not wish to allow homosexual people to become clergy and liberals who wanted universal acceptance of same-sex orientated clergy.

Mr Bogle said he was seeking a way to maintain unity.

“My motion is that, by seeking to maintain what I believe the Church of Scotland should be to recognise that there are others who perhaps have greater enlightenment in the power of the spirit and are much braver than I could ever be, and say this is the way we should be going,” he said. “I don’t want to be the one who stands and says you must not do this. My motion is to be permissive and to allow those who want to do this to do it. But I want to affirm the position of the Church of Scotland in the historic tradition of the Church.”

His motion asked the Assembly to ‘affirm the Church’s historic and current doctrine and practice in relation to human sexuality, [but] nonetheless permit those Kirk sessions who wish to depart from that doctrine and practice to do so.’

Bishop Stephen Robson of St Andrews and Edinburgh attended the debate as an observer.

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Pope Francis told the new ambassadors of four countries who do not have a physical location for their embassy to the Holy See in Rome that he urged them to ‘return to the unselfish solidarity and ethics in favour of man in financial and economic reality.’ The Pope also stressed to the ambassadors that there is a need for financial reform ‘along ethical lines that would in its turn produce an economic reform to benefit everyone.’

Pope Francis said that he ‘loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but the Pope has the duty, in Christ’s name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to respect them, to promote them.’

“This would require a courageous change of attitude on the part of political leaders,” he stated. “I urge them to face this challenge with determination and farsightedness, taking account, naturally, of their particular situations.”

The Holy Father also warned that solidarity is often considered counterproductive and contrary to financial and economic logic.

“Financiers, economists and politicians consider God as manageable, even dangerous because it calls man to his full realisation and independence from any kind of slavery,” he said. “While the income of a minority is growing exponentially, that of the majority weakens,” he added, pointing to the growing disparity between the rich and poor.”

The Pope believes this imbalance stems from ‘ideologies that promote the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation.’

The Pope asked the new ambassadors to assure their natives of his prayers and tell them of his ‘feelings of gratitude and respect.’

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Jock Morris, chairman of the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees was, not convinced by this ruling and still believes the risk of destitution is real.

“All those who have experience of Section 4 applications knows it is a brutal and humiliating experience resulting in most cases in failure,” he said.

The UK Government practice of stopping support for asylum seekers whose claims were refused is opposed by the Catholic Church in Scotland, Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government.

During the launch of the Stop Destitution Campaign last December, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow (above) condemned the UK Government policy’s ‘degree of harshness.’

“I think most decent minded people would find it hard to believe, let alone support, a policy which decides that when an asylum seeking person’s process comes to an end unsuccessfully,” the archbishop said. “They [would] lose all support in terms of housing and sustenance and be expected to return to what they perceive to be a dangerous situation of persecution, or survive on the freezing and inhospitable streets, totally dependent on the compassion of others to survive.”

The case will undergo further proceedings in six weeks, and lawyers acting for the affected asylum seeker are currently considering whether to apply through Section 4 or appeal the Sheriff Court ruling.

“We have lost a battle but the war goes on,” said Jock Morris.

Pic: Paul McSherry

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“The way the Church functions in Scotland lies in Rome.”

MP George Galloway attacked for SNP Catholic slur.

The Junior Caritas Award will open the door of Faith for Scottish pupils in Primary 6 and 7.

Secularist call for end to religious ‘interference‘ in Scottish schools.

Archaeological investigations on Iona indicate burial sites.

New moderator installed as General Assembly of Church of Scotland begins but former moderator says Church of Scotland is facing crisis of leadership.

French president signs same-sex ‘marriage‘ into law but opponents say French marriage debate not over.

COMMENT

Hugh Dougherty: Now is the time for hierarchy of Catholic Church in Scotland to show leadership.

—Cross Wires is The Scottish Catholic Observer blog. Follow breaking news from the SCO through the day on Twitter at SCO_NEWS.

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The attack happened overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

The parish has been in the news recently as Cardinal Keith O’Brien had planned to retire there. However, the Vatican released a statement on Wednesday saying that the cardinal is to leave the country for a period of ‘spiritual renewal, prayer, and penance’ following his retirement as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and his recent admissions about his conduct.

The police have launched an investigation into the vandalism at the Dunbar church, where Fr John Creanor is parish priest, and are appealing for witnesses.

“Police in East Lothian are investigating after a number of windows at the Our Lady of the Waves church in Dunbar was damaged,” a spokesman said. “The incident happened sometime overnight between Wednesday May 15 and Thursday May 16 and anyone who remembers seeing anything suspicious in the area is asked to contact police immediately.”

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He said the two priests would ‘consult with the parish pastoral councils of all the communities involved in order to make the necessary decisions regarding appropriate pastoral provision’ and asked all readers of the letter to ‘pray for all affected by these changes, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood.’

Fr Borland is parish priest for St Andrew’s, Dumfries, with pastoral responsibility for St Mary’s, New Abbey as well as being chaplain at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. Fr Hayes is parish priest at St Teresa’s, Dumfries and St Conal’s, Kirkconnel as well as being chaplain to HMP Dumfries.

The increasing burdens on the diminishing numbers of Galloway priests was discussed at the diocesan assembly of priests held at the Park Hotel, Kilmarnock on May 2.

“The present situation in the diocese with regard to parish structures and expectations placed on priests because of these structures was acknowledged as being impossible to maintain,” Vicar General Fr William McFadden said. “The priests looked at what might be realistic expectations for pastoral provision in the future.”

Galloway is in the midst of a long-running consultation process, called Embracing Change, which seeks to restruture the diocese in accordance with its number of laity and priests. Fr McFadden said the assembly had addressed these issues head on.

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What is it that moves us all so much as a community about these young communicants and their Faith journeys? Perhaps their budding Faith, Faith in its purest form, reminds us of what truly matters: the need to be like children before God. As Matthew told us of Jesus 18:3: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’”

The Faith of young Catholics gives us all hope for the future in the darkest of times, such as the Faith demonstrated by the school pupils who honoured Our Lady of Fatima at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow, on Monday, Her feast day and the day Pope Francis consecrated his Papacy to Her [pages 1 and 5.]

The Faith of pupils and young adults is given a voice on our schools’ page and in the Strong in Faith feature on Facebook and in the SCO (page 4).

As our young Catholics at schools, colleges and universities sit exams, let us keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

World Youth Day with Pope Francis in Rio de Janeiro lies ahead this year from July 23 to 28, as does Scotland’s Rio at Stirling University.

At WYD, our youth mix with many less fortunate than themselves, some from countries where people are persecuted for their religious beliefs.

In many ways, today’s Scottish youth live very privileged lives, with modern comforts and technology.  However, they also face a myriad of choices and their struggle to explore their vocation and find the right path through life is enormous, with great competition for further education places and employment.

We pray our young people find good role models, such as the recently canonised martyrs and leaders in their own Faith communities, and rise admirably to the life challenges they encounter.

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