Scottish Catholic Observer

Progress is being made on Church concerns surrounding the Scottish Government’s attempts to tackle sectarianism but the issue of same-sex ‘marriage’ remains unresolved, according to Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley.

The Paisley bishop (above) made the comments after talks with First Minster Alex Salmond today. The bishop was invited to meet Mr Salmond after writing to the First Minister earlier this week warning him that the SNP government risked losing the ‘confidence of the Catholic community’ on these issues. The bishop’s letter focused on the Scottish Government’s support of marriage between homosexuals and its ‘ill-judged’ handling of the sectarianism issue.

Bishop Tartaglia’s said today’s meeting had been productive.

“I am grateful to the First Minister, for the opportunity to have raised these matters with him in a personal way,” he said. “I share the concerns of the Scottish Government that sectarianism should be eradicated from Scottish society. Fears that the wide remit of the ‘Offensive Behaviour Bill’ might impinge on the freedom to hold and express otherwise inoffensive views appear to have been recognised and are being addressed.”

Bishop Tartaglia went on to say he had was particularly pleased that the First Minster had promised his government would ‘track and analyse sectarian crime on an on-going basis using all data relating to Section 74 of the Criminal Justice Scotland Act 2003.’

“Clearly, we cannot tackle a problem without first measuring it,” Bishop Tartaglia said.

However the bishop repeated his warning today to Mr Salmond that Scotland’s bishops would continue to battle against any attempts to legalise same-sex ‘marriage.’

“Our discussions also afforded me an opportunity to reiterate the Catholic Bishops’ publicly stated commitment to ‘strenuously oppose’ any moves towards ‘same sex marriage,’” he said. “This matter remains unresolved for the moment since the consultation is on-going. I thank the First Minister for his assurance that the Government has not reached a final decision on this issue.”

Pic: Paul McSherry