Scottish Catholic Observer

Scottish politicians and religious leaders last night heard that religious freedom is being threatened like never before.

The shocking news came to light at the Scottish launch of Aid to the Church in Need’s (ACN’s) Religious Freedom in the World Report 2014.

Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh and Public Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham were among those present at the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh to hear a special video message from Prince Charles about his ‘mounting despair’ at the plight of Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities in northern Iraq and Syria.

Archbishop Cushley said the report was ‘objective, well researched and impressive… I found it quite chilling that in today’s world it is still possible to be maltreated and persecuted and even put to death on the scale that we found in this report.’

The head of Nigeria’s Catholic bishops conference told those present that for the cycle of religious violence to be overcome leaders must meet and ‘confront’ issues openly and honestly.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, whose diocese of Jos in northern Nigeria has been racked by inter-faith violence, spoke about the price paid by his community at the hands of religious extremists, who in the nearby Borno State have driven out entire Christian communities.

“For faith to flourish, for freedom to be upheld, we must be able to overcome prejudices and have the audacity, the courage to sit down and confront one another, not violently but with respect and dignity,” he said. “Please we need to do this.”

Ms Cunningham said the report shone a valuable light on the ‘escalating persecution of Christians at this time and all religious persecution of faith minorities globally.’

She added the Scottish Government ‘urged all governments and their communities to develop and strengthen inter-faith relations as a vital way to challenge human rights abuses and recognise what we can achieve together for a better world.”

—[email protected]

— Read the Religious Freedom in the World Report 2014 at www.religion-freedom-report.org

—Read about the ACN London launch in the November 7 edition of the SCO in parishes from Friday.

—More from Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama in next week’s SCO

Pic: (Left to Right) Archbshop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Lorraine McMahon, Aid to the Church in Need’s head of operations in Scotland, ACN’s John Newton and Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria