BY Ian Dunn | February 12 | 
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Pontiff invited to visit St Andrews in September
Pope Francis has been invited to an interfaith anti-extremism event at St Andrews University this September and is said to be ‘considering’ the invitation.
Professor Mario Aguilar, director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics at St Andrews University who has written a biography of the Pope, said he hoped the Holy Father could join other religious leaders in signing a declaration of humanity, at the conference from September 23-25. St Andrews University accordingly issued an invitation and Professor Aguilar said he had been told there was a chance the Pope could attend.
“You can always hope, you can always invite and ask somebody to come,” the professor said. “He always does, and has said, that he would go for an inter-faith event, that has been one of his priorities, and so therefore I thought we would invite him. The response was, instead of the Pope is busy or has too many engagements, that we would discuss this and hopefully we can have some time during the agenda for him to be in St Andrews.”
The Pope is unlikely to be able to attend the Scottish event, however. He already has a full schedule for that weekend—a series of special Jubilee Year of Mercy events for Catechists are due to take place at the Vatican including a Papal Mass in St Peter’s Square, although the Friday would be possible.
A spokesman for the St Andrews and Edinburgh Archdiocese said they ‘congratulate St Andrews University for issuing this invitation and would be delighted to welcome the Holy Father to Scotland while also recognising that the global popularity of Pope Francis means that he receives vastly more invites than he can possibly accept.’
A spokesman for the Apostolic Nunciature in London said that earlier secular reports that the Pope was ‘likely’ to come to Scotland this year were questionable.
Professor Aguilar said that they key purpose of the September conference would be the signing of The St Andrews Declaration on a Shared Humanity, which he had written and incorporates the teachings of different faiths and embraces the basic principles of humanity, equality, diversity and freedom. It will also feature a public lecture by Professor Francis X Clooney, the director of the Centre for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University.
—This story ran in full in the February 12 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.
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