Local people including Provost Billy Petrie and his late wife, Jean, were in the crowd at the last Papal Visit to Scotland ten years ago. Picture by Bill Heaney
By Lucy Ashton
Scotland’s Catholic bishops say they would “warmly welcome” a visit from Pope Francis to the COP26 summit.
It follows claims in The Times that the pontiff was “considering” attending the UN climate conference, due to be held in Glasgow in November.
Pope Francis has said it is time to “change course” on the environment and has committed the Vatican to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
If agreed, it would be the first Papal visit to Scotland since 2010.
In a statement the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, which represents the country’s eight dioceses, said: “While the decision on whether or not the Pope attends the UN climate summit in Glasgow will be a matter entirely for the Holy See, Scotland’s Catholic bishops would warmly welcome his presence, however briefly, in this country.”
The COP26 UN summit was originally due to take place in November last year but was postponed due to the Covid pandemic.
It will now be held at the Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow from November 1-12.
The SNP Government would probably have the Holy Father arrested under the Hate Crime Bill.
And we should make no mistake, religious leaders will be under threat from this new legislation. It will criminalise the teaching of the Christian churches.
It may however alternatively be that the authorities may deny the Holy Father’s entry, or deny him access to public space as they did with the son of the Christian preacher Billy Graham, whose son is now pursuing legal action for the restrictions applied to him from holding a mass prayer conference in Glasgow.
Truly concerning stuff.