The Hybrid Cardinal
May 15, 2008
There is a curious anomaly about Cardinal Keith O'Brien. Here is a man who defended the notorious radio-priest, Fr 'Andy' Monaghan when he effectively condoned fornication, abortion, and divorce on his phone-in radio programme, and yet now he has been made Cardinal, he is forever 'grabbing the headlines' by complaining about the self-same things! By Iain Colquhoun.
'SHAMELESS SCOTLAND - A NATION LIVING IN SIN - CARDINAL LAUNCHES ASTONISHING ATTACK ON 'OBSESSION' WITH SEX' – a 'Mail on Sunday' headline on 21/12/03 - was a typical example. His latest protest is at the Government's plans to permit human hybrid embryo experimentation - so perhaps this is an appropriate time to look at his own early development, to see how such an 'anomaly' came to be. What has led up to such 'hybrid' behaviour?
His behaviour, I think, is inextricably linked with the career of Fr Andrew Monaghan. This link developed, I would suggest, from 1975 when Fr Monaghan started broadcasting a religious affairs programme called 'View From Earth' on Radio Forth. It is relevant to point out that Fr Monaghan's uncle was Auxiliary Bishop to Cardinal Gray, and that this relationship afforded Monaghan the opportunity to influence the Cardinal directly or indirectly.
After three years, the programme began to adopt a more challenging stance towards Catholicism, even at times criticising Pope John Paul II. It was supposed to promote ecumenism but Monaghan made it a platform for his own liberal viewpoints. However, the stark fact was that Cardinal Gray – on whose permission his radio career had depended - was due to retire in seven years. Unless he was succeeded by someone suitably 'liberal', there was a danger that his radio activities would be curtailed for ever. But with his access to the Cardinal, he would have been well-placed to proffer the name of a friend from student days at the Seminary, someone who was as liberal as he, and thus inclined to support him..
Enter Fr Keith Patrick O'Brien, a near contemporary of Monaghan's at the local seminary and, until 1978, a curate at his home parish at Bathgate.. O'Brien has a basic science degree (BSc) and after ordination had taken a Diploma in Education, enabling him to teach science in a local girls' school. But in 1978 he was appointed as spiritual director of the above Seminary at Drygrange. This pastoral role would have conferred a clear clerical status.
The following year, Fr Monaghan took part in a new phone-in programme on Radio Forth called 'The Open Line', as one of its counsellors. Advice given by Fr Monaghan on this programme provoked complaints by Catholics. Significantly the following year, 1980, Fr O'Brien moved up a step of the ladder, being appointed Rector of the Scottish Junior Seminary near Aberdeen. Such a post would have enabled him to develop the necessary administrative skills.
When 1985 came, Cardinal Gray had still not announced his retirement, nor the name of his successor. But on 28th of May, the local Scottish press ran an exposé of Monaghan headed 'AGONY UNCLE PRIEST UNDER FIRE' about his advising pregnant women to an abortion-referral facility and his referring homosexuals to a 'gay'organisation with links to a paedophile group'. This exposé was a result of a leafleting campaign by Hamish Fraser and me revealing Fr Monaghan's advice broadcast on his 'Open Line' programme. When Cardinal Gray saw this, he must have known that the time had come for him to 'face the music' regarding the cleric he had protected. But he took the coward's way out, and on the 30th May he announced his retirement, naming his successor as Fr O'Brien. However this appointment came hastily, while he was still merely 'Father O'Brien', thus making an abrupt change from Fr. to Archbishop-designate.
Instead of a more senior cleric - someone with a well-established profile within the archdiocese - this comparative 'unknown' was appointed archbishop. The anomaly of his rank was soon remedied by his being made a Monsignor. From then on he refused to accept evidence sent re Fr Monaghan, and has given total support to his confrere until the present day.
Thus the key 'pointer' to O'Brien having committed himself to defending Fr Monaghan is the fact that Gray 'deserted the field' when the press exposed Monaghan's activities - leaving O'Brien to defend him. Within two days of the Daily Record printing its exposé, Gray appointed O'Brien to take over.
This is consistent with what we know of Cardinal Gray's personality. He was someone who simply hated having to make decisions, and had no 'stomach for a fight'. Those in pro-life groups had no support from Gray. He never attended their marches even one led by Mother Teresa of Calcutta! His debility regarding governance of his clergy was well-known. For example, he left a compulsive alcoholic priest, as Administrator of the Cathedral. On another occasion I had to ask him to appoint a new Chaplain to a hospital as the then chaplain was refusing to bring the Sacraments to the sick and dying!
Clearly Gray sought above all to avoid confrontation, and such a personality could easily be 'led' by someone as forceful and persuasive as Fr Monaghan. For one thing, Gray must have succumbed to Monaghan's persuasive talents to give him permission to accept a role as an 'agony uncle' on the radio. Then, when laymen complained, even to the Vatican, that Monaghan was advising pregnant women to use the 'Brook Advisory Centre', an abortion referral agency among other things, Gray willingly went to the Vatican to persuade them of Monaghan's orthodoxy and win their approval for his broadcasts. The same propensity for covering-up emerged when O'Brien took office. I have a letter from O’Brien to me in July 1985, writing from the Junior Seminary at Blairs near Aberdeen, in reply to my request to send him evidence of Monaghan’s scandalous advice on ‘The Open Line’. O’Brien declined the offer. He soon affirmed his support in other ways. After his consecration he appointed Fr Monaghan as his Episcopal Vicar for Communications with the powers of a Vicar-General (Ad Clerum 21.11.85).
At the same time he wrote to concerned laymen denying that Fr Monaghan was contravening church teachings in his radio advice, and denying that the ‘gay group’ Monaghan recommended, had links with a paedophile group! O'Brien claimed instead that Monaghan was ‘doing God’s work and the Pope’s’ (as quoted by Hamish Fraser in Approaches 93/94, 1986). Indeed in another letter O’Brien claimed that 'Open Line' provided Fr Monaghan with an opportunity to spread the Gospel! So while the taped evidence proves that Monaghan disregarded Church teachings, O'Brien claimed otherwise..
But the personalities aside, the key piece of evidence is that coincidence of dates in May 1985 following the exposé on 28th, when Gray announced his retirement and the fact that he was to be succeeded by Fr Keith O'Brien: one moment a ‘Fr’ in Blairs Seminary - the next designated as Gray’s successor.
And the rest as they say is history. From that time on, O’Brien has defended Fr Monaghan, even refusing to comply with the Vatican’s request to remove him from broadcasting - thus setting back his elevation to the Cardinalate for years (or perhaps, in the light of Vatican politics, securing it) - but an honour which was finally bestowed on him in 2003, as the Pope was suffering a terminal illness, and in circumstances that posed grave concerns, as his nomination 'circumvented' the scrutiny of curial Cardinals including the present Pope. No matter, the cardinalate has projected him into the very corridors of Church power, and no doubt his tendency to grab the press headlines by championing moral causes, suggests that his final ambition is the papacy itself - he is in effect establishing a name for himself in the papal stakes. It is also significant that since his elevation, 'Open Line' no longer deals with sexual problems from teenagers, but features the same elderly people calling in with concerns about their pets or about vandalism!
It almost suggests that after the elevation Monaghan undertook to improve his programme, in order not to sabotage O'Brien's chance of impressing his fellow-Cardinals with his papal credentials. O'Brien's actions correlate with those of one 'pitching to be pope' - and heaven help the Church if he succeeds.
(A version of this article appeared in 'Christian Order' May 2008.)
Iain Colquhoun - (for transcripts of Fr Monaghan's advice on 'The Open Line' programme see www.solvesecret.co.uk).
Cardinal's shoulder fixed in latest operation
Apr 25, 2008
Scotland's most senior Roman Catholic has had another operation weeks after having a heart pacemaker fitted, it was reported today.
(edinburghnews.scotsman.com, 25th April 2008) Cardinal Keith O'Brien, 71, had the pacemaker fitted last month after fainting before Palm Sunday mass.
Now it has emerged that the cardinal recently went under the knife for treatment to ruptured tendons in his left shoulder. The operation took place at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and has left him in a sling. It had been planned to take place sooner but had to be postponed to prioritise the heart operation.
Cardinal O'Brien, who is Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, is now recovering at home, and was said to be light hearted about his latest medical setback.
He reportedly said: "I'm not complaining, but it is just slightly inconvenient when celebrating Mass."
The cardinal has been in the public eye recently with his attacks on the Government's legislation on embryo research.
In his Easter Sunday sermon, he claimed the legislation – which supporters claim could help cure diseases such as Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis – could lead to experiments of "Frankenstein proportion".
Cardinal O'Brien gets pacemaker
Mar 27, 2008
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has had a pacemaker fitted following recent heart problems.
(BBC, 26 March 2008) Cardinal Keith O'Brien was fitted with the device under local anaesthetic at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
The 70-year-old, who suffers from a heart murmur, had experienced dizzy spells in recent weeks and fainted prior to Palm Sunday mass.
Despite the health scare he intends to resume all his current duties and engagements as soon as he is well.
Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, confirmed that Cardinal O'Brien had been admitted to hospital.
"He does suffer from a heart murmur which he has had since his twenties and on medical advice had a pacemaker fitted under local anaesthetic this afternoon," he said.
The cardinal, who is Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, intends to keep all his engagements in coming weeks, Mr Kearney added.
On Friday he will attend a public meeting to campaign against the government's Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
At his Easter Sunday mass the cardinal accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of "an unprecedented attack on the sanctity and dignity of human life", and warned the research could lead to experiments of "Frankenstein proportions".
Scottish cardinal attacks government embryo legislation
Mar 22, 2008
The leader of Scotland's Catholic Church is using his Easter Sunday sermon to attack a British government bill to allow research using mixed human-animal embryos.
(The Associated Press, March 21, 2008) LONDON: Cardinal Keith O'Brien will argue the bill is a "monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life," according to a text of the sermon released by the church.
"One might say that in our country we are about to have a public government endorsement of experiments of Frankenstein proportion — without many people really being aware of what is going on," O'Brien wrote.
Scientists, however, said Friday that the cardinal does not understand what is going on.
"The Catholic Church is misrepresenting science because it doesn't understand the basic facts," said Dr. Stephen Minger, whose laboratory at King's College London has been granted a conditional license for one year to use mixed human-animal embryos for research.
The bill will spell out such licenses to be awarded in future.
The research the church opposes is aimed at helping develop cures for debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis, said Robin Lovell-Badge, head of genetics at the National Institute For Medical Research.
The research would be strictly regulated and the hybrid embryos would be destroyed after 14 days to ensure they are not implanted into the womb of a woman or animal, he said.
"How can a little ball of cells violate human dignity or scare anyone, especially when its purpose is to do good?" Lovell-Badge said.
The process involves injecting an empty cow or rabbit egg with human DNA. A burst of electricity is then used to trick the egg into dividing regularly, so that it becomes a very early embryo, from which stem cells can be extracted.
Because the animal cell's nucleus would be removed from eggs before human DNA was added, scientists said the resulting egg would not be an entity.
The Catholic Church and other social conservatives often oppose embryonic stem cell research, setting off emotional debates in countries such as the United States about the morality of using human embryos to look for cures to diseases. Such groups often oppose the research because days-old human embryos are destroyed to extract the cells.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday that the bill was important and vital for dealing with life threatening diseases. His Labour Party has a 67-seat majority in the House of Commons, so the bill is likely to pass.
But O'Brien is demanding that when Parliament votes on the bill later this year that Brown give lawmakers a free vote instead of compelling them to support the party line.
"The Catholic Bishops are using scaremongering tactics in an attempt to block important medical research aimed at understanding and developing treatments for incurable diseases," said Chris Shaw, a neurology professor at King's College London.
Scottish Cardinal Expresses Concern About Spirituality In China, Sees Hope For Church Unity
Nov 09, 2007
In a written reflection on his recent mainland China trip, Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien expresses concern about the future of spirituality there, but says he saw a desire to build unity within the Church.
Scottish Cardinal Expresses Concern About Spirituality In China, Sees Hope For Church Unity
HONG KONG (UCAN, November 9, 2007) -- In a written reflection on his recent mainland China trip, Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien expresses concern about the future of spirituality there, but says he saw a desire to build unity within the Church.
From Oct. 19 to 29, the head of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh archdiocese in Scotland, Britain, met bishops, priests, nuns, seminarians, lay Catholics and government officials in Xi'an, Beijing and Shanghai.
He prayed with local clergy and Religious, and led Catholics in prayer at Shanghai's Sheshan Marian Shrine, dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians.
Upon his return, the 69-year-old prelate wrote two articles. The first is an account of the trip, while the second, China -- Some Thoughts on the Way Ahead, contains his reflections on the visit. UCA News obtained copies of both.
In his reflections, Cardinal O'Brien says he feels concerned about the "spirituality" underlying the rapid development he saw in the cities he visited. "Where is the 'soul' of China in the face of increased secularization of society and a wealth hitherto unknown?" he asks.
A possibly positive indication, he says, came at the Oct. 21 closing session of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. "For the first time in its history, the Communist Party of China mentioned the word 'religion' in an amendment to its constitution," he notes.
"Is this a genuine attempt of looking forward to finding the 'soul' of China -- or simply a tactic to hold on to power?" he questions. He admits he cannot make a judgment on this, "but it could be taken as a positive step for further dialogue."
The cardinal observes that "spirituality seems to have been part of the nature of the Chinese people."
The prelate, who visited the tomb of Jesuit missioner Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) in Beijing, says the Church has its proper role to play in strengthening and developing the spirituality of the Chinese.
In his reflections, the cardinal also cites the existence of the "underground" Church community and the government-approved Church community's ties with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which have caused "division" among Catholics. It is his "firm conviction that the Church worldwide has a great lesson to absorb from the experience of those suffering and faithful people."
He reveals he met some bishops who are seeking legitimization of their episcopate from the Vatican, and says he knows civil authorities deny underground bishops recognition and freedom of association.
"I can only say that we all look forward to the day when all bishops will be in full communion with the Holy Father in their own Episcopal conference," he writes.
Cardinal O'Brien remarks on reactions to Pope Benedict XVI's letter to mainland Catholics, released on June 30. "Many have accepted this letter joyfully, others have been hurt by certain phrases, but there is a desire which I have clearly seen that this letter be used as a major step on the way forward to building up the unity of the Catholic Church in China and its challenging work of evangelization, while recognizing the legitimate role of the civil authorities."
He also observes that "although there are challenges still to be met, religious freedom has grown over the past years."
For the good of the Church and China, he says, further ways forward must be found in line with Church teaching as promulgated by Pope Benedict, "without denying the legitimate rights of the civil authorities there and the Chinese character necessary to find new avenues for the way ahead."
The "enthusiasm of the people of God in China" impressed him, as did the "sterling work being done to prepare the thousands who are seeking baptism each year" and the China Church's social service to the poor, people with AIDS and people with leprosy.
He looks to the future of the China Church "with confidence," despite "hurdles," and echoes the pope's call for Catholics worldwide to unite in prayer with the China Church on May 24, the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians.
Catholics worldwide can thus show "our own fraternal solidarity and solicitude for the peoples of China, helping them to be ever more close to Jesus Christ and to his Vicar on earth."
Visiting Scottish Cardinal Touches Hearts, Brings Pope's Blessing
Nov 09, 2007
Catholics in Xi'an diocese, central China, say the visit of Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien has encouraged them greatly.
XI'AN, China (UCAN, October 24, 2007) -- Catholics in Xi'an diocese, central China, say the visit of Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien has encouraged them greatly.
The cardinal, who heads Saint Andrews and Edinburgh archdiocese in Scotland, arrived in Xi'an on Oct. 19 to start a 12-day China visit. Xi'an, 900 kilometers southwest of Beijing, is the capital of Shaanxi province. Since 1985, it has been a sister city of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, part of the United Kingdom.
Cardinal O'Brien visited China at the invitation of the country's State Administration for Religious Affairs. He was scheduled to travel to Beijing on Oct. 23, Shanghai on Oct. 26 and Hong Kong on Oct. 29 before returning home Nov. 1.
Accompanying him are Monsignor David Gemmell, administrator of St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, and Columban Father Eamonn O'Brien, director of Cultural Exchange with China, a Catholic-run organization based in London.
His visit comes three weeks after Vietnamese Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, visited China Sept. 24-28.
On Oct. 20, the Scottish delegation visited Bishops Anthony Dang Mingyan of Xi'an and Louis Yu Runchen of Hanzhong, whose diocese also is in Shaanxi, at St. Francis Cathedral (South Church) here. Bishop Dang told UCA News he spoke on the Church situation in Shaanxi while Cardinal O'Brien spoke about the Church in Scotland.
All the Church leaders then visited Shaanxi Seminary, in a suburb of Xi'an, where about 110 seminarians and 97 nuns welcomed them warmly at the main gate.
Sister Holy Trinity Elizabeth He Jingru, head of the training program for nuns at the seminary, told UCA News on Oct. 22 that "opportunities for a foreign cardinal to visit the mainland are rare."
She said the guests joined in singing the Pater Noster (Our Father) and Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) in the seminary chapel, to the delight of their hosts.
Cardinal O'Brien, 69, also shared his vocation story. "When he was young, he was rejected twice by the seminary, but God finally answered him after he prayed hard," said the nun from Xi'an diocese's Sacred Heart of Jesus congregation.
"His talk gave us much encouragement, hope and joy," she shared, noting that the cardinal also sang a Scottish folk song.
Father John Baptist Yang Xiaoting, the seminary's deputy rector, told UCA News "all of us were deeply heartened" by the cardinal's humility and sharing. The priest is from Zhouzhi diocese, also in Shaanxi.
The cardinal also imparted Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic blessings to the nuns, seminarians and seminary staff.
On Oct. 21, Mission Sunday, Cardinal O'Brien attended part of a Mass at the cathedral. He entered the building after the homily and sat among the faithful. After Holy Communion, he went up to the altar and spoke in English. An interpreter translated his words into Chinese.
Father Stephen Chen Ruixue of Xi'an diocese, a member of the reception team, told UCA News the cardinal urged unity in faith within the universal Church, and encouraged Chinese Catholics to continue their mission in society and their contributions to the country.
The Scottish prelate also spoke about Pope John Paul II's concern for mainland Chinese Catholics and imparted Pope Benedict's blessing on the diocese, the priest said. The prelate added his hope that under Bishop Dang's leadership, evangelization would prosper.
After the Mass, more than 1,000 people came to kiss the cardinal's ring. He then visited a Church-run clinic and blessed the patients there, Father Chen recounted.
Before departing for Beijing, the delegation visited St. Peter's Church (North Church), a Church-run day-care center for mentally challenged children, and a Buddhist temple, for interreligious dialogue.
Bishop Dang, 40, told UCA News, "The cardinal's visit is not only for the good of the two Churches in Xi'an and Edinburgh, but also fosters growth in relations between the two cities and countries."
Father Chen pointed out that very few cardinals have visited Xi'an, and Cardinal O'Brien is the first since Bishop Anthony Li Du'an of Xi'an died in May 2005. Cardinal O'Brien lauded Bishop Li for his great influence on the China Church. "And after his death, we must give support to his young successor," the priest recalled the visiting prelate saying.
Church people outside China spread a rumor that Bishop Li was one of two cardinals created secretly, in pectore (in the heart), by Pope John Paul II in 1998 and 2003, but this was never substantiated.
Father O'Brien told UCA News on Oct. 23 that the cardinal will not speak with media during his trip but will issue a press statement after returning home.
Cardinal cuts links with Amnesty
Sept 07, 2007
Scotland's most senior Roman Catholic has resigned from Amnesty International in protest at its new stance on abortion. The cardinal had been a member of Amnesty since he was a student.
(BBC, 28 August 2007) Cardinal Keith O'Brien said the human rights group's new position on the issue contravened the "basic right to life" of unborn children.
Amnesty recently moved to back abortion in certain circumstances after previously holding a neutral stance.
The cardinal had been a member of Amnesty since he was a student.
Amnesty's international council voted earlier this month to campaign for woman to have access to abortion in cases including rape and incest.
The policy change has already led to calls from senior members of the Catholic Church in Britain and the Vatican for a withdrawal of support from the organisation.
In a letter to John Watson, the director of Amnesty International in Scotland, Cardinal O'Brien wrote that the move had forced him to reconsider his membership.
He added: "As a matter of conscience and with great sadness I have decided to resign from Amnesty International having first joined as a student and supported it over many decades.
"Throughout my priestly ministry and more recently as archbishop and cardinal I have shown my desire, along with my church, to defend life in all its aspects."
Mr Watson said he was sorry to hear that Cardinal O'Brien had decided to resign his Amnesty membership, as there were many more issues on which they agreed.
He added that the cardinal had a right to express his opinion in whatever way he felt appropriate.
However, Mr Watson said the cardinal's claims that Amnesty was heading a campaign for a "universal right to abortion" misrepresented its position on the issue, adding that the policy agreed at its international council meeting did not promote abortion as a human right.
'Personal trauma'
He added: "Our position on the matter of abortion has been informed by our work in, for example, Darfur where rape is used systematically as a weapon of war.
"Rape victims who fall pregnant suffer their own personal trauma but are also rejected by their communities.
"These women must not be abandoned by the international community."
Mr Watson said he hoped Catholics would respect Amnesty's position, even if it was in contrast to the official view of the Catholic Church.
He added: "We encourage the Catholic Church not to turn away from the suffering that women face because of sexual violence and urge the Catholic leadership to advocate tolerance and respect for freedom of expression for all human rights defenders."
Cardinal urges rethink on NHS fertility treatment
Jul 17, 2007
CARDINAL Keith O'Brien has urged Gordon Brown to think again about legislation which will make it easier for single women and lesbians to receive fertility treatment on the NHS.
(The Scotsman, 17/07/2007) CARDINAL Keith O'Brien has urged Gordon Brown to think again about legislation which will make it easier for single women and lesbians to receive fertility treatment on the NHS.
The leader of Scotland's Catholics has written to the Prime Minister, objecting to the removal of the reference in the current law to "the need for a father".
And he claimed the change, contained in the UK Human Tissues and Embryos Bill, could be harmful to the long term welfare of children.
Cardinal O'Brien said: "Prior to provision of fertility treatment, there will no longer be any requirement, nor guidance, to consider the child's need for a father. Paradoxically, consideration of the 'welfare of the child' will remain a duty for clinics."
The cardinal claimed the proposals constituted "a sweeping attempt to rewrite traditional concepts of parenthood and the family".
He said: "We believe that the state should not deny the child's need for a father nor ignore a wealth of social research findings upholding the notion that deliberately planning to have fatherless children is inimical to their long-term welfare."
And he asked Mr Brown to review the timetable for public consultation on the bill. "We do not believe that there has been anywhere near sufficient widespread and informed public consultation on the matters in question, and that to proceed in haste with regard to issues of such grave importance is both improper and dangerous.
"We ask you now to act with some urgency to ensure that these very important considerations are given the time they merit."
Defend the rights of fathers, protect the traditional family, Scottish bishops urge PM
Jul 17, 2007
The state oversteps its bounds by attempting to write out in law and in social policy the role of the father in the raising of children, said the Catholic bishops of Scotland.
GLASGOW , Scotland (Catholic Online, 17/07/2007) – The state oversteps its bounds by attempting to write out in law and in social policy the role of the father in the raising of children, said the Catholic bishops of Scotland.
In a July 13 letter written to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Scotland’s two most senior Catholic officials, Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Edinburgh and St. Andrews and Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow, the president and vice president, respectively, of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference, called for an urgent review of the timetable for the ongoing public consultation on the “Human Tissue and Embryology Bill,” arguing elements of the draft legislation could be extremely harmful to the long-term welfare of children.
“The draft legislation proposes to remove the current reference in legislation to a child’s need for a father,” the prelates said.
“The proposals, they stressed, “constitute a sweeping attempt to rewrite traditional concepts of parenthood and the family.
Cardinal O’Brien and Archbishop Conti noted that passage of the draft bill would mean “that, prior to provision of fertility treatment, there will no longer be any requirement, nor guidance, to consider the child’s need for a father.”
They suggested that the draft provisions were “devised to accommodate the huge variety of new technologies that have followed in the wake of in vitro fertilization, and which facilitate the creation of children without any deference to historical social traditions or indeed to natural biology.”
While noting that the draft bill is “under scrutiny” by a joint committee of the two houses of Parliament and is “a complex and lengthy document,” the Catholic bishops’ officials said that section three, which addresses the child’s lack of need of a father, has had “very little public airing.”
The joint committee’s consultation on the bill will only last “for a mere two months, over the summer and during the parliamentary recess,” calling the prime minister to act now to ensure “that these very important considerations are given the time they merit.”
“We do not believe that there has been anywhere near sufficient widespread and informed public consultation on the matters in question and that to proceed in haste with regard to issues of such grave importance is both improper and dangerous,” they concluded.
UK gov't perpetuates state-sponsored sectarianism, says cardinal, criticizing British PM
Jul 12, 2007
The refusal of the new British prime minister to move to repeal the 300-year-old Act of Settlement constitutes nothing more than an acceptance of and support for “state-sponsored sectarianism,” said a Scottish cardinal and long-time critic of the “pernicious and anachronistic” legislation.
EDINBURGH, Scotland (Catholic Online, 7/12/2007) – In an 850-word commentary that appeared in the July 12 issue of The Irish Catholic, a lay-run independent weekly based in Dublin, Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, wrote that, while “displays of outright bigotry may be alien” in Scotland, “anti-Catholic sentiment often lurks beneath the surface.”
He also called for creation of a “Charter for Religious Freedom” to protect the rights of all people, those professing a religion and those not.
The existence of the law, passed in 1701 to allow succession to the throne of England only through the Protestant line and formed the basis of Scottish law in 1707, undermines efforts to eradicate sectarianism throughout the society, the cardinal added.
The Act of Settlement “has no place in a modern European state, especially one currently grappling with the issue of interfaith tolerance and respect,” he said. “It constitutes nothing more than state-sponsored sectarianism.”
The law represents the “most obvious display” religious prejudice and “institutionalized anti-Catholicism” in Scotland, he stated.
“It is difficult to see how one agency of the state – such as the Scottish government – can promote the idea that discrimination on religious grounds is wrong, when another part of the state – namely an act of the Westminster Parliament – expressly permits and promotes just such discrimination,” Cardinal O’Brien said.
He said that he was “deeply disappointed” that new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown decided, after much speculation and internal government discussion, to not bring forward proposals for the repeal of the Act of Settlement. The cardinal had directly urged Brown, whose constituency is located within the prelate’s archdiocese, to repeal the act that is “an outstanding example of bigotry and sectarianism in the United Kingdom.”
Critics of the 300-year-old act, which is widely regarded as being a clear breach of the Human Rights Act, were surprised that reforming the legalisation was ignored by the prime minister on July 3. Press reports suggest that Brown, while lobbied hard on the issue, opted to concentrate on the relationship between parliament and the executive, rather than on modernizing the monarchy.
Cardinal O’Brien called for the establishment of a “Charter for Religious Freedom” that would “recognize religious freedom as a fundamental human right grounded in the dignity of the individual, which recognizes the right of the human person to act in accordance with conscience.”
He said that such a charter provide “the path out of religious intolerance.”
“This is needed in order that Scots of all faiths and none will feel that their beliefs are protected and respected by their fellow citizens,” the cardinal said, adding that “it would ensure that no one was forced to act in a manner contrary to their religious beliefs, nor restrained from acting in accordance with their religious beliefs.”
Further, he noted, religious bodies would have “a right to demonstrate and teach the social relevance of their religious beliefs and a right to manifest their religious beliefs by corporately establishing and maintaining institutions and services and by conducting them in accordance with those religious beliefs and values.”
He added that governments do not have a right to command or inhibit acts of religion, nor to force actions contrary to conscience
“We have come a long way in tackling sectarianism but we must journey further until the blight it represents is completely eradicated from our country,” the cardinal said, pointing to the Act of Settlement as among those things that must be confronted from “our sometimes tragic history and … embittered enactments of an earlier age.”
“Only in doing so,” he concluded, “can we pray that as we travel towards the future, the baggage of historical hate will be dropped by the wayside.”
Last year, the cardinal launched an attack on the 300-year-old Act of Settlement, decrying “state-sponsored sectarian discrimination” which leaves a blight on the cultural landscape.
In remarks to the Glasgow-based Scotland on Sunday published Aug. 6, he said Scotland remains afflicted by a “shadowy sectarian culture.
He said that sectarianism is codified in law through the Act of Settlement.
"Our constitution contains legislation which describes my faith as 'the popish religion' and defines me and my co-religionists as 'papists'. That this arcanely offensive language enjoys legal sanction is outrageous,” Cardinal O’Brien said.
He said that sectarianism will continue to thrive until the British constitution is changed to amend the settlement act.
“Anyone who seriously believes that introducing legislation aimed at eradicating sectarian attacks, which are often verbal, while elements of the very lexicon of hate they seek to abolish remain on our statute books is indulging in willful ignorance."
"How can the state … claim that religious discrimination is wrong,” he asked, “when the state in the form of an act of Parliament states that it is right?"
Cardinal O’Brien called upon “all those involved in anti-sectarian initiatives, at every level to accept and acknowledge that this legislation constitutes a blight on their efforts and its repeal would dramatically improve the prospects of their work bearing fruit."
Change in the Act of Settlement would have to be ratified by 15 parliaments of the British Commonwealth and would require amendments to at least eight separate acts stretching as far back as 1688, and including the Union with Scotland Act of 1706.
Opponents of repeal believe that repeal could lead to a Catholic assuming the throne, and could lead to the disestablishment of the Church of England as the state religion, as the English monarch must swear to defend the faith and be a member of the Anglican Communion.
Earlier in 2006, Blair rejected calls for repeal.
British Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor of Westminster urged repeal of the law in June 2002.
The Act of Settlement, he said, "is not so much that it is an act of discrimination against Roman Catholics - which it is - but it seems to me to be discrimination against the royal family."
He said at the time the law needed changing so that Prince William could marry someone of any faith. "I think the future monarch should be able to marry who he wants," he said.
"Talking about Prince William, he can marry by law a Hindu, a Buddhist, anyone, but not a Roman Catholic,” he said. "That seems to me anomalous and I think it should go."
Cardinal Keith O'Brien Challenges Scottish Prime Minister to Review Abortion Laws
Jul 10, 2007
Says that fighting poverty in third-world countries, but ignoring the unborn, is "hypocritical".
EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, has urged Scotland's Prime Minister Gordon Brown to review the abortion laws and join him in defense of life, the Scotsman Reports.
In an article to the Scotsman, the Cardinal stated that abortion is not solely a political debate, but a "profoundly moral question". He stated, "Abortion is neither political nor medical, though clearly it has implications in these spheres. It is about morality and the destruction of human life."
Urging that the abortion debate should be once again brought to the forefront, O'Brien challenged the "contempt", or apathy of people towards the number of abortions taking place. He stated, "Familiarity has bred contempt. It is a contempt, which must be challenged. I believe the time has come for a wide ranging and open debate in this country about abortion. It should not be dominated by our political elites or medical professionals, by religious leaders or pressure groups, but should be open to all."
He emphasized the need to support women who are contemplating an abortion as well as those who have endured one. He also asked why "a conspiracy of silence prevents their sad and wounded voices from ever being heard," and why public funding does not go towards supporting women with crisis pregnancies, but rather towards helping them procure abortions.
Finally, calling for a review of the existing abortion law, he challenged Prime Minister Brown to join him in "support of human life in another sphere-the defense of life as yet unborn. In the case of life in the womb it is unarguable that, from conception onwards, human life has begun. What exists in the womb is not 'a potential human being', but rather 'a human being with potential'".
While commending Brown's admirable work to abolish poverty in third world countries, the Cardinal noted that ignoring the unborn at the same time is hypocritical. He stated, "Our compassion towards the newborn and starving child in Darfur or Eritrea is surely hypocritical and hollow if we wantonly ignore the needs of their unborn counterparts in Dunfermline or Edinburgh who, through abortion, face the end of their short lives just as certainly as if they were born into poverty and malnutrition on the other side of the globe."
"Yet isn't compassion for our fellow human beings indivisible? Doesn't it apply to all or to none? And doesn't our failure to apply it equitably leave us guilty of expediency, hypocrisy-even sinful negligence?"
The Cardinal's article referred back to a public statement he made against abortion this May in St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. During a homily on the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act, he condemned abortion as an "unspeakable crime" and the "wanton killing of innocents". He also described the misinformation surrounding the1967 Abortion Act as "a pack of lies-lies and misinformation masquerading as compassion and truth". He also warned Catholics, including politicians, that cooperating in abortion sets up a "barrier to receiving Holy Communion" (See http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07053102.html).
O'Brien's words are especially pertinent at a time when the abortion debate in the UK is reviving. This is partly due to the fact that increasingly advanced technology can allow for the survival of babies born prematurely (21 weeks). At present abortion is legal up to 24 weeks gestation or until birth if the mother's life is in danger. In order to procure an abortion, however, a woman must have the consent of two doctors, a process that can delay an abortion by seven weeks, the Scotsman Reports.
Abortion: Cardinal throws down gauntlet to PM
Jul 09, 2007
Cardinal Keith O'Brien has called on Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, to take a moral lead and order an urgent review of Britain's abortion laws.
(The Scotsman, July 6, 2007) In an exclusive article for The Scotsman, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland praised Mr Brown for his stand on poverty in the third world and called on him to take that same respect for life into a "another sphere - the defence of life as yet unborn".
It is another attempt by the cardinal to put the issue at the forefront of political debate. He caused controversy earlier this year when he said the equivalent of two Dunblane massacres a day were being carried out, thanks to Britain's abortion laws.
His latest call comes amid a growing clamour from campaigners on both sides of the debate for the abortion laws to be looked at again by Westminster.
The pro-choice lobby wishes easier access to abortions while maintaining the upper limit of 24 weeks, while the pro-life lobby wants to see the time limit reduced and tighter control on abortions for what it describes as a "lifestyle choice".
In his article, Cardinal O'Brien challenged Mr Brown to do what his predecessor, Tony Blair, did not do, and reduce the time limit on abortions. He said that in a private meeting with Mr Blair, the former Prime Minister conceded there was a strong argument for a time-limit reduction. He said: "Sadly, he failed to act, allowing an opportunity to pass. I hope our new Prime Minister will not do the same."
The Cardinal, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, described Mr Brown as a "man of principle and deeply-held moral convictions" for his work as chancellor in reducing third-world debt. But he claimed such work was hypocritical if it did not extend to helping the unborn.
"Our compassion towards the newborn and starving child in Darfur or Eritrea is surely hypocritical and hollow if we wantonly ignore the needs of their unborn counterparts in Dunfermline or Edinburgh who, through abortion, face the end of their short lives just as certainly as if they were born into poverty and malnutrition on the other side of the globe," he said.
New figures released in May showed that 13,081 abortions were carried out in Scotland in 2006, compared with 12,603 the year before - the fourth consecutive increase. The figures also revealed that abortions among those aged under 16 rose to 362 in 2006, from 341 the year before and 309 in 2004.
Alex Salmond, the First Minister, has said he may set up an independent commission to examine the application of the abortion law in Scotland, but this would have no power as it remains a reserved matter.
Cardinal O'Brien sparked controversy a month ago when, during a sermon to mark the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Abortion Act, he hinted that Catholic politicians should not take holy communion if they voted for abortion. He later compared abortion figures with the Dunblane massacre when he said "we kill the equivalent of a classroom full of school children every day".
The cardinal said: "I believe the time has come for wide-ranging and open debate in this country about abortion. It should not be dominated by our political elites or medical professionals, by religious leaders or pressure groups, but should be open to all."
Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP whose private member's bill to cut the upper time limit from 24 to 21 weeks was defeated in the Commons last year, said public opinion now supported a change. "Why should a child born prematurely at 21 weeks be given every opportunity to live while, in a neighbouring ward, it is terminated. Life can be viable above 21 weeks and so should be protected," she said.
But Tim Street, director of the Family Planning Association Scotland, said he found the cardinal's continual butting into the political process "exasperating". "He should stick to his own constituency. Politicians deal with the law; most politicians are not Catholics. This is an issue between women and their medical professionals," he said.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which provided many of the 214,000 abortions carried out in Britain last year, also favours a review of the current legislation, but for entirely different reasons.
Ann Furedi, its chief executive, said: "We believe the current abortion law is out of date and in need of modernisation. The medical and social landscape was very different in 1967 when the Abortion Act was framed. ."
The BMA in Scotland said: "In the first three months, abortion should be available on the same basis of informed consent as other treatments, and therefore should no longer need two doctors' signatures."
Downing Street refused to comment last night.
STATUS QUO
The British Medical Association would like to see the current level of 24 weeks retained on the grounds that almost 75 per cent of all foetuses at this stage or under are unable to survive, despite the latest developments in pre-natal care.
They are supported by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service who argue a change in the law would affect only the most vulnerable of women, such as teenagers, who might not recognise the signs of pregnancy until very late.
It would also affect those women who, at their 20 week scan, discover there is an abnormality. The decision to retain the 24 week limit is supported by Lord Steel, who introduced the Abortion Act in 1967.
ON DEMAND
AT THE moment a women requires consent from two doctors who agree that an abortion is in her best medical interest before she can proceed. This can cause delays up to seven weeks in some parts of the country.
Last week, the British Medical Association voted that this should be reduced to just one doctor, for pregnancies within the first trimester, which constitutes 90 per cent of all abortions, in an effort to reduce such delays.
There is support among other medical professionals to allow midwives or nurses to carry out abortions, however this motion failed to garner enough support and the current belief among the BMA is that the practice should be carried out by doctors.
CHANGE LIMIT
CURRENT legislation permits abortions up to 24 weeks, but in severe cases or if the mother's life is in danger, there can be abortion up to birth.
The move to reduce the time limit to 21 weeks is as a result of the advancement in perinatal care which means 26 per cent of infants can survive outside the womb at that point.
Campaigners argue the upper limit should be the point at which a foetus can survive after birth.
There have also been efforts by pro-life campaigners to introduce a bill into parliament that would require women to wait a week prior to a planned termination to allow them to change their minds. However, the attempt was soundly defeated.
OUTRIGHT BAN
If the Catholic Church, which believes that life begins at conception, was to hold sway then abortion would be banned entirely.
Britain would revert to the years before 1967 when those who wished to have a termination had to endure back-street abortions or, if they were sufficiently affluent, find a private doctor willing to break the law.
Under a ban, women would have to travel abroad or attempt to obtain the abortion drug, RU486, over the internet, as in Ireland today, where abortion remains illegal.
There is very little public support for a total ban on abortion.
Even polls among Catholics find support for the current provisions.
How Prime Minister has voted on contentious issue
THE issue of abortion raised its head early in the political career of Gordon Brown who, in line with Labour's policy of pro-choice, then voted repeatedly to support it. In 1988, David Alton, then a Liverpool MP, tabled a Private Members' Bill to reduce the upper time limit from 28 weeks to 18 weeks and Mr Brown voted, on four occasions, to support the existing limit.
Two years later, the Conservative government agreed to table amendments relating to abortion as part of its Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. As a result, a large number of pro-life and pro-choice amendments came before the house. During the course of 1990 Mr Brown voted a further 12 times, including three times for abortion up to birth in the case of medical emergencies and severe disability; twice for abortion on demand in early pregnancy and once to extend the abortion act to Northern Ireland. Between 1990 and October 2006 there were no votes on abortion law in Parliament.
While Tony Blair publicly proclaimed his Christianity and so drew criticism from pro-life groups for voting for abortion, which many Christian groups oppose, Mr Brown has never discussed his religious beliefs, despite being the son of a minister and a regular church attendee, and so avoided similar flak.
O'Brien's statement to The Scotsman
A MONTH has passed since I preached a sermon at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh in which I criticised our country's abortion legislation. I have never had a greater response to any sermon or been so inundated with letters, e-mails and telephone calls offering support and thanks for my words.
Messages of goodwill have arrived from as far afield as New Zealand and the Philippines and from across Europe. Leaders of other Churches have indicated their support, as have many medical professionals. It is as if a dam has burst its banks and a great wave of compassion for the unborn has been released.
A surgeon wrote saying: "I am very pleased to see someone of your influence speaking out about the sorry state of this country whereby thousands of unborn healthy children are destroyed by the NHS and its abortion agencies, and most politicians seem totally unconcerned or ambivalent." He went on: "I feel powerless to halt the carnage and there is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing little arms and legs being sucked down a glass tube and binned for the sake of someone's lifestyle." Little wonder that the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recently highlighted the "growing problem of trainees opting out of training in the termination of pregnancy". This may be one of many symptoms of a society slowly awakening to the brutal reality of what it means to destroy a sizeable portion of the next generation.
A small number of those who wrote to me and responded publicly to my comments objected to my language and criticised me for entering the political sphere. The language I used was strong, I reminded my listeners that in Scotland "we kill the equivalent of a classroom full of school children every day". I did so not because I wished to be sensational and certainly not because I wished to offend. I did so because it is true.
Likewise, I did enter into a debate, which has, wrongly in my view, come to be viewed as political. Abortion is neither political nor medical, though clearly it has implications in these spheres. It is about morality and the destruction of human life. It is not something our political parties tend to campaign or give manifesto commitments on, it is rightly deemed a matter of conscience and MP's have a free vote. Parliamentary debates therefore comprise 645 individuals expressing personal views informed by faith, conscience, experience, or a combination of these. Sadly, few, if any of our MPs have training in ethics, moral philosophy or theology. Similarly, our medical professionals tend to have very little training in these areas, yet, surprisingly, perhaps our media tend always and instantly to medicalise or politicise this profoundly moral question.
Accordingly, the "abortion debate" in the UK rarely involves any actual discussion about the realities of abortion! 'Red herrings' and diversionary tactics keep us from proper consideration of the value of each and every human life. As Cardinal Pell of Australia recently said: "Serious anti-lifers and publicity seekers have been trying to shoot the messenger while they work to bury the message." That has largely been the tactic used by many in response to me.
Although abortion statistics are regularly published, they have little or no effect. Familiarity has bred contempt. It is a contempt, which must be challenged. I believe the time has come for a wide ranging and open debate in this country about abortion. It should not be dominated by our political elites or medical professionals, by religious leaders or pressure groups, but should be open to all. Perhaps the saddest letter I received recently was from an elderly lady in Edinburgh, who wrote: "I was so happy you are fighting abortion. I had an abortion in 1979. It was so easy to get the abortion with my history of depression and poor health. There was no-one there to talk to at length. Please use the people who have lost a baby to counsel those who think of abortion." We must urgently consider what help we can give to those contemplating abortion as well as those who have endured it, and ask why a conspiracy of silence prevents their sad and wounded voices from ever being heard. We should also ask why no public funding is given to agencies which support women through a crisis pregnancy while large sums are provided to agencies who help women end one.
No debate, however, would be complete without a review of the existing law. In recent weeks Alex Salmond has expressed a willingness to consider an independent commission looking at the application of abortion law in Scotland. Last year I met Tony Blair and urged him to consider a UK-wide review. He appeared willing and conceded there was a strong argument for a time limit reduction. Sadly, he failed to act, allowing an opportunity to pass. I hope our new Prime Minister will not do the same. Gordon Brown is a man of principle and deeply held moral convictions. Our views on Trident may differ, but, like me, he has seen the suffering caused by poverty and malnutrition in many developing countries and has sought to persuade the decision makers of the developed world in forums like the G8 gatherings to respond to the desperate need of our fellow human beings.
In doing so he appeals to their desire to save and protect human life - the most noble motivation of all. I know he will continue to advocate the cause of life in that area, and I commend him for doing so. Additionally, however, I hope he will consider joining with me in support of human life in another sphere - the defence of life as yet unborn. In the case of life in the womb it is unarguable that, from conception onwards, human life has begun. What exists in the womb is not "a potential human being", but rather "a human being with potential". With that reality in mind our compassion towards the newborn and starving child in Darfur or Eritrea is surely hypocritical and hollow if we wantonly ignore the needs of their unborn counterparts in Dunfermline or Edinburgh who, through abortion, face the end of their short lives just as certainly as if they were born into poverty and malnutrition on the other side of the globe.
Yet isn't compassion for our fellow human beings indivisible? Doesn't it apply to all or to none? And doesn't our failure to apply it equitably leave us guilty of expediency, hypocrisy - even sinful negligence?
Compassion to poor children hypocritical if lives of unborn are ignored
Jul 07, 2007
Compassion toward newborn and starving children in Africa is hypocritical and hollow if society ignores the needs of unborn children in the developed and developing world, said a Scottish cardinal.
EDINBURGH, Scotland (Catholic Online, 7/6/2007) – In a commentary published July 6 by the daily Scotsman based here, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, archbishop of Edinburgh and St. Andrews, said that the debate surrounding the attack on human life through abortion is clouded by red herrings and diversionary tactics, challenging new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to join “with me in support of human life.”
“The ‘abortion debate’ in the UK (United Kingdom) rarely involves any actual discussion about the realities of abortion,” he said. “Red herrings and diversionary tactics keep us from proper consideration of the value of each and every human life.”
The commentary was made five weeks after the cardinal, on the approach of the 40th anniversary of the passage of the law that made the taking of unborn human life legal, said that Catholic politicians must not cooperate in sustaining through legislation “the unspeakable crime of abortion” and to do so creates a barrier to their receiving holy Communion.
In that May 31 homily at St. Mary’s Cathedral here on the Scottish Day for Life, Cardinal O’Brien decried the killing of about millions of unborn babies and the spreading of the “culture of death” throughout society.
The Abortion Act 1967, passed by the British Parliament, made abortion legal in the United Kingdom for up to 28 weeks gestation. In 1990, the law was amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: abortion became legal only up to 24 weeks except in cases where it was necessary to save the life of or there is grave risk of physical or mental injury to the mother or evidence of extreme fetal deformity or there was a grave risk of physical or mental injury to the woman. The act does not extend to Northern Ireland, where abortion is only legal there if the life or the mental or physical health of the woman is at serious risk.
He noted he entered the debate, which led to much response over a month ago, that has, “wrongly in my view, come to be viewed as political.”
“Abortion is neither political nor medical, though clearly it has implications in these spheres; it is about morality and the destruction of human life. It is not something our political parties tend to campaign or give manifesto commitments on; it is rightly deemed a matter of conscience,” he said.
He said that while statistics about abortion are published, they seem to have little or no effect.
“Familiarity has bred contempt. It is a contempt, which must be challenged. I believe the time has come for wide ranging and open debate in this country about abortion,” the cardinal said. “It should not be dominated by our political elites or medical professionals, by religious leaders or pressure groups, but should be open to all.”
He called for a review of existing abortion law in the United Kingdom, noting that Scottish government First Minister Alex Salmond has expressed a willingness to consider an independent commission looking at the law’s application in Scotland.
He noted that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had “appeared willing” to consider changes, but “sadly, he failed to act.”
Calling Brown “a man of principle” who has “deeply held moral convictions,” Cardinal O’Brien expressed the “hope our new prime minister will not do the same.”
Acknowledging that Brown has advocated for the cause of those suffering from poverty and malnutrition in the developing world and has “sought to persuade decision makers of the developed world … to respond to the desperate need of our fellow human beings,” the cardinal urged his “support of human life in another sphere – the defense of life as yet unborn.”
“In the case of life in the womb, it is unarguable that from conception onwards human life has begun. What exists in the womb is not ‘a potential human being,’ but rather ‘a human being with potential,’” Cardinal O’Brien said.
“With that reality in mind our compassion towards the newborn and starving child in Darfur or Eritrea is surely hypocritical and hollow if we wantonly ignore the needs of their unborn counterparts in Dunfermline or Edinburgh who through abortion face the end of their short lives just as certainly as if they were born into poverty and malnutrition on the other side of the globe,” he said.
”Yet, the cardinal asked, “isn't compassion for our fellow human beings indivisible? Doesn't it apply to all or to none? And doesn't our failure to apply it equitably leave us guilty of expediency, hypocrisy even sinful negligence?”
Scottish Cardinal voices concern at PM's apparent endorsement of 'state-sponsored sectarianism'
Jul 04, 2007
Following the announcement by Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday that various constitutional changes would not include the repeal of the Act of Settlement, Cardinal Keith O'Brien said:
(Independent Catholic News, 4 July 2007) "I am deeply disappointed at the statement from Gordon Brown. I remain deeply concerned that the 'Act of Settlement' will continue to exist and believe it constitutes state-sponsored sectarianism.
I have been happy to note the recent remarks by Scotland's new First Minister, Alex Salmond that the Act of Settlement should be removed.
I wrote to Gordon Brown in April 2006 following comments he made on the role of the Prime Minister in the selection of Church of England bishops to say that the terms of the Act of Settlement were anachronistic and that it was "an outstanding example of bigotry and sectarianism in the United Kingdom". I urged him to consider these views but did not receive a reply."
The Act of Settlement ensured the succession to the throne on the heirs of the Protestant Electress Sophia of Hanover, a granddaughter of James I. It excludes Roman Catholics, Muslims and other non-Protestants from succeeding to the throne.
Let Scotland Make its Own Laws on Abortion
Jun 12, 2007
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, stated yesterday that the Parliament of Scotland should be able to decide important national issues such as abortion for itself, the Scotsman reports.
EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 12, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Cardinal O’Brien indicated that the recent turn-over in the government of Scotland reflects a growing dissatisfaction among Scottish citizens about the limits that are currently in place on the Scottish Parliament. He was referring to the May 3 elections in which the Scottish National Party (SNP), the party working for independence from Britain, was voted into power, replacing the formerly popular Scottish Labor Party.
Since the Scottish Parliament was re-established after a 1997 referendum, ending a 300-year-old merger of the Scottish and British parliaments, the parliament has been limited in the issues it may decide to areas of education and training, local government, economic development, health and environment, sports and the arts. Even within these areas the United Kingdom Westminster Court has the power to over-rule decisions and to decide major controversial topics.
Recently, Cardinal O’Brien called for the local Scottish parliament to be able to rule on abortion within the country as well as to have an official say on Trident, UK’s nuclear armament system. Both issues have caused a great deal of controversy within Scotland.
The Scotsman quotes the Archbishop saying, “It was as if Scotland wasn't grown-up enough to deal with something like Trident, adoption or abortion, and I think voters were fed up of that.”
“In many ways, people have been disappointed with what has come out of the Scottish Parliament... and they are looking for a greater lead from our Scottish Parliament and Executive.”
Less than two weeks ago, the Cardinal also spoke out against abortion in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh. During a homily on the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act, he said that pro-abortion politicians who call themselves Catholics may not expect to receive Holy Communion. Condemning abortion as an “unspeakable crime” and the “wanton killing of innocents”, he also described the misinformation that has spread about abortion, saying, “We were told a pack of lies – lies and misinformation masquerading as compassion and truth.” (See http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07053102.html)
Cardinal sounds abortion warning
Jun 05, 2007
Catholic politicians who defend abortion should not expect to remain full church members, Scotland's most senior Roman Catholic has warned.
(news.bbc.co.uk, 31 May 2007) In a sermon marking 40 years since the Abortion Act, Cardinal Keith O'Brien said pro-abortion MPs should consider their stance on receiving Communion.
He said the abortion rate north of the border was equivalent to "two Dunblane massacres a day".
The cardinal's opponents have accused him of using inflammatory language.
They said it was up to elected officials to decide such ethical issues without facing threats from church leaders.
Abortion remains a reserved issue, legislated over by politicians at Westminster.
Speaking at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, the cardinal urged decision-makers to stop supporting what he labelled an "unspeakable crime".
And he called on voters to reject candidates who defend a "social evil".
Cardinal O'Brien said: "We are killing - in our country - the equivalent of a classroom of kids every single day.
"Can you imagine that? Two Dunblane massacres a day in our country going on and on. And when's it going to stop?
"I can't change the teachings of Jesus Christ. I can't change the 10 Commandments. That's what I'm ordained to teach and to preach: 'Thou shalt not kill."'
BBC religious affairs correspondent, Robert Pigott, said Cardinal O'Brien has been frustrated by what he sees as the marginalisation of Christian values in public affairs.
He has embarked on his boldest intervention yet in political life, our correspondent said.
His sermon attacked the 1967 act, describing the roughly seven million abortions in Britain since then as an "unspeakable crime" and the "wanton killing of innocents".
The cardinal told the BBC: "We're told by statisticians that the equivalent of a classroom of children every day are being aborted in their mothers' womb - basically murdered in their mothers' womb."
However, his intervention has angered some politicians. Jeremy Purvis, a Liberal Democrat member of the Scottish Parliament, said the cardinal was using "inflammatory" language.
He said: "It is not right that we would be seen to be put under pressure, or indeed some members threatened, by a religious leader on what is a very sensitive issue."
A Liberal Democrat spokesman in Westminster said abortion was a matter for the individual conscience and that Mr Purvis was giving his own personal view as a liberal politician.
That view was echoed by the main parties in Scotland.
Minister for public health, Shona Robison, said that the Scottish government was committed to improving Scotland's sexual health and reducing the number of unintended pregnancies through Respect and Responsibility, the national sexual health strategy.
'Derelicting its responsibility'
SNP MSP Michael Matheson said the Catholic Church would be "hypocritical" if it didn't speak out against abortion and those who supported it.
He added: "I think it is perfectly reasonable for the Catholic leader in Scotland to effectively assert Catholic social teaching that is opposed to abortion.
"If you had a situation where politicians who were voting in favour of abortion were then expected to be able to participate fully within a Catholic Mass then the church itself would be derelicting its responsibility to uphold its own teachings."
The leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, emphasised his opposition to abortion, although in more measured terms than his Scottish counterpart.
He said: "I would urge all Catholics, especially those who hold positions of public responsibility, to educate themselves about the teaching of the church, and to seek pastoral advice so that they can make informed decisions with consistency and integrity."
Harry Conroy, editor of the Scottish Catholic Observer, said the paper fully supported Cardinal O'Brien's stance on abortion.
Mr Conroy denied that the cardinal had used extreme language.
"What Cardinal O'Brien has done is bring it up in a manner that makes people stop and listen," he said.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: "Abortion is a safe, legal and medically legitimate procedure, essential in safeguarding women's reproductive health.
"Women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their future. The cardinal has every right to hold his views. He obviously doesn't have to have an abortion, or provide one."
1967 Abortion Act "a pack of lies"
Jun 05, 2007
In a strongly-worded sermon to be delivered this afternoon at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien will describe the claims and assurances made at the time of the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act were no more than a "pack of lies" which amounted to "lies and misinformation masquerading as compassion and truth".
(Independent Catholic News) Edinburgh, 31 May 2007 - The Cardinal's words come as the 40th anniversary of the act approaches and are timed to coincide with the Catholic Church's "Day for Life" on May 31st. "Blessed is the fruit of your womb" is the theme for this year's Day for Life.
The Scottish Day for Life falls on The Feast of the Visitation which marks the journey by Mary who went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting a child. At their meeting, John the Baptist, the child in Elizabeth's womb leapt for joy, and Elizabeth cried out: "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb." The day will be marked in Scotland's 500 Catholic parishes who have been sent 250,000 leaflets expanding on the theme and explaining the church's opposition to abortion and providing details of alternatives.
In a letter which accompanies the material sent to parishes, Archbishop Mario Conti urges "every parish in Scotland to take the opportunity to remind people that it is 40 years since the Abortion Act was passed into law" adding that people should be encouraged to "pray for legislation to protect the unborn child from the moment of conception".
In his sermon on Thursday, Cardinal O'Brien will also call on Catholic politicians to avoid "cooperating in the unspeakable crime of abortion" reminding them of "the barrier such cooperation erects to receiving Holy Communion"
Day for Life Feast of the Visitation 31 May 2007 - Homily Text - Cardinal Keith O'Brien
"Today's Gospel follows Our Lady. She has just learned that she is to be the mother of the Messiah and that her cousin Elizabeth is also to become a mother.
Mary, whose whole future had been transformed in the Annunciation, is so moved at the news of Elizabeth;s pregnancy that she immediately sets out for the town of Judah. The meeting of the two women is an event of great joy. What lessons can we learn from that scene?
We see the affirmation of the immense value of life from its very conception. The redeemer in the womb unites himself with all of humanity. By becoming incarnate in the womb of Mary, God raises to a new level the greatness of every human life.
The joy of that meeting holds out to us the message of delight that should accompany every pregnancy. With every life conceived God acts directly to create a new and unique human being, a person destined to life everlasting. Sadly, joy is not always the dominant emotion evoked by news of pregnancy in the world we live in today.
Today as we remember the Visitation we mark the 'Day for Life' in Scotland, with a mixture of emotions, celebrating the gift of life but remembering also the tragic loss of life. Abortion is the theme for this year's 'Day for Life' which significantly is the 40th anniversary of the passing of the abortion act. In those 40 years the loss of life has been staggering. Around 7 million lives have been ended as a consequence of that one piece of legislation.
We were told that backstreet abortions were killing women and had to be decriminalised. We were told abortion would only be used in extreme cases. We were told medical scrutiny would be rigorous. We were told a lies and misinformation masquerading as compassion and truth.
The scale of the killing is beyond our grasp. In Scotland we kill the equivalent of a classroom full of school children every day.
For many women abortion has become an alternative form of birth control. The lives of the babies involved are not at risk any more than the lives of their mothers are threatened by pregnancy. Abortions to save the life of a woman are almost unheard of. As a society we wilfully ignore these realities.
We need to build, once again, a society, which joyfully accepts new life. The abortion industry has impacted massively on the values of our society as its proponents continue to spread their culture of death. There is acceptance of a philosophy, which permits the destruction of children in the haven of their mother,s womb.
We must remain witnesses to the truth and be unambiguous in defending life in all that we do. I have campaigned on behalf of the developing world, urging the G8 nations to act in defence of life. I have campaigned against the indiscriminate killing power of nuclear weapons and in defence of innocent life; I speak out today in defence of life at its most vulnerable and defenceless.
It is not easy to turn societies against the natural urge to protect young life. Yet care and concern for children is still very much alive. We are gripped with concern when news coverage of a child snatched or harmed appears on our television screens. We have ached over the disappearance of young Madeleine McCann in Portugal; together with her parents we know the inestimable worth of one precious life. Yes life is precious and precious also are those lives that are snuffed out in darkness hidden from the world.
Let us build up within our society a generation of medical professionals who are unwilling to cooperate in the slaughter. I call on our universities and medical schools to teach that all human life deserves protection. I call on our hospitals to end testing procedures designed only for targeting and killing the weak and infirm. I call on all politicians to answer one simple question: will you protect the right to life of all persons in our society from conception until natural death? And I call on you to hold these elected representatives to account.
For those unwilling to give this support we must be unwilling to give our vote. History will judge us on where we stood in this crucial issue. But there is a judgement more important than history. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
I urge politicians to have no truck with the evil trade of abortion. For those at Westminster this means finding means of overthrowing the legislation, which makes the killing possible. For those at Holyrood that means refusing to allow our health services to participate in the wanton killing of the innocent. Peace cannot be built in the shadow of the abortion rooms.
In making this call, I speak most especially to those who claim to be Catholic. I ask them to examine their consciences and discern if they are playing any part in sustaining this social evil. I remind them to avoid cooperating in the unspeakable crime of abortion and the barrier such cooperation erects to receiving Holy Communion. As St Paul warns 'whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup,'
I would be failing as a pastor not to highlight the gravity of this situation not just to law makers but to anyone: mother; father; boyfriend; counsellor who in any way leads a mother to abortion.
There is much we can do. We can urge support for legislation which may not be perfect but improves the situation, legislation aimed at reducing abortion limits or bills ensuring that parents be informed if their children seek an abortion, can be supported as long as it is made clear that one is in principle against all abortions. Proposals to ensure women contemplating abortion are given full details about the physical and emotional risks to themselves and about foetal development should be backed.
We can work to ensure that the more light, which is shone on this terrible procedure the less acceptable it will be to our society. Signs of hope are appearing, earlier this month it was reported that many doctors are no longer willing to cooperate in abortion. They know, better than most, the humanity of the unborn. We need to support anyone who takes the same line believing always that truth will eventually triumph.
In returning to the scene of the visitation we see that in bringing our Lord to the house of Elizabeth, Mary brought great joy, even to inspiring joy in the unborn John the Baptist. As we carry Christ to the rest of society may our voices be a cause of joy for the unborn in our society."
La legge sull’aborto è una “sfilza di bugie”
Jun 04, 2007
In una forte omelia pronunciata nel pomeriggio del 31 maggio, Festa della Visitazione, nella cattedrale di Santa Maria di Edimburgo (Scozia), il Cardinale Keith O’Brien ha descritto le affermazioni risalenti a quando è stata approvata la Legge sull’Aborto nel 1967 come una “sfilza di bugie” che includevano “menzogne e disinformazione mascherate da compassione e verità”.
EDIMBURGO, domenica, 3 giugno 2007 (ZENIT.org).- Le parole del Cardinale sono risuonate mentre si avvicina il 40° anniversario della legge e in occasione della celebrazione della “Giornata per la Vita” da parte della Chiesa il 31 maggio. Il tema della giornata di quest’anno è “Benedetto il frutto del tuo seno”.
La Giornata per la Vita scozzese cade nella Festa della Visitazione che segna il viaggio di Maria che va a far visita a sua cugina Elisabetta, anch’ella in attesa di un figlio.
La Giornata è stata ricordata in 500 parrocchie cattoliche con 250.000 opuscoli che spiegano il tema e l’opposizione della Chiesa all’aborto, diffondendo informazioni sulle alternative.
In una lettera che accompagna il materiale inviato alle parrocchie, l’Arcivescovo Mario Conti ha esortato “ogni parrocchia in Scozia ad approfittare dell’opportunità di ricordare alla gente che è il 40° anniversario dell’approvazione della Legge sull’Aborto”, aggiungendo che la gente dovrebbe “chiedere una legislazione che difenda il bambino dal momento del concepimento”.
Nella sua omelia di giovedì, il Cardinale O’Brien ha anche chiesto ai politici cattolici di evitare di “cooperare all’indicibile crimine dell’aborto” ricordando loro “la barriera che questa cooperazione presuppone per ricevere la Santa Comunione”.
The Hybrid Cardinal
La legge sull’aborto è una “sfilza di bugie”