Crack down on preachers’ attacks on minorities at Holyrood
May 06, 2005
Scottish parliament bosses have banned ministers and priests from addressing MSPs unless they refrain from attacking homosexuals and other minorities. A spokesman for the Catholic Church said the tightening of the rules made the parliament look petty and mean spirited.
(Sunday Herald 01 May 2005) The new guidelines, which were a response to Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s recent speech at Time For Reflection, Holyrood’s four-minute prayer slot, have prompted the Catholic Church to call for the fixture to be scrapped.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland had used his short speech last December to claim that gays and lesbians were “captives to sexual aberration”.
He also compared non- heterosexuals to prisoners in Edinburgh’s Saughton jail who were waiting to be “set free”.
His remarks infuriated officials who believed the cardinal had taken advantage of a privileged speaking slot by attacking one of Scotland’s most vulnerable communities.
Angry politicians then signed Green MSP Patrick Harvie’s motion condemning O’Brien’s “gratuitous insult”, a petition that attracted cross-party support.
Now MSPs have acted to prevent a repeat episode by tightening the rules for guests at the Time For Reflection.
In revised guidance agreed earlier this month by the parliamentary bureau, the body that dictates chamber business, Holyrood officials have clamped down on offensive speeches by religious figures.
It now reads: “[Contributions] will be consistent with the principle of equal opportunities for all and should not include remarks or comments which are discriminatory.” .
The parliament is also demanding that spiritual leaders stick to the speech they provide to clerks in advance of their address.
MSPs voted in May 1999 to start each week’s parliamentary business with Time For Reflection, although First Minister Jack McConnell, his deputy Cathy Jamieson and parliament minister Margaret Curran did not back it.
Since its establishment, MSPs have listened to contributions from Protestants, Catholics, Buddhists, Mormons and other faiths.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church said the tightening of the rules made the parliament look petty and mean spirited.
“Discrimination is in the ear of the beholder,” he said. “If MSPs don’t want to be questioned or challenged, it calls into question the whole purpose of the slot. Maybe they should consider scrapping it altogether if they are not willing to entertain freedom of expression.”
Crack down on preachers’ attacks on minorities at Holyrood