The Catholic Church in Scotland has recommended that the government should stop indulging in the growing culture of materialism, following the release of figures showing that Scotland has the highest rate of suicide in the whole of the UK.
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics, the suicide rate among Scottish men between 1991 and 2004 was 50 percent higher than amongst the rest of the UK.
The suicide rate among Scottish men for the assessed period was 30 per 100,000 compared with 22.4 in Wales, 18.3 in Northern Ireland and 16.7 in England. For Scots women the rate was 10 per 100,000 compared with 5.4 in England.
"Although the church is not in a position to speak regarding the sociological difference between the figures it can be said that the materialistic culture that rejects God always leads to emptiness and despair," said a spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Media Office Simon Dames.
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