Scottish Catholic Leader Decries ‘Unjust and Immoral Laws’

The most senior figure in the Catholic Church of Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, attacked MSPs yesterday for their ‘intent on enacting unjust and immoral laws’, the Scotsman reports.

|PIC1|The Cardinal made the criticisms yesterday in an homily preached to a gathering of Catholic lawyers, judges and prosecutors in Edinburgh.

In his annual Red Mass, Cardinal O’Brien criticised those who see marriage and the traditional family as nothing more than “outmoded Christian dogma”.

“Sadly, in our post-Christian world there are many who consider it fashionable to attack arrangements previously considered as being good for society on the flawed assumption that they are relics of some outmoded Christian dogma rather than pragmatic and proven arrangements which have delivered stability and security to many societies.”

He said, although laws should not be based on religion, they should still be based on universal standards.

“There are moral approaches to the ordering of civil society that have been proved to lead to the common good, irrespective of the religious beliefs or traditions of the societies in which they apply,” said Cardinal O’Brien.

He continued: “The clearest proof of this is that, throughout history, certain fundamental civil arrangements have been shared across many societies, faiths and traditions. Among them are respect and protection for marriage, the family and human life itself.”

The Cardinal also denounced the outright rejection by some of any law that might have its roots in Christianity: “The new iconoclasts of contemporary society are determined to destroy any law which they consider may be associated with the Christian culture and heritage, an inheritance which has both served and defined Europe for many centuries.”

|TOP|The Cardinal voiced stark condemnation of the current approach to law-making and some of the laws passed by the Scottish Parliament.

“We are now faced with legislators intent on enacting unjust and immoral laws which do not stem from any natural or rational basis.”

He said: “It is all too easy to think of laws and proposed laws of our own Scottish Parliament on marriage, the family and the adoption of children which come into this depressing category.”

Cardinal O’Brien adds to comments he made earlier in March this year, when he said society had “lost sight of the sacred nature of human life”. In his Easter Sunday Homily, Cardinal O’Brien called for the promotion of “pro-life issues” and called a parliamentary report on embryo research a “development which would lead to even more destruction of human life”, according to the Scotsman.

The Cardinal’s comments coincide with reports in the Scottish Herald that Operation Christian Vote has decided to rename itself and use a large donation to fight for seats in 2007 Holyrood elections.

One Christian Vote opposes any liberalisation of the law on the family, abortion, same-sex marriage rights and embryo research.