Scotland’s Catholic bishops have hit out at “insidious” attempts to bar a politician from party leadership because of her Christian beliefs.
The bishops were also troubled “by the increasing prevalence of political parties removing the right of conscience from their parliamentarians on votes involving contentious moral issues”, they said in a statement.
They made their remarks amid the furore that followed the decision by committed Christian Kate Forbes to run as a candidate to replace Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister of the Scottish National Party.
Ms Forbes, the 32-year-old SNP finance secretary was instantly criticised as unsuitable because of her membership of the Free Church of Scotland and her personal convictions about the morality of abortion and same-sex marriage.
The bishops said that the attacks on Ms Forbes “have left many citizens seriously concerned over the negative characterisation of religion in civic life”.
“These concerns focus on two interconnected issues: disqualification from political leadership and the silencing of conscience in general. We share these concerns.
“Regarding leadership, it has been suggested that Kate Forbes MSP is unsuited to leading her party and to becoming First Minister because of her religious convictions.
“We feel obliged to restate the well-established civic principle, that holding or expressing religious beliefs and values does not and should not debar any individual from leadership in public office.”
The bishops added: “Regarding the silencing of conscience in general, we are particularly troubled by the increasing prevalence of political parties removing the right of conscience from their parliamentarians on votes involving contentious moral issues.
“Such actions inhibit freedom and are insidiously conformist in nature. They compromise open and honest debate and risk marginalising minority groups.”
The bishops noted that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion are fundamental human rights and that an individual’s religion and belief are protected characteristics in UK equalities legislation.
They also reminded the Scottish public of the address given by Pope Benedict XVI in Westminster Hall when he visited Britain in September 2010.
They recalled how the late pope “lamented the ‘marginalisation’ of religion which he described as a worrying sign of ‘a failure to appreciate’ what he described as ‘the legitimate role of religion in the public square’.
“He went on to offer a positive prospectus where ‘the Church and the public authorities can work together for the good of citizens’ through the promotion of ‘dialogue and respect at every level’,” the bishop said.
They continued: “We echo these sentiments and urge our civic leaders to recognise the dignity of the human person and the right of everyone to participate without discrimination in civic society according to their beliefs and conscience; without this guarantee our society cannot be free nor fair.”
Besides Ms Forbes, the race to succeed Ms Sturgeon, who resigned on February 15, also includes Humza Yousaf, the Health Secretary and the so-called “continuity candidate”, and Ash Regan.
Recent polls have placed Mr Yousaf narrowly ahead of Ms Forbes, with Ms Regan a distant third, although many SNP supporters have said they are undecided.
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