IT is reported that a representative of the Catholic Church in Scotland explained that the Church could not take any position in the proposed Constitutional Convention because this is a purely civic matter and it would therefore be inappropriate to express an opinion. This mirrors exactly the position taken by the Church of Scotland. This silence maintains the position taken by the Catholic Church in 2014 at the time of the original referendum on independence.
It is hideously and blasphemously misguided. Because the choice we face is undoubtedly a moral one, not merely a political dilemma. Indeed, it is of such colossal moral dimension as to render all other ethical problems relatively unimportant, concerning as it does the fate of humanity, and indeed, of the planet.
READ MORE: STUC ‘open’ to taking part in constitutional convention
The choice we face is between parties which support the ongoing deployment of Trident or ones which reject it, who abhor our current willingness to use this, the world’s most powerful machine for the mass killing of human beings. All the Unionist parties are united in a determination to continue with this moral nihilism. All parties which want independence reject this flagrantly immoral crime.
We see the terrifying consequences of this moral nihilism in Gaza every day. Sitting on the fence is the abdication of a moral stance. That is not giving witness.
It is grotesque hypocrisy for the UK Government to evoke the rules of war in the Middle East while deploying the flagrantly illegal weapons of mass destruction.
READ MORE: UK Government to brand those 'undermining' Britain as 'extremists'
“If Chris’s disciples keep silent, these stones will shout aloud” – these words from the Iona Community’s prayer book often come to mind when I stand at the gates of Faslane and contemplate the huge boulders piled round the gate to hinder protesters. When Armageddon comes, we will bring the Sun to Earth and these same stones will literally melt with the heart. A terminal disaster we are training and preparing for each day.
Silence is consent. It is a matter of inexpressible anguish for me to live in a society preparing to commit the ultimate sin, the reversal of Genesis. Will the Churches not voice their condemnation in such a way that no-one can doubt it?
Either we have a future without nuclear weapons, or we have no future at all. Should the Churches not be leading us to joining the majority of nations who want a future? Where is the prophetic witness of the Church at this decisive moment in Scotland’s history, our nation’s kairos time?
Brian Quail
Glasgow
“SHAMEFUL” was my thought when I heard that Home Secretary Suella Braverman wants to take tents away from the homeless. True sentiments of the Conservatives: if you are down in the gutter, let’s keep you there. What we should have heard from the Home Secretary is “what can we do to help you and lift you out of your current situation and crisis, reaching out and levelling up, offering real shelter?” Who would not accept a tent if the rain was pouring down on you?
As I write this letter, the United Nations Poverty Envoy is suggesting the UK Government is violating international law with its Universal Credit payment of £85/week for a single adult over 25 years old, saying it is grossly insufficient to survive on. The UN Poverty Envoy went on: “it is simply not acceptable that we have more than a fifth of the UK population in such a rich country as the UK , living in relative poverty”.
READ MORE: Suella Braverman's comments on homelessness shame the UK
The Conservatives have demonstrated over and over again during 13 years in government that they are consistent; consistent in keeping poverty levels high to the detriment of so many, denying those suffering a voice, while they go about their business well wrapped up and secure in the knowledge of where their next meal is coming from.
Shameful just does not seem a strong enough term to describe the lack of meaningful actions by a Conservative government all wrapped up in their own importance while a fifth of the population shiver.
Catriona C Clark
Falkirk
IT was absolutely deplorable to see thugs attacking the fire service and police with petrol bombs and fireworks in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. This is becoming an all-too-familiar sight in November. There are solutions to these disgraceful annual scenes, such as only selling the fireworks to organised display events and banning them from public sale. The governments of Scotland and UK need to step up.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf condemns 'disgraceful' Bonfire Night scenes as police attacked
I listened to a person on Good Morning Scotland stating that the Scottish Government were doing too little and fines were inadequate. He is absolutely correct in this but the implication during the interview was that the UK Government was dealing with the problem much more successfully than Scotland.
However, having read of similar events taking place in the streets of Greater Manchester, Bolton and London it seems that this is a British problem. Isn’t it interesting that again the BBC in Scotland did not give a national picture of these events. I also checked to see if there was any reporting of the night’s events on the 1 o’ clock news from London. Not a jot. Why not?
Keith Taylor
via email
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