By Elizabeth O’Brien
EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 12, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, stated yesterday that the Parliament of Scotland should be able to decide important national issues such as abortion for itself, the Scotsman reports.
Cardinal O’Brien indicated that the recent turn-over in the government of Scotland reflects a growing dissatisfaction among Scottish citizens about the limits that are currently in place on the Scottish Parliament. He was referring to the May 3 elections in which the Scottish National Party (SNP), the party working for independence from Britain, was voted into power, replacing the formerly popular Scottish Labor Party.
Since the Scottish Parliament was re-established after a 1997 referendum, ending a 300-year-old merger of the Scottish and British parliaments, the parliament has been limited in the issues it may decide to areas of education and training, local government, economic development, health and environment, sports and the arts. Even within these areas the United Kingdom Westminster Court has the power to over-rule decisions and to decide major controversial topics.
Recently, Cardinal O’Brien called for the local Scottish parliament to be able to rule on abortion within the country as well as to have an official say on Trident, UK’s nuclear armament system. Both issues have caused a great deal of controversy within Scotland.
The Scotsman quotes the Archbishop saying, “It was as if Scotland wasn’t grown-up enough to deal with something like Trident, adoption or abortion, and I think voters were fed up of that.”
“In many ways, people have been disappointed with what has come out of the Scottish Parliament… and they are looking for a greater lead from our Scottish Parliament and Executive.”
Less than two weeks ago, the Cardinal also spoke out against abortion in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh. During a homily on the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act, he said that pro-abortion politicians who call themselves Catholics may not expect to receive Holy Communion. Condemning abortion as an “unspeakable crime” and the “wanton killing of innocents”, he also described the misinformation that has spread about abortion, saying, “We were told a pack of lies – lies and misinformation masquerading as compassion and truth.” (See https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07053102.html)
Related coverage:
Edinburgh Cardinal Blasts Scottish Parliament for “Unjust and Immoral Laws” on the Family
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05101108.html
UK: Rising Number of Abortions Confirm Need to Change 1967 Law
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06080107.html
Abortion-Loving British Media Furious Over Catholic Bishops’ Intensified Opposition
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jun/07060403.html