Archives crisis

Published on 13/07/2012 00:00

The future of the Scottish Catholic Archives at Columba House in Drummond Place, Edinburgh, looks to be increasingly ­short lived.

It is currently closed, 
unstaffed and only accessible by appointment. Its staff are off with work-related stress or have 
resigned.

Shortly it may be emptied of the Historic Catholic Archives, in a move so controversial that more than 100 academics in Britain and abroad have signed a petition against the move.

They are considering the 
publication of a blow-by-blow analysis of how and why the planned dispersal of the Scottish Catholic Archives was conceived and put into ­action.

One senior archivist south of the Border described Columba House (which has housed the Scottish Catholic Archives since 1958) as “a model”.

Another dismissed the dispersal as “cultural vandalism”.

As we speak, the formal agreement between the bishops and Aberdeen University is still in draft form. It has not been signed or finally concluded.

There is still time for the Scottish Catholic Heritage Commission and its president, Archbishop Mario Conti, to step back from the brink.

Perhaps there are more impartial voices among the bishops of Scotland and the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church who will urge a breathing space to reflect on the consequences of crossing the Rubicon.

Michael TRB Turnbull

Orchard Court

Longniddry, East Lothian