Scots cardinal defiant after Pope criticises equality law ahead of visit

Published on Tuesday 2 February 2010 21:57

THE leader of Scotland's Catholics has insisted the Church's voice would "continue to be heard" despite new legislation which could end its ban on allowing gays taking up senior positions.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien's comments came after Pope Benedict XVI hit out at proposals in the UK's forthcoming Equality Bill, claiming the legislation "violates natural law" and was a threat to religious freedom.

The cardinal, who is leading a week-long visit by Scotland's Catholic bishops on their traditional Ad Limina pilgrimage to Rome, spoke out yesterday in the official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

The pontiff yesterday announced plans to visit Scotland later this year, but in an unprecedented attack on Gordon Brown's human rights policies, the Pope urged Catholic bishops to fight back with "missionary zeal".

Yesterday the Pope faced a backlash from gay and human rights campaigners with Labour MEP Stephen Hughes challenging him to start applying equality rules "on his own doorstep".

The National Secular Society said it opposed the fact that around 20 million of taxpayers' money was being spent on a visit which the Pope had indicated he would use to attack equal rights.

But in his Vatican newspaper interview, Cardinal O'Brien said: "Although a minority, Scottish Catholics continue to feel the effects of secularisation.

"That's why the voice of the Catholic Church is clearly audible against secularisation and the layism of certain laws that the government in Westminster and Scotland plans."

He added: "The voice of opposition from the Church often meets with the approval of other religious communities, who often look to the Church for guidance."

Last night, a Church source said the Pope would arrive in Edinburgh on 16 September where he will meet the Queen on a visit "which, crucially, had been instigated and would be paid for by the Westminster government".

The Pope has also urged the 35 Catholic bishops from England and Wales on the Ad Limina visit to stand united against the bill. The attack is believed to be deliberately timed before the bishops publish their own "manifesto" prior to the general election.

Mr Hughes said: "As a Catholic, I am appalled by the attitude of the Pope. Religious leaders should be trying to eradicate inequality, not perpetuate it.

"Instead of criticising the UK's plans to improve its legislation, the Pope should ensure that existing EU legislation is properly applied in the Vatican."

Mr Brown's spokesman said the Prime Minister "is very much looking forward to his visit".

He declined to comment directly on the Pope's remarks, but noted the pontiff had "acknowledged the UK's commitment to equality for all members of society".

The visit will be the first by a pontiff to the UK since Pope John Paul II in 1982.