Stephen McGinty: Winning ways are over in Paradise

THE late Cardinal Thomas Winning would tell the story of an encounter with Fergus McCann, then owner of Celtic Football Club that did not go according to plan. The Archbishop of Glasgow had arranged to meet with Mr McCann at his office in Parkhead to discuss the club's latest money-spinning venture, weddings over the centre spot.

In Winning's opinion the only suitable place for a Celtic fan, and by his definition, a Catholic, was at the altar of a Catholic Church and, according to his telling, told the Canadian multimillionaire so in no uncertain terms.

Winning later said that McCann ordered him from the room with the words that as he did not instruct the Archbishop on how to run the Church, so he did not expect to be lectured on how to run a football club. (In fairness to Fergus McCann, when told of Winning's words he dismissed the anecdote as 'nonsense'.) But it was certainly in keeping with Winning's perception of the club as a secular extension of the institution to which he had given his life: the Catholic Church.

The Cardinal regularly attended Parkhead with his nephew, and it was his only source of relaxation. He had a habit of writing to the Celtic View to express his displeasure when the publication carried articles which he viewed as incompatible with the team's Catholic image, such as stories about players moving in with their girlfriends or having children from outwith the confines of marriage. He did, however, refrain from attending Old Firm clashes as he found the atmosphere too poisonous.

What a difference a decade makes. I wonder if I was alone in finding the silence from the Catholic Church about the recent violence during the Old Firm game and the subsequent political summit, to be rather deafening? Could it really be true that the Church which has developed such an ease and confidence about commenting on almost every issue of the day, genuinely lost for words? After both the Moderator of the Church of Scotland and a senior figure from the Episcopal Church had spoken out, various senior figures in the Catholic Church were asked for their views on the problem of Old Firm violence and the possible solutions, but all preferred to say nothing.

The attitude of the Church appears to be that the Old Firm is nothing to do with them. Sectarianism is an issue on which they are happy to comment, but the engine that has so long fuelled those flames? No.

However the situation reminded me that the Archdiocese of Glasgow actually controlled a group of shares in Celtic Football Club, a fact which may surprise many people.In the early 1970s, a trust was set up by Dr Rosemary Scanlan, the sister of Archbishop James Donald Scanlan, who wished the generated funds to support her brother in his retirement and that of future Archbishops of Glasgow. The shares, described as a "few hundred" had belonged to her family which had a long connection to the club, and so were passed into the trust. During the 1990s when Fergus McCann was seeking control of Celtic Football Club, he asked Winning if he would sell the shares, but unwilling to take sides in the battle over the club's future, the Archbishop declined.

Although The Scanlan Trust had its own set of trustees, it was still controlled by the Archdiocese. The shares in Celtic were for the Archbishop, whoever he was.

Personally, I'd always thought it inappropriate for the Archdiocese of Glasgow to control shares in Celtic Football Club, however small the number. It perpetuated the iron link between the Catholic Church and Celtic which, over time, had begun to rust away and I think, given the sectarian tensions, that this break up can only be for the benefit of the city and its population. The days when priests gained free admittance have long since passed and Bishop Devine is, perhaps, the only senior cleric who attends Celtic games with any regularity.

Neither Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, nor Cardinal Keith O'Brien are admirers of the beautiful game and I understand the cardinal was most reluctant to attend an Old Firm match last year, alongside the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, for fear of perpetuating the link between Catholicism and a football club. Yet when a few years ago I challenged Archbishop Conti about the Archdiocese's control of Celtic shares he was quite comfortable with the fact and said: "The club has a long association with the Catholic faith, it was founded by a Catholic brother whose statue stands outside the stadium. I don't see any reason to sell, but at the same time, if anyone wished to leave us shares in Rangers Football Club we would be happy to hold on to them too." It would appear no offer of shares in Rangers FC were forthcoming. At the time we spoke, which was in May, 2006, the shares were valued at 8,000, and formed just 1 per cent of the Trust's total value, and had generated 427 the previous year.

Well, it would appear that shares in Celtic Football Club no longer have a place in the portfolio. For when I called yesterday to check if the Archdiocese still controlled the shares through the Rosemary Scanlan Trust I was told that due to changes in the rules regarding trusts, and after discussion with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, the trust was shut down, the shares sold and the proceeds brought into the Archdiocese so as to create an internal fund that would then fulfil the same function.This would appear to have happened a number of years ago, but I am, as yet, unable to ascertain exactly who bought them, or when.

It doesn't seem to have been part of any deliberate attempt to break off relations between the Church and the club. But it is clear that the days of Cardinal Winning's close involvement, and monitoring of the Club's behaviour have long since gone and this can only be a good thing. I believe it would be beneficial if the hierarchy made a point of not attending games, and should consider passing on such advice to their priests, not that they have done anything wrong in their support, and I appreciate what a sacrifice this would be for many Celtic fans with collars but it would be a blessing for a Catholic kid to grow up in Glasgow without being expected to support the team in the green and white hoops.

Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I don't give two hoots about football, never have, in fact when I interviewed Winning over 40 sessions while researching his biography we would begin with idle football banter. This lasted exactly two visits, until he looked up and said: "you've no idea what you're talking about" and so the football was kicked out the room. Others may insist Winning's comment still holds true, but when it comes to the separation of Church and Stadium, I'm with Fergus McCann.