Volume 14 Issue 2 Government Progress Marriage Plans The Government has released it’s second consultation on redefining marriage. This time it aims to 24 December 2012 identify safeguards for those who will be affected by changing the meaning of marriage in law. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that it is wrong in principle to undermine the fundamental institution of society and until recently the duty to uphold marriage would have been understood as an obligation placed on governments by international human rights standards. The consultation paper makes safeguards focus on the protection of clergy who may be pressured to conduct same- sex ceremonies but the reality is that the concerns are much wider and affect all members of socie- ty not just religious celebrants. For example employees should not face discrimination at work because they support traditional marriage, neither should parents be criticised by schools for refus- ing to allow their children to take part in lessons which promote same-sex marriage. Organisations and people of all religious traditions must retain their freedom to speak and act according to their religious beliefs. The consultation paper can be responded to online at https:// consult.scotland.gov.uk/family-law/marriagebill. We will be making information available on our website to assist people to respond the consultation. Below are some reasons for opposing any change in the law which have been identified by Scotland for Marriage.

Why it’s Wrong to Redefine Marriage

Impact on schools the word, but there s no doubt that many who support this radical agenda think anyone who Education guidance from the Scottish disagrees is not worthy of respect. Cardinal Keith O’Brien was labelled bigot of the year by

Government says schools should teach about the importance of marriage. If marriage is gay rights activists, Stonewall. However, given a new definition, schools will be under support for traditional marriage has come from huge pressure to teach about same sex many respected academics, lawyers, politicians marriage. According to expert legal advice, from across the political spectrum, and any teacher who fails to endorse same-sex religious leaders. They all know that redefining marriage in the classroom could be dismissed. marriage would have a profound impact. Parents will have no legal right to withdraw their children from lessons which endorse A huge change to society same-sex marriage across the curriculum. R Y O F F I C E Already supporters of gay marriage are Since we already have civil partnerships, isn’t recommending books for use in schools which same-sex marriage just a small logical next undermine traditional marriage, and call on step? No. Rewriting the meaning of marriage schools to get children to act out gay will have a far-reaching impact on society. weddings. The effect on schools will be Over 3,000 UK laws make reference to polarising and divisive. marriage. The UK Government has already admitted that official documents will need to be Thin end of the wedge rewritten to remove words like husband and wife. In France the Government is eradicating If we redefine marriage once, what s to stop the words ‘father and mother from all official marriage being redefined yet further? If documents. marriage is solely about love and commitment between consenting adults, what s to say we Freedom of conscience will be eroded shouldn’t recognise three way relationships? It s already happened in nations that redefined The civil liberty of people who believe in marriage. In Brazil, a three way relationship traditional marriage is already being eroded. was given marriage like recognition under The former leader of the SNP, Gordon Wilson, civil partnership laws. A similar situation has was ousted from the Dundee Citizens Advice existed in the Netherlands for several years. In Bureau because of his support for traditional Canada after marriage was redefined, a marriage. South of the border, a housing polygamist argued in court that his manager from Manchester was demoted and relationship should be recognised in law. lost 40 per cent of his salary for stating, outside When politicians meddle with marriage it all work time, that same-sex marriage in churches

starts to unravel. were an equality too far .And all this has taken CATHOLIC PARLIAMENTA place before any change to the law has taken Marginalises the majority place. What will it be like if the law does change? A leading human rights lawyer has Calling opponents bigots is meant to shut outlined the devastating impact of redefining down debate and stop people thinking for marriage on civil liberties in Scotland. This themselves. Nick Clegg landed in hot water information can be obtained soon from our over a draft speech which called opponents of website which is presently being redesigned. redefining marriage bigots . He later retracted

Parliament in View in Parliament www.rcpolitics.org Jumping on the Abortion Bandwagon

Following the tragic death of Mrs Savita tragedy to promote the many others which medical treatments which do not directly Halappanavar, Labour MSP Kezia would result from a policy of abortion on and intentionally seek to end the life of the Dugdale put forward a motion in the demand. Abortion always leads to the death unborn baby. Current law and medical which “supports the of an innocent child and creates a further guidelines in Ireland allow nurses and work of abortion rights groups across victim of the woman who will often doctors in Irish hospitals to apply this vital Scotland; notes the UK Abortion Act distinction in practice while upholding the 1967 and the equality, autonomy and equal right to life of both a mother and her freedom it considers that it has given unborn baby. This is also the express women over the past 45 years, and teaching of The Catholic Church which believes both in the principle of a women’s values the dignity of every human life. So right to choose and, specifically, the right there is no need for a change in the law and to access safe abortion...” A further 33 in fact, the people of Ireland have already MSPs, including the leaders of both The had the opportunity to vote in 5 separate Scottish Lib Dems and Green Party, have referendums which has led to the current chosen to attach their names to this settled opinion. It would be welcome if our motion. Rather tellingly, the motion makes MSPs truly respected the democratic no mention of the tragic death of her process but in this they have already been unborn baby. found wanting. First, The Scottish The common default position of any Government on same-sex marriage and then politician is to urge that all parties wait for Margo MacDonald on assisted suicide chose the results of the relevant inquiry – not this experience emotional and psychological to misinterpret and disregard the results of time. Before the various inquiries and distress in relation to the ‘choice’ she has their respective consultation processes. The investigations that are currently taking made. message they have given is that everyone place have had a chance to be concluded, It has not yet been established that the has a valid viewpoint providing it is anti-life 33 Scottish MSPs have taken it upon termination of her pregnancy would, in fact, or anti-religious conviction. themselves to tell Ireland how best to have saved Mrs Halappanavar’s life. What It is worth noting that international statistics interpret their abortion laws. It is shameful is clear is that whereas abortion is the direct confirm that Ireland remains one of the that they have chosen to exploit two tragic and intentional destruction of an unborn safest countries in the world in which to be deaths in order to jump on the bandwagon baby and is gravely immoral in all pregnant and to give birth. If only the same of the anti-life lobby and thus use this circumstances, this is different from could be said of Scotland. Social Capital

Exploring dimensions of social capital in seen as linked to social capital. Positive A further dimension of social capital was Scotland — Research Findings no. 20/2012 relationships, support, and cooperation were how positive people felt about their own is a recent publication from the Scottish seen as important factors in this context. local area, for example in the context of Government. anti-social behaviour. The researchers found that the The document has highlighted the distribution of social capital varies concept of "social capital" as being significantly across socio economic and important for society and for its policy demographic groups in Scotland. It makers. The authors say that social noted three key findings. capital, for an individual, encompasses such things as strong social networks People living in rural areas consistently and shared norms and trust. It can indicated higher levels of social capital, exist with family and close friends, with especially in remote areas, than those in people with more distant ties, such as large urban areas. People living in the work colleagues and with people in the least deprived areas had higher levels of wider local community. There is a social capital than those in the most recognition, which underpins much of deprived areas. People educated to the Scottish Government's strategic degree level generally had higher levels thinking, for example in addressing health The dimension of social trust was of social capital than those with no inequalities, that investment in strong social highlighted. In particular the extent to educational qualifications. Also they found capital is important for society. which people felt they could trust others that patterns of social capital by age were was seen as important. not uniform. The study used data from both the 2009 Scottish Social Attitudes survey and the Another aspect which was seen as Among its conclusions the paper made the 2010 Scottish Household survey and contributing to social capital was point that policy makers need to examine, identified dimensions which contributed to involvement in community and civic life. and understand better, the variations in the concept of social capital and looked at This included such things as leisure and social capital between different groups and how they varied geographically, socio- social activities and voluntary activities and how this works when designing and economically and by age. an individual's perception of their ability to implementing policies. influence local issues. Social networks and social support were

Page 2 PARLIAMENT IN VIEW Current Legislation

Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill (G) Stage 1 (Subordinate Legislation Committee) 18 December Stage 1 (evidence, lead committee (Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment)) 19 December Forth Road Bridge Bill (G) Introduced 11 December Freedom of Information (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill (G) Stage 2 completed 5 December High Hedges (Scotland) Bill (M) Stage 1 (evidence, lead committee (Local Government and Regeneration)) 19 December Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Bill (G) Stage 1 (lead committee (Finance)) 5 December Post-16 Education (Scotland) Bill (G) Stage 1 (lead committee (Education and Culture)) 11 December Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Bill (G) Stage 2 completed 13 November Stage 3 amendments may now be lodged with the clerks in the Legislation Team ([email protected] ) Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Bill (G) Passed 28 November Water Resources (Scotland) Bill (G) Stage 1 (Subordinate Legislation Committee) 18 December Stage 1 (debate, meeting of the Parliament) 19 December Stage 1 Report – Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee (11th Report, 2012)

(G) = Government Bill; (M) = Member’s Bill; (C) = Committee Bill; (P) = Private Bill; (H) = Hybrid Bill.

Consultation on the Purchase of Sex A new law that aims to tackle prostitution and linked. Where prostitution is permitted or prostitution is so harmful is because it human trafficking in Scotland was recently even tolerated human trafficking for sex creates a market whereby ‘...vulnerable open for consultation and closed on 14th inevitably follows. individuals are compelled and/or forced December. It is the first main stage of a bill into a cycle of exploitation that places being proposed by MSP as a them, and their families, at risk.’ In an

Member’s Bill. A Member’s Bill is a Bill ever increasing secular society that introduced by an individual MSP. This can be promotes hedonistic values the Catholic contrasted with a Government bill, which is Parliamentary Office welcomes the introduced to Parliament by the Government. attention being given to the morality and Before introducing a Member’s Bill, the MSP legality of purchasing sex. must first lodge a draft proposal and then a A main theme of Catholic Social final proposal. The draft proposal must be Teaching is the inherent value, worth and accompanied by a consultation document. dignity of each of God’s human beings.

This bill aims ‘to tackle the demand for This means that God is present in every prostitution’ in Scotland and to tackle sexually The proposed legislation supports the person. Prostitution damages the dignity of both the person who engages in it and motivated criminal behaviour in Scotland, 'Swedish Model' which criminalises the the buyer, reducing the prostitute to a specifically in the form human trafficking. buyers of sex rather than the sellers. The mere instrument of sexual pleasure and Prostitution and human trafficking appear to be consultation further explains the reasons lust. two separate issues, however they are inter- why prostitution is so harmful. The reason News in Brief

MSP Kevin Stewart tabled a motion to have Parliament support “ Transgender Day of Remembrance” which the motion reveals is marked on the 20th November and aims to “memorialise those who have been killed as a result of transphobia, or the hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming people”. In the same vein Mary Fee MSP used a Motion to congratulate Scottish Transgender Alliance on hosting “Scotland’s First Trans Health Conference”.

********* Scottish Parliamentarians debated the importance of St Andrew to mark the feast of Scotland’s patron saint. During the good-natured debate MSP Willie Coffey stated that “Some years ago, I had the pleasure of standing beneath the magnificent statue of St Andrew in the Vatican, which was unveiled in 1640 and above which is a relic from the cross on which he was martyred by the Romans. That led me to appreciate the close association that Scotland has with him.”

********* Earlier this year the Scottish government endorsed what sounds like an extremely challenging recommendation that Scottish children should be learning a second language from Primary 1 and a third language by Primary 5. The Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee has now launched an inquiry aimed at examining whether the capacity and resources exist to meet such an ambitious target.

********** TheVOLUME Scottish 14 Parliament ISSUE 2 has a new MSP, replaces the Labour MSP who has resigned to take up a post workPageing for3 a Trade Union.

Towards a Just Economic Order CATHOLIC PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE Challenges of Catholic Social Teaching

John Deighan Parliamentary Officer 12th & 13th April 2013 5 St Vincent Place St Augustine’s High School A Year of Faith Conference G1 2DH Top speakers examining economic Tel./Fax: 0141 222 2182 issues from an ethical perspective. Mobile: 07930 405 313 A broad range of workshops dealing Email: [email protected] More details soon. with issues such as ethical banking,

An agency of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland hunger, poverty, economic justice etc A joint venture of the Catholic Parliamentary Charity Number: SCO 16650 Office, Justice and Peace Commission and SCIAF Edited by John Deighan with contributions from Lucille McQuade, Tom Higgins, Fr Paul Brooks and Michael J Robinson The Consultation Process

Consultations are important and essential part of the democratic process in Scotland. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Government, there are many con- sultations. The issues the Government can consult the public on include; Devolved issues include: health education, family, housing, economic development and justice. Indeed, when government departments change or make policy they ‘listen’ to your views via a consultation. You can read the consultation paper about what government wants to do and then provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so. A list of the current consultations with closing dates can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current. The Scottish Government consultation on the draft Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill was published on the 12th December 2012. You can find the bill and the Merry Christmas other consultation documents here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ Publications/2012/12/9433/downloads#res410331 The bill introduces same-sex marriage in Scotland, available in civil, religious and be- lief (for example humanist) ceremonies. The bill also allows civil partnerships to be registered in religious and belief ceremonies. Under the plans, religious bodies would need to "opt in" to perform same-sex marriages. Scottish ministers have insisted that Recommended Reading the Catholic Church would not be forced to hold same-sex weddings in churches.

The Hobbit is the latest film sensation which brings to The Infant Narratives completes the Holy screen the modern Classic written by Catholic author Father’s trilogy Jesus of Nazareth and it is fittingly JRR Tolkien. It is an exciting adventure for young published in time for Christmas to make an ideal and old which uses mythology to present the perennial gift and source of spiritual inspiration. challenges of the battle between good and evil in everyone’s life. Consultations (with closing date)

Redesigning the Community Justice System – Scotland (30/04/2013) Proposals for Licensing Air Weapons in Scotland (08/03/2013) Renewables Obligation Banding Review - Consultation on a new band for innovative offshore wind generation in Scottish waters (07/03/2013) Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill (20/03/2013) The EU Dairy Package (21/01/2013) A Consultation on Tax Management (12/04/2013) Consultation on The Draft Scottish Marine Regions Order 2013 (28/02/2013) Police Investigations and Review Commissioner - Proposals for Regulations Relating to Investigations (14/01/2013) Taxi and Private Hire Car Licensing - Proposals for Change (15/03/2013) Supporting Business – Promoting Growth (22/02/2013) Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2013 (18/02/2013) Review of Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (Nuts) Boundaries 2012 (14/01/2013) Protecting our Resources – Consultation on a Scottish Landfill Tax (15/01/2013) Recyclate Quality Action Plan - Consultation Paper (28/12/2012) Renewables Obligation Banding Review - Supplementary Consultation - October 2012 (11/01/2013)

www.facebook.com/rcpolitics