THE Church of Scotland has hit back at a Conservative MSP who told the Kirk to stay out of politics.
Earlier this week Murdo Fraser took to social media to criticise the church for calling on the UK Government “not to withdraw from the EU without a comprehensive agreement in place”.
In the statement, Rev Dr Richard Frazer,who is the convenor of the Church and Society Council, called on Westminster and the UK Government to “look beyond party politics and maintaining or gaining power and focus first and foremost on the good of the country and everyone who lives here”.
He added: “We must avoid leaving the EU without a deal; to do so represents a loss of good faith with our closest neighbours on which we depend for our common good.”
Taking to Twitter, Fraser, pictured above, said he found it odd that the Kirk commented on Brexit, but not on independence.
“While I personally agree with this stance, I’m not sure I understand why@churchscotland can pronounce so clearly on this issue but had NOTHING to say on Scottish independence. Perhaps the Church should just stay out of these political issues?”
READ MORE: Joanna Cherry destroys Murdo Fraser over indyref2 poll tweet
Murdo Fraser once again caused controversy
Responding to Fraser’s tweet, Dr Frazer said the church’s policy on Europe had been arrived at in 1996 after debate at the General Assembly.
He added: “The church has never had a settled policy for or against Scottish independence, though it supported the establishment of a Scottish Parliament and was represented on the Scottish Constitutional Convention that paved the way for it.
“For many years the Church of Scotland has taken the view that the European project of closer co-operation, arising as it did out of two major wars in the 20th century and preceding centuries of conflict was a move towards ending this antagonism and promoting greater cohesion and social justice.”
Responding to Fraser, Dave Thomson, the convenor of Christians for Independence, and an elder in the Kirk, said the Tory needed to remember the Gospel of Matthew.
“I’d be very surprised if the church didn’t have a view on something like Brexit which is going to be so damaging to many people.
Hea added: “It’s very clear that a no-deal Brexit, which is what Rev Frazer was commenting on, will harm those at the lower end of society. It will make their lives much tougher. The church is here to help people.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel