Cardinal pressured to ease support for Scots independence

BY CHRISTINA FARRELL
THERE WERE STRONG indications this week that the leader of Scotland's Catholics has been persuaded to dampen down his controversial views on Scottish independence following an outspoken interview in The Catholic Herald in October.
Last month Cardinal Keith O'Brien caused a furore in political circles after admitting that he was "happy" for Scotland to separate itself from Britain and that independence would come "before too long".
His comments provoked an outburst from the Prime Minister who responded that independence was not a Matter of religious faith and would be a disaster for Scotland.
But speaking at the weekend Cardinal O'Brien appeared to be backtracking from his proindependence line. He warned nationalists that a "tremendous amount of money" would be required for Scotland to split from Britain and added that the issue of the constitution was not about morality. 'There are reasons why Scotland could become independent, so politicians and the people have to weigh up other reasons why it should not be independent," he said "One thing is the tremendous amount of money which would have to be raised for an independent Scotland Following the initial interview the Church in Scotland appeared to distance itself from the row. A spokesman suggested that the cardinal was not speaking specifically about independence but wanted to convey that the "sovereignty of Scotland lies with the Scottish people".
However, it has emerged that in recent weeks the prelate has had several meetings with highlevel Labour figures, including the Chancellor Gordon Brown, and Jack McConnell, Scotland's First Minister.
Them were widespread fears in Labour ranks that Cardinal O'Brien's comments could trigger a voice face at the poll booths and swing large sections of the Catholic Labour vote to the Scottish Nationalist party. The Chancellor is understood to have met Cardinal O'Brien for talks soon after the interview was published.
In addition a delegation of Scottish MSPs have also expressed their concerns that Labour politicians were being misrepresented. They told the cardinal that Labour had the interests of the Catholic vote at heart and had crucially backed the Church on key issues such as the threat to faith schools.
Sources close to Labour said the charm offensive that had been launched to woo the cardinal was "more offensive than charm". Senior Labour politicians have also expressed anger that the comments on independence had been expressed recklessly and not properly thought through.
A Church spokesman, however, described the meetings as "cordial".