Ravenscraig defence by bishops

by John MacLean in Glasgow SCOTLAND'S leading clergy have united in slamming British Steel's decision to axe 770 jobs at Ravenscraig steel mill.
Archbishop Thomas Winning of Glasgow and Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell issued a joint statement pleading for the dignity of the workers to be put before balance sheets. And Cardinal Gordon Gray, in an open letter published in several Scottish newspapers, pledged his support for the campaign to resist the closure.
The outbursts followed the announcement last week that the Lanarkshire plant's steel strip mill is to close. Over and above the immediate loss of 770 jobs, there are fears the whole future of steel-making in Scotland hangs in the balance.
In their joint statement, Bishop Devine and Archbishop Winning said they wished to emphasise the teachings of the church in placing people before policies. "If our first sympathies lie with the 770 families most immediately affected, we cannot isolate them from the many thousands of families whose confidence in the future must be shaken to the point of disbelief in the survival of steel-making at Ravenscraig. All must be given the hope of a resurrection. Without that vision the people will perish as a community, fragmenting from the core".
The bishop and archbishop went on to plead for government assistance in providing alternative jobs for the Motherwell area.