Scottish bishops clash publicly over gay adoption rights

BY MARK GREAVES
AN untPiunt.orsnho dispute has broken out among Scotland's bishops after Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell attacked an alleged "policy of appeasement" towards legislation relating to homosexuality.
Bishop Devine, who accused bishops' conference employees of failing to oppose legislation that would allow gay couples to adopt, was publicly rebuffed last week by Cardinal Keith O'Brien;the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow, Scotland's two most senior Catholic clerics.
Bishop Devine publicly criticised John Deighan, the bishops' political liaison officer, and "others" for a supposedly conciliatory approach to the Scottish Executive.
He said: "Contrary to the preferred course of action of our political liaison officer and others, I refuse to be silent in the public debate over the Adoption Bill.
"They feared them would be a serious risk of the Executive reneging on its intimation to exempt the two Scottish Catholic adoption agencies from the requirements of the Adoption Bill, should the Church put the Executive on the rack in the media.
"But I was not prepared to be party to this policy of appeasement with the Executive," Bishop Devine said.
Within 24 hours of the statement being published a response was issued by Cardinal O'Brien, Archbishop Conti and Bishop Ian Murray of Argyll and the Isles which denied the accusations and gave "full and unqualified support" to John Deighan.
The statement said that despite disagreements between Scotland's bishops and the Scottish Executive the bishops' conference tried "to maintain a position of constructive engagement with political institutions at every level".
A senior Church source told the Scotsman newspaper that there was dismay among Scottish bishops over a spate of press releases issued by Bishop Devine. The source described the Motherwell prelate as "a rogue bishop".
The tone of the statements has prompted Labour MSPs to complain that Bishop Devine and his press officer Gerry O'Brien, a former public relations adviser for the Conservative Party, were running a politically motivated campaign against the Labour-led Scottish Executive.
Relations between Bishop Devine and the bishops' conference were put under strain earlier this year when Bishop Devine sent a letter to all MSPs condemning the Executive for its plans to introduce adoption by same-sex couples.
The move undercut the bishops' conference, which was about to send its own letter.
The Adoption Bill could be passed by Scotland's Parliament as early as next month.