I NOTE with interest the discussion surrounding the concern expressed within the Church of Scotland over the possibility of ministers being sued for declining to wed gay couples ("Kirk warns ministers face legal challenge for refusing to wed gay couple", The Herald, April 28, and Letters, April 30).

Despite the seeming inability of the Church of Scotland Law Department and the Legal Questions Committee of the General Assembly to fully comprehend and utilise the Church of Scotland Act, 1921, it is in this very Act and its "Articles Declaratory of the Constitution of the Church of Scotland in Matters Spiritual", that the rights of all Church of Scotland ministers are safeguarded.

Article IV states, among other things, that the Church of Scotland receives from Jesus Christ "its Divine King and Head, and from Him alone, the right and power subject to no civil authority, to legislate, and to adjudicate finally, in all matters of doctrine, worship, government, and discipline in the Church..."

It further states in this Article: "Recognition by civil authority of the separate and independent government and jurisdiction of the Church in matters spiritual, in whatever manner such recognition be expressed, does not in any way affect the character and jurisdiction as derived from the Divine Head of the Church alone, or give to the civil authority any right of interference with the proceedings or judgements of the Church within the sphere of its spiritual government and jurisdiction."

In short this means that since the state cannot interfere with the church in matters of doctrine, worship, government and discipline, ministers of the Kirk, some of whom may have a deeply held doctrinal view concerning same-sex marriages, cannot be forced to conduct a same-sex marriage, nor could they be sued for alleged "discrimination" if they declined to conduct such a marriage.

It should be borne in mind that ministers are quite entitled, on grounds of conscience, related to a doctrinal position, to decline to conduct, for instance, the marriage of a couple, one, or indeed both, of whom may be divorced. The state cannot compel them to conduct such a wedding, nor can the couple pursue a court case - if that were possible then the Catholic Church would have been inundated years ago.

We all recognise the right of the Catholic Church to its stance on its doctrine of marriage. Perhaps the Church of Scotland could be afforded the same courtesy - and perhaps the Kirk's Legal Questions Committee could be better employed in a vigorous declaration of the Kirk's position rather than its present, craven, scaremongering.

Rev John M A Thomson,

8 Skylands Place, Hamilton.