THE Bishop of Paisley has defended a decision to invite Nicola Sturgeon to deliver the annual Cardinal Winning lecture in the face of criticism from some Catholics over her stance on abortion.
Bishop John Keenan said the invitation was a “huge milestone” in the year the Scottish Church celebrates the centenary of the Act of Parliament, which formalised the relationship between Church and state over Catholic education.
However, eyebrows were raised over the First Minister's involvement in an event associated with the staunchly pro-life Cardinal Winning, with some accusing the church of "hypocrisy".
The have been angered by the decision to invite Ms Sturgeon, which was made by the University of Glasgow, because of the Scottish Government's offer to fund abortions for women from Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: Inside Scotland's new anti-abortion movement
In comments under a post on Bishop Keenan’s Facebook page, people described the invitation as “shameful” and “inappropriate”, with one saying “With all due respect Bishop John, I don’t see this as a milestone.”
Another added: “This is a scandal. I am apolitical so my objection is nothing to do with her party. First of all, her support for abortion is reason enough to ensure she is the very last person that should be giving the lecture.
"Secondly, her relentless drive to redefine Marriage and support the homosexual and transgender agenda is nothing short of an abomination.
"Thirdly, her party seek to attack the primacy of the family through the hated Named Person legislation. Cardinal Winning would be appalled. I’m very disappointed in this decision."
Posting online, Monica Watson said: "Cardinal Winning introduced an initiative back in the day to help women struggling with the notion of abortion.
"I did a lot of work then counselling and indeed at that time adopted our daughters whose birth mother was enabled by his scheme. This woman speaking flies in the face of that."
READ MORE: Bishop accuses BBC of "pro-abortion bias"
Bishop Keenan replied that he understood the "pro-life anxiety" surrounding the decision, adding that he had previously spoken out against the Scottish Government's stance.
He said: “I challenged this at the time, considering it to be both immoral in itself and an awful and unwarranted political meddling of the Scottish and UK governments in the legitimate autonomy of a devolved region of the UK.
“I support this invitation and think it quite appropriate, in the year that marks the centenary of the Education Scotland Act and the long, fruitful partnership between the Church and the state in the provision of Catholic education for our citizens, that a current First Minister of state of Scotland be invited to make this address in some tribute to the enormous contribution Catholics have made to Scottish society over the century, and continue to make even today.
“As such, it is an invitation to the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon in office, more than to Nicola Sturgeon as a politician.”
READ MORE: Bishop warns against stifling free speech at universtities
The lecture takes place annually at Glasgow University following Catholic Education Week. It was renamed in honour of Cardinal Thomas Winning, president of the Catholic Education Commission, following his death in 2001.
Previously the lecture has been given by senior Church figures including Archbishop Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation.
Academics like Tony Finn and Sir Tom Devine have also delivered previous lectures, as has former First Minister Alex Salmond in 2008.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister was pleased to be invited to deliver the 2018 Cardinal Winning lecture, in the centenary year of the legislation that brought Catholic schools into the state system.”
Dr Roisín Coll, the University of Glasgow's Director of the St Andrew’s Foundation for Catholic Teacher Education said: "First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been invited to deliver the Cardinal Winning Lecture in recognition of the importance of this anniversary for relations between Catholic Education and the state."
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