Scottish Bishops Sign Pact With Apostate Sect

You are not signed in as a Premium user; you are viewing the free version of this program. Premium users have access to full-length programs with limited commercials and receive a 10% discount in the store! Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. Click the button below.

See All Plans

DUNFERMLINE ABBEY, Scotland (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Catholic Church in Scotland has entered into a historic covenant with an apostate Protestant denomination that solemnizes "same-sex marriage" and advocates removing "medical diagnosis" for those suffering from gender dysphoria.

Acting on behalf of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, Abp. Leo Cushley, metropolitan of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, signed the accord at Dunfermline Abbey on Wednesday with Dr. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

The "declaration of friendship" was endorsed by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, who served two terms as her majesty's high commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland at an ecumenical service at the ancient Catholic abbey.

The declaration is named after St. Margaret (1045–1093) who was canonized by Pope Innocent IV (1250) and renowned as "the pearl of Scotland" for her life of prayer, devotion to Holy Scripture and missionary zeal. 

As queen consort to King Malcolm III of Scotland, Margaret personally initiated religious reform by participating in synodal discussions that tried to correct abuses common among priests and laypeople, such as clerical abuse, simony, usury and incestuous marriages.

Dunfermline Abbey traces its origins to a priory founded by St. Margaret in Dunfermline on the site where she had married Malcolm III. King David I made the priory an abbey in 1128. 

After the Protestant revolution in 1560, Dunfermline Abbey was taken over by the Church of Scotland, and now offers so-called same-sex marriages to sodomites and lesbians. 

"With changes in Church of Scotland legislation (General Assembly, 2022), the abbey church of Dunfermline will be able to offer equal opportunity to all couples (no matter gender) who would wish to be married," the abbey's website states.

In June, leaders of the Protestant denomination backed proposed legislation that would remove psychological assessments for transgender people who want to obtain a "gender recognition certificate." 

The new system, promoted by the radical leftist Scottish National Party, removes the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria before the individual claiming to be "transgender" can apply for the certificate.

It also changes the requirement to have "lived in" the "acquired" gender at least two years, reducing it to only three months. In addition, it seeks to reduce the age at which someone can apply for a gender recognition certificate from 18 to 16 years.

Catholic bishops in Scotland opposed the bill on the grounds that it "overrides biological reality, raises serious concerns about the safety, health and wellbeing of children and vulnerable people, and safe spaces for women and girls." 

A statement from the Catholic Parliamentary Office said that "the Church does not recognize a legitimate prerogative of the State to redefine in law what is male and female in a way that denies the biological reality of sexual difference."

But the Church of Scotland admitted it only remained split on whether the minimum age for a certificate should be lowered from 18 to 16 years while insisting that the denomination is "convinced of the evidence that the removal of the medical diagnosis is needed."

Archbishop Leo Cushley called the declaration "a consciously new approach to ecumenism, an attempt to reimagine the path of Christian unity" even though he "did not expect the two churches to be perfectly aligned and united any time soon."

The agreement affirms mutual public recognition of both churches as "brothers and sisters in Christ" and promises "friendship and respect for one another as fellow Christians, citizens and partners in announcing the kingdom of God in our land."

"We believe that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic; and we acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," the declaration states, leaving out any mention of the Holy Eucharist or holy orders.

The Church of Scotland began ordaining female ministers in 1969 and was one of the first denominations in the United Kingdom to ordain women. 

"There remain points at which we have not yet found a meeting place, and it is true that some questions still divide us," the accord admits, without specifying what the issues are. 

The St. Margaret declaration follows a renewal of ties between the Vatican and Methodism, despite multiple Methodist groups recently voting in synods to approve so-called same-sex marriage and suffering major schisms within the denomination.

In October, the Methodist–Roman Catholic International Commission met at the Casa Maria Immacolata, Rome, for the first plenary meeting of a new round of dialogue to discuss a "broad agenda of mission and unity."

The commission met Pope Francis in a private audience and presented the report of the 11th round of dialogue — "God in Christ Reconciling: On the Way to Full Communion in Faith, Sacraments and Mission." 

Commenting on Luke's parable of the two sons, Pope Francis stressed that both Catholics and Methodists need to repent and return to the Father in order for unity to come about because, through their divisions, both have sinned and strayed from the Father.

The commission also includes Cdl. Mario Grech as secretary general and Sr. Nathalie Becquart as undersecretary of the general secretariat of the synod, which discusses the ongoing synodality process initiated by Pope Francis.

In 2021, the Methodist church conference in Britain voted 254 to 46 in favor of changing the definition of "marriage" to include "same-sex marriage." 

Earlier this year, in regional gatherings across the United States, hundreds of congregations quit the United Methodist Church over its position on "gay marriage" and ordaining LGBT ministers.

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.

We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.