THE UK Government would be fuelling animosity if it attempts to block a second referendum on Scottish independence, one of the country's leading churchmen has warned
The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, said the request for another poll was "not unexpected" and reflected the poor relationships between the political administrations in both parliaments.
Rev Chillingworth said that whilst faith communities had strived to be neutral on the constitutional debate they "also care deeply about the quality of the national conversation".
He added that the Brexit debate had a "different feel" north of the border, evidenced by the strong remain vote which he said revealed that "Scotland is also distinct in its values".
His comments followed further calls from another leading Christian cleric for Prime Minister Theresa May not to block a second referendum.
Insisting it would remain neutral, Rev Dr Richard Frazer, convenor of the Church and Society Council at the Church of Scotland, said it would be "wrong" if the Tories withheld permission for the vote.
Rev Chillingworth said: "(Both governments) have found it difficult to give creative consideration to the implications of this new situation together. That difficulty reflects a wider failure to make space for a debate about how the developed nations will relate together in the future, but at this moment, refusal on the part of the British Government to allow a second referendum would inevitably give rise to further ill-feeling in relationships.
“Scotland is already a distinct national entity. It is rich in its history and culture. The 'independence question' is an opportunity for a community to discuss and resolve whether its distinctiveness is such that it justifies separate constitutional arrangements and is therefore a question of national self-determination. Beyond that lie wider questions about Scotland's relationships in the wider world and its future in challenging economic times."
He added that faith communities had to exercise care about adopting 'for or against' positions on constitutional issues.
He said: "It is also important that the debate attempts to do justice to the depth and the complexity of the issues and does not become over-focused on the single issue of constitutional status."
Earlier The Kirk had said while individual church members would "always be entitled to their own views....the Church retains a position of active neutrality on the matter of Scottish Independence".
Rev Dr Fraser said that in 2014 the Kirk had consulted individuals and communities "on what sort of Scotland they wanted to live in rather than taking a position on either side of the independence debate".
He added that this was not the case during the EU Referendum, when the Church spoke out in favour of continued membership "as being in the best interests of Scotland, the UK and Europe", adding: "This has been the Church of Scotland’s policy since 1996 and it remains the Church’s current position.
He said: “Whilst these risks are real, there is nothing inevitable about this debate being divisive and acrimonious. All those who take part in this debate about Scotland’s future, and the UK’s future as well, must be committed to holding a positive and informative debate.
"The Church of Scotland will contribute to this debate in creative and inclusive ways. It will also seek to call to account those who exaggerate their claims or who move from committed debate to inappropriate ways of treating one another.
“On all sides people hold their convictions with honesty and integrity and they must be treated as such. As we continue to grapple with these complex, contested and important decisions it is important that we do so with as much grace as we can muster and in a way that recognises the humanity of all concerned.
"All those who take part in this debate about Scotland’s future – and the UK’s future as well – must be committed to holding a debate which informs and inspires and not one which derides and dismisses.”
In the build up to the 2014 referendum the Scottish Catholic Church also maintained a position of neutrality and while acknowledging how congregations had differing views on the constitutional called on them to get involved in the wider debate.
Both Archbishops, Edinburgh's Leo Cushley and Philip Tartaglia in Glasgow had pastoral letters read to congregations in the weeks before urging "all those eligible to vote to do so with complete freedom of choice and in accordance with their prayerful judgment of what is best for the future".
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