The Church and Society Council takes a key role in
responding to a range of European and international
affairs and working towards the goal of peace worldwide.
You can find out about the following initiatives
and consultation responses on this page:
Death Penalty
Trident
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
Scotland's for Peace
Scottish Clergy Against Nuclear Arms
Conference of European Churches
Current Issues in International Affairs
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Death Penalty
The Church of Scotland affirms that capital punishment is always and wholly unacceptable and does not provide an answer even to the most heinous of crimes; and commits itself to work with other churches and agencies to advance this understanding, oppose death sentences and executions and promote the cause of abolition of the death penalty worldwide.
Download the Report to the 2008 General Assembly which sets out the Biblical, theological and ethical arguments surrounding the death penalty:
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Trident: UK nuclear
weapons at a crossroads
The following briefing has been compiled with the intention
of informing the public debate on the future of the UK
nuclear weapons programme.
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It seeks to provide information and
analysis with respect to strategic decisions that
will shortly need to be made and reflects the consistent
concern of the churches over many years. |
The following document is a joint initiative by representatives
of member churches of Churches Together in Britain and
Ireland including the Baptist Union of Great Britain,
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and
Wales, the Mission and Public Affairs Division of the
Church of England’s Archbishops’ Council,
the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church, the Religious
Society of Friends (Quakers) and the United Reformed Church.
Download the briefing report on Trident:
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Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
A review of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) is due to take place in 2010. As the first step toward this review, representatives of those states that are party to the treaty are set to gather in Vienna on Monday (30 April 2007).In advance of Monday's meeting, the Moderator of the General Assembly, the Rt Rev Alan McDonald, and the President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, have issued a joint statement calling for the NPT to be strengthened and demanding that the UK Government renounce its plans to renew Trident.
To find out more and read the wording of the document signed, follow this link
click here
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Scotland's for Peace
The council is a member of the Scotland's for Peace
campaign which aims to promote the idea that Scotland
should be known for its contribution to international
peace and international justice rather than for waging
war.
Members sign the following declaration:
I desire that Scotland should
be known for its contribution to peace and justice,
rather than for waging war. Therefore, I do not consent
to the use of Scotland's land, water or resources for:
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weapons of mass
destruction or the systems which support them;
-
testing weapons
and training personnel for the use in such attacks;
-
unprovoked attacks
on other countries.
Find out more from the website
at Scotland's for Peace
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You can show your support by signing the Scottish Peace Covenant.
Click on this link: Sign the covenant |
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Scottish Clergy Against Nuclear arms
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SCANA is a group, not limited to clergy, who continue a Christian witness against the possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons. Find out more from their website:
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Scottish Clergy Against Nuclear arms
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Conference of European Churches
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship
of 126 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic
churches from all countries of Europe, plus 43 associated
organisations. CEC was founded in 1959 and has offices
in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.
| The Church and Society
Council is a member of CEC's Church and Society
Commission, which is the result of the merger
of CEC's work on church and society issues and
the European Ecumenical Commission for Church
and Society (EECCS). |
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Its task is to help the churches study church and society
questions from a theological and social ethical perspective,
especially those with a European dimension and to represent
the member churches of CEC in their relations with political
institutions working in Europe.
For more information about the commission's work,
visit the CEC website at
www.cec-kek.org
The Rev Matthew Ross has been seconded by the Church of Scotland to work in Brussels with the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). He is also the Church and Society officer of the Presbytery of Europe. If you would like to receive Matthew's email bulletin on European affairs, or would like further information, please contact him by email at mzr@cec-kek.be or telephone 00 32 2 230 1732.
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Current Issues in International Affairs
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Iran |
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Armenia and Turkey |
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In June 2007, the Council Secretary visited Armenia with the Church and Society Commission of CEC. Armenia is very proud of the fact that it was the first officially Christian nation, being proclaimed as such in 301AD. The group visited the memorial for the 1915 slaughter visited upon Armenia in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire. A debate has raged ever since about whether or not the events commemorated there can be referred to as genocide.
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Events in Zimbabwe, Darfur and Burma continue to be in the public gaze. The Church has looked at these issues in recent years - and it is distressing to note that in all of these cases the issues have not been resolved but rather have become more entrenched.
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Zimbabwe |
In 2003 the General Assembly called on all members of the Church to pray for the people of Zimbabwe as they struggle to overcome poverty, hunger, disease and oppression; and to pray for the restoration of proper relational governance with the people, effective and fair land reform, and freedom, security and welfare for all the people of Zimbabwe.
The Assembly also encouraged HM Government to continue the urgent humanitarian work being done, and to search earnestly through the Commonwealth and other appropriate agencies, for a just resolution of the crisis facing Zimbabwe.
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Burma |
In 2004 the General Assembly urged church members to pray for the people of Burma and to campaign and agitate for justice in Burma. The Assembly acknowledged the determination, courage and commitment to democracy of Aung San Sui Kyi, and welcomed the decision of Edinburgh City Council to grant her the freedom of the city.
Church members were strongly urged not to holiday in Burma while the junta remains in power.
The Assembly condemned the wide-spread human rights abuses, forced labour and cultural genocide of ethnic minority groups in Burma, and urged HM Government both to discourage Western companies from investing and operating in Burma and to continue to use all diplomatic means and resources at its disposal to bring a return of democratic government to Burma.
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Darfur |
In 2005 the General Assembly expressed outrage at the inability of the Sudanese government and the international community to protect the people of Darfur from the organised violence that has killed so many and has driven countless others from their land and livelihoods. The Assembly called on the United Nations, the European Union and HMG to work through and appropriately resource the African Union as the best means of achieving progress and eventual peace.
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