Scotland’s bishops have praised the former First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond, who stood down on Friday after the referendum for independence from the United Kingdom failed to garner the support of a majority of voters.
The president of the Scottish bishops' conference, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, wrote to Mr Salmond praising his “long and outstanding career in politics, and your distinguished service as First Minister of Scotland”.
“With good reason, you have been described as one of the most able and influential political leaders that Scotland and the United Kingdom has ever produced,” Tartaglia, who is archbishop of Glasgow, continued.
“The bishops are especially grateful for your recognition of the important place of religion and faith in Scotland, for your support of Catholic education as making its own distinctive contribution to the good of Scotland as a whole, and for your sensitivity to the issues around religious freedom which are emerging in our country as they are elsewhere.
He also thanked Mr Salmond, who has long courted the Catholic vote, for the Scottish Government’s assistance in planning Pope Benedict XVI’s day in Edinburgh and Glasgow at the start of his four-day visit to Britain in 2010.
Meanwhile in a homily on Sunday, Archbishop Tartaglia expressed concern that the outcome of the vote did not reflect the wishes of “a clear majority of” Glaswegians.
“Sadly, too many of our fellow citizens of this great city of Glasgow appear to feel disenfranchised by the political process, and feel threatened and disheartened by poor life chances and by indecent levels of poverty and deprivation.
“I think that was what the referendum voting figures for Glasgow may have been pointing to.
He said he hoped politicians would “secure a new political consensus which gives the people of Glasgow more hope and confidence for the future, regardless of the constitutional settlement”.
Meanwhile in Edinburgh’s Church of Scotland St Giles’ Cathedral, politicians attended a long-planned service of reconciliation on Sunday.
Unionists and Nationalists lit a candle in a show of unity for a “common purpose”. There were readings from Douglas Alexander, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, and John Swinney, finance secretary of the SNP. Neither Alex Salmond nor Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy First Minister, attended.
The moderator of the Church of Scotland, Right Rev John P Chalmers, told the congregation they were not defined by how they voted but by how they would work together for a better Scotland.
He added that a process was required which allowed the 45 per cent of “yes” voters as well as the 55 per cent “no” voters to be listened to.
Alistair Darling, leader of Better Together, was at the service, along with the leaders of the Scottish Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative parties, and the Scottish secretary, Alistair Carmichael.
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