Keith O'Brien
Keith O'Brien
Keith Michael Patrick O'Brienis a retired Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal bishop. He was the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 to 2013...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionReligious Leader
Date of Birth17 March 1938
teaching reality men
The church's teaching on marriage is unequivocal, it is uniquely, the union of a man and a woman and it is wrong that governments, politicians or parliaments should seek to alter or destroy that reality.
christian taken squares
Perhaps more than ever before, there is that aggressive secularism and there are those who would indeed try to destroy our Christian heritage and culture and take God from the public square. Religion must not be taken from the public square.
government support pieces
Our Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has given the Government's support to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. It is difficult to imagine a single piece of legislation which, more comprehensively, attacks the sanctity and dignity of human life than this particular Bill.
religious expression scotland
In Scotland, Catholics have raised their voices against sectarianism and intolerance directed against the Church. Clearly, these actions show that freedom of religious expression, a basic human right, is not upheld in our midst as widely and as completely as it should be.
attitude compassion hands
In Scotland over many years we have cultivated through our justice system what I hope can be described as a 'culture of compassion.' On the other hand, there still exists in many parts of the U.S., if not nationally, an attitude towards the concept of justice which can only be described as a 'culture of vengeance.
christian religious government
To increase aid to the Pakistan government when religious freedom is not upheld is tantamount to an anti-Christian foreign policy.
government moral authority
No Government has the moral authority to dismantle the universally understood meaning of marriage.
christian simple practice
I hope that increasing numbers of Christians adopt the practice of wearing a cross in a simple and discreet way as a symbol of their beliefs.
majority belief honest
Whatever flaws or personal failings afflict them, it remains the case that the overwhelming majority of priests and politicians are honourable and honest - seeking to live out their beliefs and serve society.
doubt influence institutions
There is no doubt that, as a society, we have become blase about the importance of marriage as a stabilising influence and less inclined to prize it as a worthwhile institution.