Scottish Archbishop speaks about very close race in Scotland’s independence referendum

(Vatican Radio)  Scotland's archbishops have encouraged Catholics to vote in the forthcoming referendum on independence and to pay attention to the issue of religious freedom.  With the referendum less than two weeks away, the latest opinion polls have shown that support for Scottish independence is increasing with only the narrowest of margins between the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps. The ballot on September 18th will decide whether or not Scotland will break away from the rest of the United Kingdom after 307 years of union.  

To find out more about the importance of this historic vote, Susy Hodges interviewed Scotland’s leading Catholic Churchman,  Archbishop Leo Cushley of St. Andrews and Edinburgh.

 

Listen to the full interview with Archbishop Cushley: 

After a long time of downplaying this upcoming referendum in some quarters, Archbishop Cushley said in this final stage of the campaign the people across both Scotland and the United Kingdom are becoming increasingly aware of its vital importance.  “Everyone is beginning to take it much more seriously… and it’s definitely concentrating minds.”  

Asked about the narrowing of the gap between the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps, the archbishop said he is not surprised that the referendum is shaping up to be a very close vote between the two opposing camps in the final stages of the campaign.  He notes that observers are pointing to how supporters of independence have succeeded in increasing their support among the population in recent weeks. “The ‘Yes’ campaign has been able to mobilize its people better than the ‘No’ campaign and it appears to be having its effect … and certainly the gap is narrowing.” 

When it comes to the main campaign issues, Archbishop Cushley says the political debate until recently had tended to focus mainly on the “financial consequences” of the referendum’s outcome and he described this as a "narrow" vision as there are "many more consequences" if Scotland were to vote for independence. “There’s much more at stake than just taxes and how much wealthier or poorer (the Scottish) people would be if they were in or out of the Union (with the rest of the United Kingdom).

The Scottish archbishop said Catholics in his homeland are on both sides of the fence when it comes to the question of Scottish independence.  But in the nation as a whole he said there’s an unprecedented level of public interest in the political debate.  “Everyone I go and at every table it becomes part of the conversation… everybody is talking about this.” 

Archbishop Cushley said he was much struck by the “cordiality” of the democratic debate in Scotland over this issue and that such a debate can remain quite friendly and peaceful, without degenerating into violent confrontation.  “It’s a remarkable testimony to the society we have here in Scotland,”  he said.