Letter: O'Brien right to hit out at US bullying

I WAS delighted to read in Scotland on Sunday (News, 8 August) about the stance of Cardinal O'Brien against the bullying tactics of US Senators when interfering in our domestic affairs, concerning the Megrahi release from prison on humanitarian grounds.

Can you imagine the outcry there would be if a Commons Select Committee in London demanded the presence of US Senators and CIA officials concerning the role of those who covered up evidence that was not presented at his trial?

We are all aware that politicians usually have an agenda. Remember that in November 2010 there are important elections forthcoming for seats in the Senate. I don't think we need to be lectured by a country concerning commercial implications of immoral decisions, for they wrote the book.

Mike Doyle, London

AT LONG last senior representatives of both secular and religious members of society are beginning to come out with some plain talking. I heartily support Cardinal Keith O'Brien's criticism of the USA attitudes towards what it terms "justice" and what we see as vengeance, an emotion which can never be satisfied. I also commend the quiet acceptance of the survivors in Lockerbie and elsewhere in the UK after Pan Am 103 for their dignified approach to what was a horrendous experience and painful legacy.

Janet Cunningham, Stirling

THERE are at least four questions arising from Cardinal Keith O'Brien's jaw-dropping interview last Sunday for which answers might be sought.

1. Did he alert the Apostolic Nuncio about what he planned to say five weeks before the visit of the Pope to Britain? The Vatican's diplomatic representative plays a crucial role in the planning of such an event and would normally expect to be informed about anything that might upstage it.

2. Did he bring his fellow Scottish bishops (not to mention Vincent Nicholls, the Archbishop of Westminster) into the loop? After all, it is their role now to ensure that Catholics in England, Wales and Scotland are in good heart and ready to affirm their faith and not be distracted by unilateral initiatives that are hard to understand or perhaps excuse.

3. Was Alex Salmond informed? At least some of the time he wishes Scotland to project a responsible image abroad, not one where well-placed figures engage in posturing to gratify partisan and not national agendas.

4. What about the great unwashed, by which I mean ordinary Scottish Catholics (my own community). Their chances of work rely in no small measure on inward foreign investment, particularly from the USA. When the Cardinal let rip did he think about how hard he might make it for Scottish Enterprise to attract more jobs here?

If the answer to each of these questions is No, it is fair to ask what purpose does Keith O'Brien feel he has in continuing as head of the Scottish Catholic Church?

Right now the parties are selecting their candidates for Holyrood.I'm sure the ruling one would be thrilled to have Keith Patrick as a candidate. So, I fear, would some of the tiny ones who frequently mount angry demonstrations outside the US Consulate on Edinburgh's Calton Terrace.

We can only hope and pray that God is attentive to Scottish Catholics while the one entrusted with tending the Scottish vineyard of the faith is all too clearly absorbed with political and personal concerns.

(Prof) Tom Gallagher, Edinburgh