by Mathew Bomki

The St Margaret Declaration or the ‘Friendship Agreement’, fruit of much effort and goodwill, was co-signed at Dunfermline Abbey on 16 November 2022 in the presence of Princess Anne by Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly, and Most Revd Leo Cushley, Roman Catholic Archbishop and Metropolitan of St Andrews and Edinburgh. Princess Anne endorsed the agreement, also signing the document.

This happened on St Margaret’s Day during a special service commemorating the 950th anniversary of the Abbey. The Declaration is a concrete manifesto of how the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church desire to journey together in their ecumenical efforts towards the healing of the divisions that have plagued Scotland.

On first seeing this declaration, I was struck by its depth, including the acknowledgement of a shared faith and a shared mission in the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. The signatories recognised their common heritage in the spiritual values missionaries brought to the shores of Scotland by the likes of St Ninian, St Columba and St Margaret.

And, more importantly, they recognised the mistakes of their forebears from both the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, and asked forgiveness. Reading the Declaration, one cannot but be convinced that reconciliation is the vital force that can melt even the most hardened hearts.

The signatories also acknowledged that both churches could learn from past mistakes in order to build a better future, thus promoting pardon, healing and friendship among Christians in Scotland. This is for me the hallmark of the declaration.

Mathew Bomki is a Jesuit from Cameroon who is studying Biblical Studies at the University of Edinburgh.