Scotland, Religion and High Public Office
Who knew the SNP was such a hotbed of religious debate and controversy?
Apparently, John Swinney had his first marriage (which produced two children) annulled by an arcane procedure in the Catholic Church which, like all religions, has its own peculiar rules and beliefs - see article below from The Herald's archive.
In the wake of Kenny Farquharson's article about Kate Forbes' fitness to be First Minister, what role, if any, should people's religious views play in their ability to stand for high public office?
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12536659.swinney-has-first-marriage-annulled-for-rc-wedding/
Swinney has first marriage annulled for RC wedding
26th July 2003
HERALD AND TIMES ARCHIVE
JOHN Swinney, leader of the SNP, has had his first marriage annulled in order to marry in the Roman Catholic Church today. Mr Swinney has said that any children he might have with his new wife, Elizabeth Quigley, the BBC journalist, would be brought up as Catholics.
As a sign of his commitment to the woman he describes as ''my rock'', Mr Swinney, a practising member of the Church of Scotland, went to the Roman Catholic Scottish National Tribunal to have his first marriage annulled. The Church of Scotland marriage, which took place in 1991, was legally dissolved in 2000.
Mr Swinney, who is fighting a leadership challenge in September, attends Catholic mass regularly with Ms Quigley. He said he was ''very pleased'' to receive the letter from the tribunal telling him he was free to marry in the Catholic Church.
It is not clear whether this came directly from Rome, but it will certainly have been granted with the consent of the Vatican authorities.
Mr Swinney also spoke of his overwhelming love for his wife-to-be. ''She is the most joyous person to be with,'' he said. ''She is my rock, and I am extremely grateful to have met her.''
His application to have his first marriage annulled, lodged after the couple met in 2001, has taken less than two years to reach its positive conclusion. However, suspicions that Mr Swinney's case was helped by the fact that his divorce was the result of his first wife's infidelity, or even that it was rushed through because of his high public profile, have been strongly rejected by the Catholic Church.
Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: ''Neither scenario would have been a factor, and John Swinney's case is by no means the quickest. He would have been treated in the same way as everyone else. It is the state of the marriage when it was entered into that is taken into account. Pre-existing grounds allowing it to be set aside would have to be present from the very beginning.
''Any breakdown that develops after a marriage, be it as a result of drunkenness, violence, or adultery, has little bearing on the process, even if the petitioner is the injured party.
''However, these can be indicators of a pre-existing defect that was present at the beginning of the marriage. It is the function of the tribunal to satisfy itself, through interviews with parties to and witnesses of that marriage, that the pre-existing defects were always there.''
The wedding today will recognise both faiths: it will be conducted by a Catholic priest and addressed by a former minister of Mr Swinney's parish in Perthshire, where he lives.
A senior member of the Church of Scotland last night said there was ''general unease'' in the Kirk with the concept of annulment.
The Very Rev Finlay Macdonald, former moderator and principal clerk of the Church of Scotland, said: ''The general trouble we would have with the concept of annulment would be that annulment presumes that the marriage never took place.
''Even a marriage that sadly ends in divorce can have had some good things in it and that is a reality that shouldn't be forgotten. However, John and Elizabeth are good friends of mine and I wish them well.''
