Auchinstarry

NEW: The captain of one of the UK's nuclear submarines has quit his role over his relationship with a Scottish Labour MP whose husband has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China

I am not merely a Catholic by affiliation, I nearly walked the path to the priesthood. Scripture, to me, has never been casual reading; it has been studied with the care of a sculptor refining form; patiently, attentively, reverently. And so I say this with both conviction and humility: Prayer is not performance. It is not spectacle. It is a sacred act, an intimate communion between the human spirit and the divine. A means not only to speak, but to interface with the heavens, the hosts of heaven themselves. When we pray, we approach with humility. With thanksgiving. With love. Just as one brings offerings into the house of the Lord, not in arrogance, but in surrender. Which is why moments of public prayer demand even greater care. When figures such as Paula White stand before the world in prayer, the expectation is clear: to seek wisdom, not validation. To ask that leaders like Donald Trump be guided toward justice, compassion, peace, and discernment. To intercede for the poor, the vulnerable, and the preservation of life. That is what true supplication looks like. But to elevate any political figure especially during the sacred solemnity of Holy Week to a comparison with the sinless Son of God is not devotion. It is error. And more than that, it borders on blasphemy. Likewise, when Franklin Graham invokes the Book of Esther as justification for the destruction of a modern nation such as Iran, it reflects not divine insight, but a troubling misapplication of scripture. Context matters. Theology demands responsibility. Sacred texts are not instruments for political ends. Faith was never meant to be weaponized. It was meant to guide, to correct, to humble. And if we are to invoke God in matters of leadership and war, then let it be done with trembling reverence, not confident distortion. Because the danger is not in believing too deeply but in believing wrongly. I am ashamed, this is our Holy Week for Gods sake. God have mercy.

“…buying buses made in China and ferries made in Turkey, rather than in Scotland, and …not having a “serious industrial strategy, or any plan to support workers in the country.”