Abbreviation BCOS Location Scotland | Type Religious body | |
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Legal status Under charitable trust
(SC016650) [1] Purpose "To enable the Roman Catholic Bishops in Scotland to work together, undertaking nationwide initiatives through their Commissions and Agencies." Headquarters Airdrie, North Lanarkshire | ||
The Bishops' Conference of Scotland (BCOS), under the trust of the Catholic National Endowment Trust, and based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, is an episcopal conference for archbishops and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. The conference is primarily made up of the presiding bishops of Scotland's eight dioceses as well as bishops who have retired.
Contents
The current president of the conference is Archbishop Philip Tartaglia as of November 2012.
Agencies
The BCOS is organised into several agencies. These are: The Commission for Doctrine and Unity, The Communications and Press and Media Relations Office, The Commission for Catholic Education and Scottish Catholic Education Service, The Heritage Commission as well as some other offices.
The Conference is also a member of several international organisations including the Council of European Bishops' Conferences and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community.
Before 1980, the organisation first registered with Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and stated that its objective was to "promote, establish, develop, expand, contribute to, support and maintain facilities, projects, schemes and institutions of all kinds having a religious, educational or charitable purpose for the benefit of the community throughout Scotland; and in addition for the benefit of students for the priesthood at home and abroad including the maintenance of the following colleges; (a) St. Mary's College, Blairs, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire; (b) St. Peter's College, Cardross, Dumbarton; (c) St. Andrew's College, Drygrange, Melrose, Roxburghshire."
Ecumenical relations
The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland is a full member of Action of Churches Together in Scotland. The BCOS sends a representative to the Ecumenical Relations Committee of the Church of Scotland and is always invited to send a delegate to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.