Official Report 1058KB pdf
Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection, and our time for reflection leader today is Lorraine Currie, chief executive of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund.
Presiding Officer and members of the Scottish Parliament, thank you so much for the opportunity to address you this afternoon.
For many of us, the story of the good Samaritan is one of the most memorable parables in the gospels. When a traveller was beaten, robbed and left by the roadside, he waited a long time for anyone to help. Many saw him but hurried past, unwilling to interrupt their journey. He suffered alone.
Yet the good Samaritan chose differently. Instead of walking by, the good Samaritan drew close, cared for the stranger’s wounds, lifted him on to his own animal and stayed with him throughout the night.
The Samaritan teaches us that true love is practical: it is about time being freely given and plans being set aside. It is not enough to look and feel pity; love requires that we stop, draw close and act. Charity, compassion, love and solidarity are all different faces of the same eternal spirit that moves us to action.
Sixty years ago this year, in a Rutherglen school, that same spirit gave birth to SCIAF’s practical action. Over the past 60 years, SCIAF has lifted millions of people out of poverty—people of all faiths and of none. It has provided life-saving aid to others, such as those in Gaza, and has campaigned to change the systems that keep people poor.
The incredible generosity of people in Scotland, through SCIAF and our local partners, stands today as a beacon of hope that a better world is possible—a reminder to everyone, including our leaders, that it is compassion, charity, love and solidarity that still define our humanity.
The lesson of the good Samaritan is also a call to leaders to act with courage and compassion, even when the politics of division and selfishness tries to consume us. Our world faces many trials: climate change, conflict, hunger, the crisis of global debt, and deepening division at home and abroad. Yet these challenges cannot be met with further division and conflict. The story of the good Samaritan reminds us that everyone is our neighbour. When a society grows used to ignoring the poorest abroad, it soon risks turning its back on the most vulnerable at home. Showing love for others enriches everyone; disregard for others diminishes all of us. We are all part of one human family, interlinked to each other’s lives and destinies.
My hope for the Parliament, and for all of us, is that we take the good Samaritan’s path. Thank you for listening.