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Bishops would welcome Pope to Glasgow's COP26 climate summit

Reuters Pope Francis (file photo)Reuters
Pope Francis told a climate summit in December: "Let us not rob future generations of the hope for a better future"

Scotland's Catholic bishops say they would "warmly welcome" a visit from Pope Francis to the COP26 summit.

It follows claims in The Times that the pontiff was "considering" attending the UN climate conference, due to be held in Glasgow in November.

Pope Francis has said it is time to "change course" on the environment and has committed the Vatican to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

If agreed, it would be the first Papal visit to Scotland since 2010.

In a statement the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, which represents the country's eight dioceses, said: "While the decision on whether or not the Pope attends the UN climate summit in Glasgow will be a matter entirely for the Holy See, Scotland's Catholic bishops would warmly welcome his presence, however briefly, in this country."

The COP26 UN summit was originally due to take place in November last year but was postponed due to the Covid pandemic.

It will now be held at the Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow from November 1-12.

SEC Scottish Event CampusSEC
The Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow will host the COP26 conference in November

The climate talks are expected to bring together the largest gathering of heads of state ever hosted in the UK.

Any visit by the Pope would be the first since Pope Benedict XVI's visit in 2010 when about 70,000 people attended an open-air Mass in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park.

The same venue also hosted the late John Paul II during the previous Papal Visit in 1982.