Scotland: a teacher fired for her pro-life positions files an appeal

A new case is added to the British series that sanctions the expression of a Catholic ethic in the public sphere. The outcome of the appeal will show what the freedom of religious opinion is still worth in Great Britain.

The Fact

A Scottish teacher, dismissed after publicly expressing pro-life positions, is taking legal action against her former employer (CNA / EWTN, July 17, 2026). The case adds to a series of cases in Scotland, England, and Wales where expressing a religious or ethical opinion in line with Catholic doctrine leads to professional sanctions, up to dismissal.

Our Analysis

We had already described the silent structuring of a British regime that penalizes Catholic orthodoxy in the public sphere. Scotland, under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which came into force in April 2024, has a particularly severe framework for prosecuting speech deemed harmful to protected groups. However, the Declaration Dignitatis humanae of the Second Vatican Council (December 7, 1965) reminds us in § 2 that the human person has the right to religious freedom, and that this freedom consists in all men being exempt from any coercion on the part of individuals, social groups, and any human power whatsoever. What the Council proclaimed for religious freedom applies, by extension, to the freedom of moral conscience that flows from it.

Food for Thought

We support Anglican and Catholic faithful, like this teacher, who refuse censorship. The outcome of her appeal will show what the freedom of religious opinion is still worth in Great Britain.