Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 22 April 2025.
Alison Johnstone
Green
Our next item of business is a motion of condolence in the name of the First Minister. On behalf of all members and staff of the Scottish Parliament, I extend my deepest sympathy to the Roman Catholic community in Scotland and worldwide on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. We will remember his compassion and humanity, which have been at the very heart of the many tributes to him. As a mark of our respect, our flags fly at half mast today.
I am honoured to welcome to the gallery Monsignor Jeremy Milne, Vicar General for the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh; the Right Rev Dr Shaw James Paterson, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; Rabbi Moshe Rubin, Senior Rabbi in Scotland; and Imam Fakhar Aftab of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Scotland.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
