A leading Free Church theologian has criticised the Pope’s visit and suggested Scots are "suckers for funny costumes" and "love to see old men dressed in ancient Roman togas".

The Rev Professor Donald Macleod, who retired last month as principal of the Free Church College on The Mound, also accused the Scottish Government of "airbrushing" the Protestant Reformation out of history while celebrating the visit by the Pope.

In his weekly column in the West Highland Free Press, Professor Macleod said: "On the face of things the forthcoming papal visit to Britain should be an unqualified publicity triumph, offering a heady mixture of theatre, religion and politics.

"It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the event was deliberately timed to clash with the 450th anniversary of the Scottish Reformation.

"Ironically the spoiling tactic has turned out to be entirely unnecessary. Our SNP Government has no intention whatever of acknowledging Scotland’s debt to the Reformation, and even less of honouring John Knox, the greatest of all our nation-builders, but now safely airbrushed out of our history.

"That he saved us from national economic ruin, laid the foundation of our national system of education and fired us with an aversion to tyranny, now counts for nothing. Our Government is in Knox-denial.

"Why does secular, humanist Scotland so warmly entertain Catholicism, with all its authoritarianism, and yet register terror at the mere mention of the religion of Knox?
"Is it just that we’re suckers for funny costumes, and love to see old men dressed in ancient Roman togas?"

• Full story at the Edinburgh Evening News.

• Filed under Free Church of Scotland, Papal Visit, Reformation, Roman Catholic Church, Scottish Christian News Monitor.