A crossword clue with the answer “leper” has led to plenty of cross words for the Church of Scotland.
The puzzle in this month’s edition of the Church’s house magazine Life and Work has the usual mixture of religious and general questions.
But the answer to the clue “Outcast (5)” – infuriated Linda Todd, CEO of The Leprosy Mission Scotland, because the answer was “leper”.
Todd wrote to the magazine to say she was “somewhat dismayed” and the use of “the ‘L’ word” should be banned.
She wrote: “In fact we have a campaign entitled ‘Delete the L word’. Can I ask you in future to use the terms ‘people affected by leprosy’ and a ‘leprosy village’ or ‘colony’? though fitting those terms in a crossword might be tight squeeze.”
She added: “The most damaging effects of leprosy are the stigma, isolation and discrimination it can lead to. People affected by leprosy are often treated very badly in their communities and called names which justify their treatment.
“As part of our efforts to advocate for people affected by leprosy to be treated with dignity and respect, we are determined to challenge the use of the ‘L word’ as we have come to know it here in Scotland.
"We will campaign to stop the use of ‘leper’ in print, on TV, as song lyric or from the pulpit.”
A spokeswoman for Life and Work Magazine said: “We were grateful to the society for bringing the issue to us and we were happy to publish their letter to the editor raising awareness about the impact of language and the campaign.”
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