The Catholic Church’s
media director has had a sharply divided reaction to his claims that
sectarianism remains a hugely prevalent factor in Scotland.
Peter
Kearney stood solidly behind his offensive against anti-Catholic abuse
yesterday after a no-holds-barred critique in which he said hostility to
Catholics in Scotland was “deep, wide and vicious”.
In response to his comments, reported in The
Herald yesterday, Mr Kearney received e-mails both in support and
against his outspoken attack in which he declared: “The bigotry, the
bile, the sectarian undercurrents and innuendos must end.”
Mr Kearney said: “Reminding Scotland that
religious intolerance exists here is a risky business, which is probably
why so few people do it.”
In a series of e-mails, seen by The Herald,
one critic said: “I and a lot of other Scots of every and no
denomination feel that these matters are doing nothing to help and
everything to incite the bigotry between Catholic and Protestant in
Scotland.”
Another said Catholics should “get their own house in order” before making such accusations.
The writer added: “In my own experience, Catholics in the west of Scotland are more than capable of giving as good as they get.”
One complained about the Catholic Church in
the west of Scotland talking about a desire “to assimilate and
integrate” while continuing to insist that Catholic children have their
own schools.
The e-mail added: “If there is one policy
within this country that does more damage to community relations and
reeks of insularity and intolerance I have yet to come across it.”
However, supporters congratulated Mr Kearney, saying he should be thanked for taking a stand against anti-Catholic bigotry.
One e-mail read: “You said what had to be
said and you said it very well.”
Another said: “As a Catholic father of
two kids, I would like to say thanks for speaking out on behalf of us in
the pews.”
Mr Kearney spoke out after the sacking of
SFA referees’ chief Hugh Dallas over allegations that he sent an
offensive e-mail about the Pope during his recent visit to Scotland.
He
said: “Let no-one be in any doubt, with this shameful episode, Catholics
have drawn a line in the sand.”
Yesterday, Mr Kearney was unrepentant about
fanning the flames of controversy.
He said: “Today many organisations
have an ‘acceptable use’ policy which applies to staff communication by
e-mail, it often allows them to brandish their zero tolerance
credentials.
“In most cases, dismissal is the penalty for
breaching these strictures. If anyone considers such policies harsh
they would do well to take up the matter with employers who use them.”
Mr Kearney said statistics showed Catholics were six times more likely to suffer a sectarian attack than any other group.
He added: “If referring to this reality is
inflammatory, then how exactly should we describe the underlying problem
which gives rise to it? We should not make the mistake of assuming that
highlighting anti-Catholic prejudice is a criticism of other
Christians, it is not.
“Inter-denominational relations in Scotland
are, thankfully, excellent. In reality, those who perpetrate acts of
bigotry, by their actions, undermine and contradict Christian teaching.”
SIC: HS/UK
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