The Catholic Church has called for a public acknowledgement of the
extent of anti-Catholicism in Scotland as new Crown Office statistics
show an increase in Religiously Aggravated hate crimes directed at
Catholics.
The data contained in the report: 'Religiously Aggravated Offending
in Scotland 2011-12' shows an increase of 26% in religious hate crimes.
876 charges with a religious aggravation in 2011-12 were analysed by the
Justice Analytical Services.
As per previous years attacks on Catholics constitute the largest
identified group, with 509 such incidents accounting for 58.1% of all
such offences.
Anti-Catholic attacks are more prevalent than attacks on
all other religious groups combined.
Commenting on the statistics, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, President
of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said: "I am saddened by the
latest figures on religiously aggravated offending. While most Catholics
are safe most of the time, these figures show a side of Scotland which
is truly unfortunate. Sadly, it seems incontrovertible now that our
problem is not so much sectarianism but anti-Catholicism. This is
regrettable because popular culture is inventing all kinds of new
reasons to marginalise and hate Catholics. In the face of this, the
Catholic community of Scotland remains steadfast in faith, joyful in
hope and fully committed to being part of Scottish society."
To read the full report see: www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch