The return of sectarianism?

A government report released in Scotland, conducted by the “Crown Office”, the public prosecutor’s Office, confirms new waves of discrimination against Catholics. The report refers to the years 2010-2011, during which there have been 693 cases of violence linked to religion, the highest number in the past four years. 58% of such attacks (400) were against Catholics while 37% (253) were directed against Protestants, 2.3% against Jews, and 2.1% against Muslims. The episodes of discrimination, which in 95% of cases involved young men, 58% of whom were 16-30 years old, have in most cases taken place in Western Scotland, over half of which in Glasgow. In this city sectarianism over the past years was concentrated against the Catholic Cleric football teams, founded in 1888 to help the poor in Ireland, and against the Protestant Rangers team, created in 1873, which until the 1980s, refused to hire Catholic players. The problem has far-dated origins: after a cruel Reform, very few Catholics remained on the island. In 1840, when the Potato Famine hit Ireland, hundreds of thousands of Catholics arrived on the Western coasts of Scotland to escape starvation. Silvia Guazzetti, for SIR Europe, interviewed Msgr. Philip Tartaglia, head of the communication department of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference. Recent Government figures on attacks on religious grounds show there is a systematic hostility against Catholics, which is reason for great concern. Are we facing a new wave of sectarianism? “We are, although institutional sectarianism, that made it difficult for Catholics to find a job or be treated with justice, no longer exists. However, it left in its wake a new form of social discrimination, that is harder to uproot, and which appears to have grown stronger over the last period. There has been an increase in sectarianism and this made anti-Catholic sentiment even harsher. A survey conducted a year after the Pope’s visit of September 2010 shows that the highest number of attitudes against the Catholic Church and against the Pope is in Scotland, as many as 58%. This figure confirms the data collected by the Scottish police. Other bishops and myself were surprised by this since we didn’t know that there still was such strong anti-Catholic sentiment in Scotland”.How do you explain it?“It’s almost a new phenomenon in new habits. It’s a mixture of various things: discrimination against Irish immigrants of the Western coasts of Scotland and resentment over the Pope’s visit. The visit of Benedict XVI was a great consolation. It was a very encouraging event for the Catholic community. But others could have viewed it as a provocation, since it was a very public event that could have entrenched anti-Catholic sentiment. It’s not what we had expected”.Do you link this phenomenon to secularization? “I think it’s a very complex phenomenon, which I don’t really understand. But I believe that many ex-protestants have been overcome by a sort of secularist attitude, with increasing hostility against the Catholic Church, fuelled by the crisis of the abuse cases which perhaps was the occasion for many people to voice anti-religious claims”. At times, legislation on equal opportunities seems to promote an anti-religious agenda since the positions of the Church against gay marriage, for example, are considered examples of intolerance…“Indeed. This has been evident with the issue of gay marriages, which has exacerbated the anti-Catholic attitudes, since the Catholic Church is the only one that seems unable to oppose this kind of legislation, and this attracts the attention of the anti-religious. For this reason, anti-Catholic sentiment, in its most modern manifestation, possesses this secular element”.How are the relations with Protestant Churches? Do you cooperate against sectarianism? “They are good, friendly and cooperative. But since we have different attitudes as regards moral questions it’s hard to reach theological and doctrinal consensus. Nonetheless, the Churches have always claimed that sectarianism is unacceptable. That’s why I don’t believe that they encourage it. There are friendly relations at local level. There are initiatives by the “Churches together” organization, in which we all take part”.Thus the problem is not caused by the faithful? “No, absolutely not. I cannot imagine that a person that goes to church encourages sectarianism. But we never know what people’s minds conceal, since sectarianism is a historical phenomenon linked to memories, which we must incessantly combat”.You also said that cooperation with the police should be strengthened?“Yes, we wish to cooperate in the training of police agents to address sectarianism. We’re still waiting for a reply. We don’t know whether it will be possible, but the police of Strathclyde, Glasgow, that is most active against crimes committed on religious grounds, have conveyed their intention to hold further meetings”.