Scottish Catholic Observer

The Catholic Church has urged the Scottish Government to show suitable caution as it presses ahead to bring in new legislation before the football season begins next month.

As the SCO went to press, the Scottish Parliament was set to vote on the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill, a bill that would increase jail terms to a maximum of five years for those found guilty of abusive or sectarian behaviour, whether they are watching matches at the stadium, in a pub or making comments online.

The justice committee at Holyrood, however, has raised concern that the proposed legislation is being rushed and Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley, on behalf of the Scottish Bishops, said this week that ‘enacting laws and policies aimed at resolving such problems must be pursued with prudence and wisdom to ensure that measures are suitable and proportionate for the problem they seek to address.’

Consultation

The justice committee quizzed police, church, legal and football representatives ahead of Thursday’s vote in parliament, and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland submitted its own statement to the committee.

“The Catholic Church condemns behaviour and beliefs which foster hatred of any individual or group,” Bishop Tartaglia, president of the Scottish Bishops’ Communication Commission, told the committee. “All persons are entitled to respect and to live without fear and intimidation.”

Bishop Tartaglia, recognising the need for the government to maintain public order but also to protect ‘the freedom of citizens,’ said: “In light of these observations we welcome the determination of the Scottish Government to outlaw offensive behaviour and we recognise that there may very well be a case for introducing new measures to tackle the problems surrounding football matches and threatening communication, where it can be shown that current legal provisions are inadequate.”

The bishop added that: “Swift action aimed at overcoming offending behaviour and preventing deterioration of the situation can be indicated, but suitable caution must be observed in order to ensure that laws are not introduced with undue haste.”

Sign of the Cross

Roseanna Cunningham, the community safety minister, who is fronting the new legislation, welcomed the justice committee’s decision to take evidence on the bill but said there was an expectation for the new laws to be put in place sooner rather than later.

“Football is our national game—millions of people are passionate about it,” Ms Cunningham said. “But we really can’t tolerate the complete corruption of that passion into hate—whether it is mass sectarian chanting or bullets and bombs in the post, we all know that it must stop.”

Ms Cunningham told the justice committee this week that singing Flower of Scotland or God Save the Queen would not be considered offensive behaviour under the new legislation. However she cited an example of having seen Celtic fans making the Sign of the Cross to Rangers fans in a manner which could potentially be construed as offensive.

Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell said that any ‘sign, song or picture,’ can be ‘abused.’

“So the minister is correct in saying that in certain circumstances such gestures can be provocative,” he said.

However, Peter Kearney, director of the Catholic Media Office, added: “The Sign of the Cross should not be deemed offensive—at any time. There will be occasions where a Catholic football fan will make the Sign of the Cross in good faith. There may also be occasions where they [do so]—perhaps with malicious intent.

“I would be very wary of suggesting that either the police or our criminal justice system are equipped to differentiate in such circumstances. The same applies to flying the Union flag or the Saltire.”

Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow said this week that the latest moves to prevent intolerance in Scottish society are welcome.

“If the problem is rooted in poverty, alcoholism and violence, it is there that it must be addressed and the government’s bill is a start,” the archbishop said.

On the terraces

The new proposals follow a tempestuous Scottish football season, which saw trouble flaring at matches between Glasgow clubs Celtic FC and Rangers FC and the recent appearance of two men in court after suspected bombs were sent to Celtic FC manager Neil Lennon and two other high-profile supporters of the club.

Earlier this week, the new owner of Rangers FC, Craig Whyte, denied the club had a problem with sectarian singing and warned First Minister Alex Salmond not to single the club out in the latest proposals to combat sectarianism. Mr Whyte added that he fully supported Mr Salmond’s efforts to stamp out religious hatred in football and society, but had also told the First Minister to be ‘very careful’ how the measures were enforced.

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