Scottish Catholic Observer

Members and supporters of the Call It Out campaign held a banner outside St Michael’s Church in Parkhead as a parade marched past the church twice in three hours on Sunday morning.

The Call it Out group was formed last month to campaign against anti-Catholic bigotry and anti-Irish racism.

One of its stated aims is a policy of opposing the routing of anti-Catholic parades past Catholic churches.

The group was formed in part as a reaction to the alleged attack on Canon Tom White, of the nearby St Alphonsus parish, as an Orange walk went past his church in July.

A spokesperson for Call It Out said: “While Call It Out objects strongly to anti-Catholic parades passing Catholic churches, the campaign is not seeking to deny the rights of the Orange Order to publicly hold such parades.

“Instead we are seeking goodwill and co-operation from the Orange Order, Police Scotland and council authorities to ensure that Catholic churches no longer have to face the presence of anti-Catholic parades at their front doors, while respecting the rights of those who wish to parade.

“With so many alternative routes available and such strong feeling among the Catholic community it is vital that the rights of those who are directly affected by such parades receive the same respect and protection as the rights of those participating in Orange Order parades.”

Sir John Orr’s 2005 Review of Marches and Parades in Scotland found that half of all processions in Scotland were Orange walks.

There were 853 such parades in 2003, 839 were classified in the ‘other category,’ and 20 were regarded as Catholic in nature.

The majority of Orange walks took place in the Glasgow local authority area, followed by North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and North Ayrshire.

All but three of the 160 parades in North Lanarkshire in 2003 were Orange walks.

Following the attack on Canon Tom White, tens of thousands of people signed a petition calling on Orange walks to be banned, and Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken called for more powers from the Scottish government to regulate the parades.

A Scottish government spokesperson told the SCO at the time: “Responsibility for the regulation of marches and parades rests with local authorities.

“Each local authority, in consultation with Police Scotland, is in the best position to decide whether a particular event should go ahead and whether any restrictions should be placed on it.

“The Scottish Government supports local authorities in making decisions which achieve the correct balance between the rights of marchers and the rights of the communities affected.”

Following Sunday’s protest, a spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland told the Sun: “The Orange Order is founded on the principle of religious freedoms for all, and that includes the right of others to have different beliefs to our own.

“With this in mind, we are opposed to any religion banning others from simply walking past their premises.

“The establishment of these ‘no-go zones’ in Glasgow will only lead to isolationism, animosity and division in communities where sectarianism is largely a thing of the past.”