A PRIEST who was allegedly attacked during an Orange Order march has called for council action over whether parades should be allowed to go past Catholic churches.
The suggestion was made as council executives called for another protestant organisation to be banned from walking past St Alphonsus Church where Canon Tom White was allegedly lunged at and spat on while speaking to parishioners outside following mass as an Orange walk took place on July 7.
The Apprentice Boys of Derry (Bridgeton) want to hold a Remembrance Day procession which would go past the church on November 11 on their way to Cathedral Square.
On Tuesday council officers are recommending that the parade be re-routed away from the church even though though they admit they have marched on a similar route past the church for ten years without causing any issues or concerns.
A previous ABOD march
Superintendent John McBride in a report says that there is a "risk to public order" by allowing the parade to pass the church.
The officer had met with Canon White to discuss the possibility of the parade passing the church but he "respectfully requested" that no parades be allowed past the church until after the trial of the man accused of assaulting him.
A 24-year-old man appeared in court accused of an assault on Canon White, aggravated by religious prejudice.
And he will tell the public processions committee that Canon White also suggests allowing Glasgow City Council time to carry out a public consulation exercise "on the rights and wrongs of allowing such parades to walk past Catholic churches".
Supt McBride said Canon White referred to wanting a "new normal" in terms of his parishioners not feeling "afraid or threatened" by such parades.
Supt McBride, who in charge of operations and justice at London Road Police Office, said it can be "reasonably expected" that there will be a "significant" protest to the Apprentice Boys of Derry parade if it goes past St Alphonsus Church and Canon White had indicated any demo would be with "his blessing".
The parade therefore"causes a concern for the police in terms of public order and disruption to the life of the community", said the officer.
The ABOD had made attempts to alleviate the concerns of the Catholic community by parading past the church early on Sunday morning when no service is ongoing.
And they purposely rerouted the return parade, which marks the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, to ensure it does not go past the church.
But Supt McBride said: "It is my view that the resources which would be required to police the parade would be significant and could be considered as disproportionate to the numbers involved in the parade.
"I am also mindful that there is an absence of any persuasive reason for this specific route other than it is the preferred route. Suitable alternatives are known and available which would alleviate public concerns and considerably reduce the risk of disorder and disruption to the life of the community."
Carole Forrest, the city council's director of governance and solicitor said asked the ABOD organiser to re-route the proposed outward route away from the church, but could not reach an agreement.
She advised that local authorities must recognise the "fundamental rights" contained in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to freedom of assembly and of association.
But she will tell councillors who will have the final say: "Participants in the procession will still be able to promote their cause and beliefs, maintaining the agreed assembly and dispersal points but changing the outward route. It is considered that these restrictions are proportionate in order to minimise the risk to public safety, public order and disruption to the life of the community."
Last month, the Rising Star of Bridgeton Royal Black Preceptory, which is formed from Orangemen, indicated that it was to launch a court fight with the council after being banned from holding a parade past the church amid protests.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel