Edinburgh, Scotland, Oct 4, 2018 / 14:54 pm
Police Scotland maintains that "if flown or displayed in a provocative manner or altered," the display of the Vatican flag could be a criminal act.
Scotland has experienced significant sectarian division since the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century, which led to the formation of the Church of Scotland, an ecclesial community in the Calvinist and Presbyterian tradition which is the country's largest religious community.
Sectarianism and crimes motivated by anti-Catholicism have been on the rise in Scotland in recent years. Football hooliganism in the country can be linked to sectarian football clubs.
"It would be very concerning if the Vatican flag was in any circumstance deemed offensive," a Church spokesman said, according to the Scottish Catholic Observer.