Nov 21, 2004 / 22:00 pm
According to a recent study carried out by the Crown Office in Scotland into prosecutions for religious bigotry since the passing of new anti-sectarianism legislation ni 2003, Catholics are by far the most likely victims of sectarian hostility, reports BBC News.
The Crown’s study of prosecutions in June to December 2003, showed that in 63% of cases of sectarian abuse, the victims were Catholic, compared with 29% of victims who were Protestants, 1% who were Jews and 1% who were Muslim.
108 of the 450 prosecutions for religious bigotry that took place during that time were included in the study, and 68 of those consisted of crimes against Catholics. 31 crimes against Protestants, and one each against Muslims and Jews.
Even though a spokesman for the Crown Office said that “in order to identify trends further research would be required," Catholic leaders such as Msgr. Joseph Devine, Bishop of Motherwell, said the research indicates that "entrenched hostility towards a religious minority, which many felt had long since disappeared, clearly remains and flourishes."