THE Catholic Church has slammed plans for a Protestant parade which is due to pass a church where a priest was allegedly attacked at during an Orange Order march.
The Glasgow Archdiocese has called for the rerouting of a planned procession by the Rising Star of Bridgeton Royal Black Preceptory due to take place on September 8.
It is due to pass 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 council has asked organisers to change the route which runs from Tullis Street to the East End for a wreath-laying ceremony but the Royal Blacks, which is formed from Orangemen, has refused. It now has to be considered by a council public processions committee next week.
The Archdiocese said: "It is dismaying that yet another attempt is being made to parade past St Alphonsus in the wake of the shameful scenes of last month.
"It is concerning that organisers do not have the wisdom and sense themselves to suggest a re-route.
"The organisers have chosen a route and a time which is fraught with tension, and this can only be seen as a provocation or an attempt to create fear and anxiety among people who will be entering and leaving the church at that moment.
A recent Royal Black Preceptory Parade in Port Glasgow
"We would hope that the warnings of Police Scotland about the threat to safety and public order, expressed just last week on the occasion of another attempted march past the church, will be heeded, and that the parade will be re-routed."
A report to the council committee acknowledged the Rising Star of Bridgeton Royal Black Preceptory has for a number of years marched past St Alphonsus without major incident but still took the view there would be a “high likelihood of public disorder with risk to public safety and extended disruption to the life of the local community".
The report by Carole Forrest, the director of governance and solicitor to the council also advised that local authorities must recognise the "fundamental rights" contained in the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to freedom of assembly and of association.
"Any local authority must act within the current European and domestic legislation and balance the rights of individuals and groups to hold processions, with the rights of others to go about their business without unnecessary disruption," she says in the report.
A submission from Supt John McBride in charge of operations and justice at London Road Police Office while appreciating the ECHR rights of the parade organisers took the view that "the resources which would be required to police the parade would be disproportionate to the numbers involved in the parade."
He said: "I also have to balance (ECHR) rights with the need to protect the public, prevent disorder and crime, and protect the rights and freedoms of the wider public. 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."
Earlier this month, the Grand Lodge of Scotland changed the route of a march to bypass St Alphonsus Church after "a tidal wave of revulsion" amongst the people of Glasgow and a host of politicians from the city and beyond following the alleged assault.
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