The priest at the centre of a sectarian attack during an Orange Walk outside of his church in Glasgow has said a court ruling does not go far enough to address the problem.
Canon Tom White was spat on outside St Alphonsus Church on London Road during last year’s Orange March.
Bradley Wallace, 24, assaulted Father Thomas White when he was unable to get back inside St Alphonsus Church on London Road, when hundreds of parishioners were leaving.
READ MORE: Thug Bradley Wallace admits spitting at Glasgow priest Tom White during Orange Walk
Wallace's DNA was traced by police after officers investigating confirmed a DNA hit.
Speaking after Bradley Wallace, from Uddingston, appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court where he pled guilty to the assault on July 7, Canon White said the proceedings fail to “represent the totality of the crime”.
He added: “There was definitely more than one person that spat on me. While one person is taking responsibility for their part in it, it doesn't go far enough to address the bigger debate that needs to happen.
“Just using a label like sectarianism doesn't help in these instances - these crimes are specific and a blanket term of sectarianism does not identify it for what it was.
READ MORE: Orange Order in Scotland is on the brink of collapse, according to leading historian Tom Devine
“We need to be more honest about the nature of the crimes. It was specifically an anti-Catholic crime and a hate crime.”
Police officers had been guarding St Alphonsus Church as a group from the parade passed however after a disturbance broke out nearby, police were directed away from the church when the incident took place.
The court today heard a number of people spat at members of the parish as the Orange Walk passed.
The priest is now calling for more action to be taken by police to protect residents who may be affected by events in a similar vein.
He added: “Those responsible for policing these marches need to take full responsibility for them.
“I think it's time that those responsible begin to have a meaningful reflection.
“There are lots of things to be looked at. It was a very unpleasant chapter and there are elements of these parades that need to be looked at and considered.
READ MORE: Orange Order refuses to re-route parade away from Catholic Church
“My personal and pastoral priorities are as such that I don’t have time to go on some kind of crusade.
"I don’t have the appetite for it - it’s not my job. There are others who are office bearers in the city who need to take stock of this.
"I want to get back to working in this community.”
Following the incident, the clergyman said he received an outpouring of support and sympathy that was not “refined to the Catholic community”.
He said: “It's not just me who has been impacted, there will be people from the Orange Order who would have felt that this young man did them a disservice as well because of the damage.”
Wallace, represented by John Coogan, had his bail continued by the sheriff and will be sentenced later this month.
Despite being personally affected by the attack, Canon White believes that a “punitive” sentence would not be beneficial to the individual.
He added: “When you apply penalties as such, they’re meant to be medicinal - they are not meant to be punitive.
“I just hope that whatever the decision is, that it makes someone turn round and think 'that's not how I would like to define myself in my attitude to others'.
“Hopefully after this episode, the individuals involved will arrive at the decision that it’s not actually acceptable to assault people because of their beliefs.”
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