Lord Bracadale The Catholic Bishops Conference of Scotland is warning against the government’s restriction of free speech, amid fears that the Church’s stance on marriage and sexuality could make Catholics susceptible to hate crime allegations.
“Care must be taken to allow room for debate and a robust exchange of views, ensuring that ‘hate’ doesn’t include the kind of ordinary discourse where people reasonably hold divergent views,” reads the bishop’s statement submitted to the Scottish Government’s consultation on hate crimes.
“The fundamental right to freedom of expression, and the right of an individual to hold and express opinions, even if they are considered by some to be controversial or unwelcome must be upheld.”
This statement comes amid a national independent review of Scotland’s hate crime legislation, commissioned by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, and released in May 2018.
In the review, Lord Bracadale, a retired Scottish judge, suggests that “there should be a protection of freedom of expression provision for offences concerning the stirring up of hatred”.
Catholic Parliamentary Office Director Anthony Horan said last month that the Church in Scotland supports this recommendation.
“In a climate of heightened sensitivity there is a very real danger that expressing or even holding individual or collective opinions or beliefs will become a hate crime,” Mr Horan said.
“We must guard against this and ensure freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion are protected.”
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, and Catholics in Scotland are increasingly concerned that the government could consider their faith “hate speech”, according to local reports.
The Scottish government launched a campaign last year with posters addressed to ‘bigots, disablists, homophobes, racists, and transphobes’ across the country, saying that anyone engaging in “hate speech” will be reported to police.