Edinburgh, Scotland, Mar 26, 2019 / 07:01 pm (CNA).- 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 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 March 24 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,” 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.
The Scottish Catholic Observer reports that documents released under the country’s Freedom of Information Act last week revealed that the Scottish Government had received many complaints about the “Dear Bigots” campaign. A government official stated that there are “no plans to re-use the ‘Dear Bigots’ letter in future.”
“Some people might suggest that expressing the Catholic Church’s position on marriage or human sexuality could be an attempt to stir up hatred,” Horan said.
“This would obviously be wrong, but without room for robust debate and exchange of views we risk becoming an intolerant, illiberal society.”
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
CNA Newsroom, Aug 18, 2023 / 09:46 am (CNA).
In a unique blend of faith and environmental activism, pilgrims from Vancouver, British Columbia, handed out rosaries crafted from recycled ocean plastic to attendees of World You… […]
Pilgrims pray in front of St. Peter’s Basilica / Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
Rome, Italy, May 26, 2022 / 08:37 am (CNA).
When St. Philip Neri came to Rome from Florence in 1533, he encountered a city in upheaval. The Sack of Rome six years prior had left famine and plague in its wake. The Protestant Reformation was in full swing and the Church was rife with corruption.
The young Philip, who would spend around 16 years in Rome as a layman before becoming a priest, soon dedicated himself to caring for the city’s sick and poor.
The saint, whose feast day falls on May 26, also realized that Rome’s people were suffering from a spiritual sickness and tiredness as well, and so he set out to reinvigorate Catholics with the joy of the faith through song and dance — and jokes.
A historic illustration of the seven churches. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
Part of St. Philip’s outreach was the revival of the Seven Churches visit. He may not be the originator of the idea of the pilgrimage to some of Rome’s most important churches, but he is credited with renewing its popularity.
After it fell out of use once again, St. Philip’s congregation of secular priests, the Oratory, revived it in the 1960s, including holding the walk one night each year, as close as possible to the way the saint would have done it.
Fr. Maurizio Botta, who led the pilgrimage, speaks at the start in front of Chiesa Nuova. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
After a two-year pause, on the evening of May 13 into the morning of May 14, around 800 people walked 15 and a half miles in the footsteps of the saint and his followers.
Police officers in cruisers drove ahead of the urban pilgrimage to block traffic as a sea of Catholics from around Italy crossed busy intersections and passed Friday night diners while praying the rosary in unison and singing the Taizé chant “Laudate Dominum,” whose words say in Latin, “Praise the Lord, all people, Alleluia.”
Pilgrims, including scouts, walk through Rome’s Ostiense neighborhood. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
The rosary was prayed four times during the pilgrimage, which took almost 10 hours to complete, including stops for a sack dinner at midnight and short lessons on the virtues led by priests of the Oratory.
Pilgrims, including scouts, walk through Rome’s Ostiense neighborhood. Hannah Brockhaus
The seven basilicas were chosen by the saint for their importance to Christianity, and the walk on May 13-14 followed the path laid out in a 16th-century document almost certainly seen and used by St. Philip — and likely even written by him.
This document, recreated and printed into a booklet for use on the annual pilgrimage today, gives St. Philip’s guidance for those making the Seven Churches visit.
Eating a sack dinner in the courtyard of a church. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
“Before setting out to make this holy Pilgrimage, each of the Brethren must lift up his mind to God, offering him the sincerity of his heart, with the purpose of desiring the sole glory of his divine Majesty in all actions, and especially in this one,” it says.
Those participating can also earn an indulgence under the usual conditions, and are asked to pray for specific intentions. These include praying for the penance of sins, the amendment of lukewarmness and negligence in the service of God, in thanksgiving for the forgiveness of sins, for the pope and the Church, for sinners still in the darkness of an evil life, for the conversion of heretics, schismatics, and infidels, and for the holy souls in purgatory.
Pilgrims stop to pray on the way to St. Peter’s Basilica. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
The pilgrimage began at Chiesa Nuova, the church built by St. Philip for the Oratory, and proceeded to St. Peter’s Basilica, reaching the site of St. Peter’s martyrdom at sunset.
Pilgrims walk on a path next to the Tiber River. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
Each of the seven churches is associated with a moment of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion. At each stop, an Oratory priest preached on a virtue and its opposing vice, before everyone joined in a prayer for an increase in that virtue and for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The virtues and vices were abstinence against gluttony, patience against ire, chastity against lust, generosity against avarice, fervor of spirit against acedia, charity against envy, and humility against pride.
A street sign marking Seven Churches Way. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
After the Basilica of St. Paul, the pilgrimage followed an ancient street still called Seven Churches Way to arrive at the catacombs and the Basilica of St. Sebastian, a third-century Christian martyr.
As a layman in Rome, St. Philip Neri used to visit the catacombs of St. Sebastian to pray. One night in the catacombs, about 10 years after moving to Rome, as he prayed, a mystical ball of fire entered his mouth and went down into his chest, exploding his ribs and doubling the size of his heart with love of God.
St. Philip was changed, both physically and spiritually, by this event, which he only revealed shortly before his death.
Pilgrims outside the catacombs of St. Sebastian. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
Pilgrims next arrived at the Domine Quo Vadis Church after a silent, moonlit walk through the ancient Appian Way Park, flanked by the silhouettes of Italian cypress trees.
The small church of medieval origin marks the spot where, according to tradition, Jesus appeared to St. Peter as he was fleeing Rome to avoid martyrdom.
Peter asked Jesus, “Domine quo vadis?” (“Lord, where are you going?”), to which Christ said, “Venio Romam iterum crucifigi,” (“I am coming to Rome to be crucified again.”) This rebuke caused Peter to turn around and face his own martyrdom.
Pilgrims walk along the ancient Aurelian Wall on their way to the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
The Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls was the penultimate stop. The church, which has the tomb of St. Lawrence, is located next to Rome’s Verano Monumental Cemetery, and was included among the Seven Churches by St. Philip Neri, Father Botta said, as a reminder of mortality.
Almost 2 weeks ago I went on St. Philip Neri’s 7 Churches Walk in Rome.
800 people walked over 15 miles during the 10-hour night pilgrimage.
During the last stretch, at 5:15am, we passed through Termini train station, and Francesco caught this video of the moment. pic.twitter.com/C2SPHn5yoR
— Hannah Brockhaus (@HannahBrockhaus) May 26, 2022
The final stretch of the walk passed through Rome’s main train station, Termini, where pilgrims sang the Marian antiphon “Salve Regina.”
Pilgrims walk through Termini train station singing the “Salve Regina”. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
The pilgrimage finished shortly before 6:00 a.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the traditional end of the walk, where the “Salve Regina” hymn was sung again in honor of the Virgin Mary.
Pilgrims sing the “Salve Regina” outside the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Hannah Brockhaus/CNAA baby and his mom enjoy a moment with a new friend at the end of the pilgrimage. Hannah Brockhaus/CNAA statue of Mary on a column outside the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Hannah Brockhaus
Cannot post my comment as too long, so here…
https://i.imgur.com/LJK95ge.jpg
There is no freedom of expression, when what is being expressed goes against the dominant secular ideology. The bishops have already lost that battle.