Scottish Catholic Church comms director Peter Kearney claims that Scotland is "a hostile environment" for Catholics
The Scottish Catholic Church’s director of communications has claimed that Scotland is “a hostile environment” for Catholics having received over 1,000 emails after his call for the sacking of former Scottish Football Association head of referee development Hugh Dallas.
Speaking to The Herald, Peter Kearney, who heads up the Catholic Media Office, claimed that he was attacked online following a blog written by Richard Dawkins that described him as “a nasty little weasel”.
The blog was in reference to Kearney’s call for the sacking of Dallas who had sent on an email ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Scotland involving the Pope and child abuse. Dallas did subsequently lose his job as a result of the matter.
"Scotland remains a hostile environment for Catholics to live in. Priests have bricks thrown through their bedroom windows,” Kearney is quoted as saying before adding: "The number of crimes motivated by anti-Catholic intolerance has gone up every year since the 2003 Criminal Justice Act was created. Things are not getting better."
In the interview, Kearney also discussed his handling of the sexual misconduct by the head of the Scottish Catholic Church, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, earlier this year.