Priest Assaulted and Spat on during 'Orange Walk'
Catholic priest Tom White was spat on twice as he greeting parishioners outside St. Alphonsus' Church after Mass at the same time that an 'Orange Walk,' a procession by a Protestant fraternal order, passed by. He was also hit with a baton and verbally abused. A spokesperson for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland has said that no one from the parade was involved. Police Scotland, who had been guarding the church but were called away before the parade passed by, began a hate crime investigation.
The Grand Orange Lodge spokeman condemned the acts and offered cooperation with the police to identify the people responsible.
The assault was also condemned by Scotland's Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf: "These are extremely concerning reports and it is right that they are being investigated by Police Scotland. I am confident the police will treat this case with the seriousness it deserves."
A petition demanding the Orange Walks be banned received 50,000 signatures within three days of the incident. The council also received many complaints via email and said they will review their procedures.
Sources and credit: Premier here and here, BBC here and here, GlasgowLive, The Scottish Sun, Express, The Daily Record here and here