CHURCH FEARS OVER HATE BILL
Catholic leaders warn even the Bible could fall foul of SNP’s new legislation
THE possession of a Bible could be deemed a criminal offence under the SNP’s new Hate Crime Bill, the Catholic Church has warned.
The legislation introduces an offence of ‘stirring up’ hatred and possessing ‘inflammatory’ material – with jail terms of up to seven years for those flouting it.
In a submission to the Scottish parliament’s justice committee, the church said the law as it stands could see the Bible classed as ‘inflammatory’.
The intervention is the latest setback for the legislation which critics, including police officers and lawyers, say risks undermining free speech.
Senior bishops said that any new law must be ‘carefully weighed against fundamental freedoms, such as the right to free speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion’.
Last night, church spokesman Peter Kearney said: ‘This is a chilling Bill which could criminalise Bible possession and preaching – and could even see the Bible banned, for example councils could remove it from libraries. Police might as well round up all the Christian ministers in Scotland now and take their Bibles from them.’
The church’s submission states: ‘We are concerned that Section 5 of the Bill creates an offence of possessing
‘Ditch or amend the Hate Crime Bill’
inflammatory material, which could render material such as the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other texts such as Bishops’ Conference of Scotland submissions to government consultations, as being inflammatory under the new provision.
‘For example, in a submission to the Scottish Government on proposed reform of the Gender Recognition Act
004, the Bishops’ Conference stated the church’s understanding of the human person, including the belief that sex and gender are not fluid and changeable, and that male and female are complementary and ordered towards the creation of new life.
‘Such pronouncements, which are widely held, might be perceived by others as an abuse of their own, personal world view and likely to stir up hatred.
‘We must accept the divergent views and multitude of arguments inhabiting our society on a wide range of issues and allow for respectful debate.’
Commenting on the submission, the director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office, Anthony Horan, said: ‘The bishops have expressed concerns about the lack of clarity around definitions.’
Critics of the proposed law include top lawyers, police officers, journalists, academics, feminists, secular and faith groups, creatives and politicians.
They warn that vague language risks criminalising ordinary Scots and undermining freedom of expression.
Last night, Jamie Gillies, spokesman for pressure group Free to Disagree, which opposes the Bill, said: ‘An astonishing array of people have warned that the draft “stirring up of hatred” offences pose a threat to free speech.
‘When commentators on the Left and the Right, lawyers, police officers, secularists, Christians and feminists are all singing from the same hymn sheet, there must be a serious problem.
‘Ministers must ditch or radically amend... the Hate Crime Bill to protect free speech.’
The group published a dossier of criticism of the Bill, which collated responses to the Scottish Government consultation.
This includes a warning from the Law Society Scotland, which said there are ‘major flaws’ with the proposals. It criticised the ‘vagueness’ of the stirring-up offences which ‘could result in a lack of certainty for the public in understanding what constituted criminal behaviour’, adding this would ‘impact on solicitors, whether prosecuting or defending those accused of offences’.
The Society said ‘the Bill presents a significant threat to freedom of expression, with the potential for what may be abusive or insulting to become criminalised’.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Religious beliefs are an integral part of Scottish society and this Bill does not change that in any way.
‘The Bill does not criminalise religious beliefs or practices and possessing a Bible would not constitute an offence.
‘The Bill includes provisions on freedom of expression to provide reassurance that the prohibition on stirring up hatred will not limit people’s right to express their faith.’