Catholic church in vote 'bullying' row

THE Roman Catholic Church was accused of bullying tactics yesterday after it said it would advise worshippers in Scotland to vote against candidates opposed to denominational schools in the forthcoming Holyrood elections.

Before voting on May 1, the church will send out a letter to regular churchgoers emphasising its opposition to any attempt to undermine Catholic schools. The letter will be signed by the seven current members of the Bishop's Conference of Scotland and will advise people to be "guided by your conscience" in casting their votes.

The move follows recent attacks on Catholic schools by commentators and politicians.

However, the church's intervention provoked strong criticism that it was wrongly using denominational schools as the main issue in the election and that it was intimidating congregations.

Mr Kearney said that bishops would normally tell its members to vote as a civil duty. "For a Catholic voting who is in support of Catholic schools, there is a duty to vote for that," he said.

However, he insisted that the church would not be telling worshippers to boycott any particular party. "This is not to direct people to one party, it's much more about individuals."

But Ivan Middleton, of the Humanist Society of Scotland, said: "I think that most Catholics will think for themselves - it reeks of being the school bully."

Tommy Sheridan, leader of the Scottish Socialist party, said: "Tackling poverty and inequality are much more important issues and I would have hoped this would have been prioritised by the Catholic Church."