According to the Glasgow-based Daily Record reporting on 25 April 2019,
anti-Catholic graffiti was sprayed on the bus-stop directly outside Holy Family Church in Mossend. On 26 March 2019, windows of the Catholic primary school next door had been smashed by vandals. Life Site News reported on 1 May 2019 that vandals
entered St. Simon Catholic Church in Glasgow on 29 April 2019 and overturned candles and broke a statue. As reported by the Evening Times on 30 April 2019, Glasgow police stated that this incident was "not thought to be sectarian related or a
hate crime offence."
Rachel Niko, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "According to a
survey carried out in 2016 (The Scotsman, 29 September 2017), the Roman Catholic Church could become the largest denomination in Scotland by 2024, but many of its churches are small and located in secluded areas. These are often left open for people to enter for prayer and are thus easy for vandals to target. With the survey"s 2016 data pointing to the fact that 51% of Scots do not belong to "˜any religion", police and politicians seem unaware that the reported acts of vandalism are actually targeting a religious minority. Although such incidents are indeed small compared to violent anti-Christian activities in such countries as Nigeria, Pakistan or Egypt, they can still be viewed as "˜the canary in the coalmine" - an early-warning of things that could become worse."
