#catholoc

What Was Jesus Doing 2 Weeks After The Crucifixion? ~ from the 2024 International Impact Book Awards Winning Book ~ In Their Image And Likeness ~ PART 2

The Solemnity of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Many Catholics believed that, despite the changes which had come about since the fall of Stormont, they were still seen as enemies of the state, as being 'disloyal', and frequent reference was made to Lord Brookeborough's statements in the 30s. There was a perception that Catholics were not able fully to express their Irish identity The true measure of esteem, it was suggested, was the respect, equality and justice accorded to the culture of one's enemy'. This absence of respect for Irish nationalist culture contributed towards Catholic alienation from the state. With more than 3,000 marches every year, of which more than 90 per cent were loyalist, Northern Ireland was considered a Protestant place. Catholic marches, on the other hand, were prevented from entering many city or town centres, contributing towards a feeling that Protestants still 'owned the place', that the 'public face' of Northern Ireland remained Protestant. Many Catholics found it intimidating that public places flew the Union flag, or that council buildings continued to display such signs as 'Castlereagh Still Says No'. One person, who described herself as neither nationalist nor republican, but Catholic, complained that she was tired of continually hearing the same old rhetoric from unionists. For her, the important consideration was how would her rights be protected, as a non-political Catholic? She wished to hear some positive encouragement from unionist politicians that she, and people like her, had to a right to exist in the Northern Ireland state.

The 1991 census revealed once again how unemployment bore down heavily on the Catholic community: Catholic male unemployment was 28.4 per cent, compared with 13.9 per cent for Protestants and other categories; amongst women the equivalent rates were 14.5 per cent for Catholics and 8.8 per cent for Protestants. Evidence from other sources, such as the Labour Force Survey, showed similar results. Because of their higher unemployment levels, Catholics have also been forced into greater dependence on state benefits. A 1988-91 survey found that 30 per cent of Catholic families were in receipt of income support, compared with 16 per cent of Protestant households. And although there has been a narrowing of the income gap between Catholic and Protestant households in general, the Catholic average remains lower.

Following the communal disturbances of 1969, in 1970 the USC was replaced by the Ulster Defence Regiment and, to free the RUC from political control, a Police Act established a new Police Authority for Northern Ireland, intended to be representative of the main sections of the community. The RUC complement, previously limited to 3,500, was raised, leading ultimately to a full-time force of 8,478 by 1992, when there was also a full-time reserve of 3,160 and a part-time reserve of 1,432. This increase was not, however, matched by increased Catholic participation: whereas in 1961 Catholics comprised 12 per cent of the force, this had fallen back to 7.7 per cent by 1992. A mixed and polarised opinion has been recorded in surveys and polls on policing. A Belfast Telegraph poll in 1985 reported that while a substantial proportion of both Protestants (59 per cent) and Catholics (43 per cent) said the RUC carried out its duties fairly, the rest of the Protestants (37 per cent) said that the RUC carried out its duties very fairly while the rest of the Catholics (53 per cent) said that it carried out its duties unfairly or very unfairly.

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