Loyalist parades are to be re-routed away from a Catholic church in the east end of Glasgow next weekend following concerns from police.
Four parades next Saturday and Sunday, three by Orange Lodges and one by the Apprentice Boys of Derry, are to be diverted to avoid St Alphonsus church in London Road.
Police raised fears over the impact the marches and subsequent protests will have on the community saying that they had fresh concerns following protests outside the church at a march last weekend.
Glasgow City Council said the expected scale of the protest would pose a threat of disruption to the community and impact on police resources, ordering the parades to be re-routed.
READ MORE: Loyalist march cancelled after re-route away from Catholic church
It is understood that prior to the incident last July where Canon Tom White was spat on and a man later jailed for the assault, police would have had 11 officers attending such a parade.
The Grand Orange Lodge said it is the victim of "anti-protestant persecution" and said police are able to manage protests by other organisations without re-routing parades.
Last weekend as a result of the protests there were 100 officers including specialist riot police.
A spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland said: “Now is not a good time to be a Protestant living in Glasgow. The simple act of walking down a street is now effectively banned at certain times.
"Wearing an item of clothing that identifies you as a Protestant will lead to you walking a gauntlet of bigoted protestors who object to your presence simply because you are not of their faith.
“Disappointingly, this is aided and abetted by Police Scotland and the SNP led Glasgow City Council.
We will stand up to this bigotry, and we won’t let intolerance win. We support a Scotland of all faiths and none, where people live together in mixed communities. We support Scotland having religious differences, without these religious divides.
“Police Scotland claim that they can’t resource the parade and protests. But they manage to police pro-independence parades when there is a unionist protest. They manage to police political campaigning when there are angry counter-protests.
"They managed to police a recent Republican event with terrorist banners on show. But they have stepped in to say that they cannot manage to police Protestant parades unless we agree to abide by rules of religious segregation, unless we agree to imposed religious divisions where certain streets are no-go zones to Protestants?
READ MORE: Vanguard Bears join protest against 'Protestant discrimination' by Glasgow City Council
“The Orange Order has made its position quite clear, we are an organisation that proudly supports and promotes our own heritage, religion and culture. Being pro-Protestant does not make us anti-Catholic. We have the right to peacefully and quietly celebrate our own beliefs, without this anti-protestant persecution.
“We will reflect on this discrimination, but we see it as a time to act. We will be speaking to lodges, here and abroad, about what we do to ensure that our culture, our religion, our heritage and beliefs can be celebrated, as others are allowed to celebrate theirs.”
The council said that failure to comply with the order is an offence for both organisers and anyone taking part in the parade.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Police have raised a significant concern about the impact of these marches and counter-protests – both on the local community and their own resources.
“The council’s decision to re-route the processions is proportionate and maintains the participants’ right to the assembly while addressing those concerns.”
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