Kevin MacKenna’s polemical description of Roman Catholics’ experience as ‘a century of being treated like dogs by civic and cultural Scotland’ requires a response. (There is a reason Catholic voters support independence. Don't take them for granted, Herald, 5th September). The Roman Catholic hierarchy in Scotland forbade Catholics to integrate. They refused to recognise Scotland as a Protestant Christian country. They rejected the testimony of the Church of Scotland as belonging to the Body of Christ in the world. They denied the authenticity of such as David Livingstone, Mary Slessor, James Clerk Maxwell and many other large minded, visionary and humanitarian Christians. We know know that the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland in the years cited was a living denial of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Catholics have progressed in Scotland due to the benefits of Reformed Christianity allied to politics. Compare Franco’s Spain. In the time span Mr MacKenna cites there were many Catholic-Protestant marriages undertaken by those willing to rebel for the sake of love. Today there are few families in Scotland without one member of either faith expression. Inasmuch as Catholic teaching seeks to defend the unborn and advocate Christian heterosexual marriage Christians in Scotland make common cause against secular politics in general and the SNP in particular. However, the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland to this day refuses Holy Communion to Protestant Christians. Treatment like dogs?