There was a ‘letter’ in the paper today suggesting it portrayed the Catholics as a persecuted minority, but this might not have been the case?
It was undoubtedly the case at that particular point in time. Doesn’t mean there weren’t active Catholic plots against the crown, but it’s certain that plenty of innocent Catholics suffered terribly because of the paranoia of successive monarchs.
It should also be pointed out that bloody purges and repression of protestants were carried out in catholic countries and when Queen Mary was on the throne just half a century or so earlier.
And I’d imagine that had any of the Catholic plots succeeded in toppling Elizabeth or James I and installing Mary Queen of Scots or allowing an invasion by Spain/France at the behest of the Pope, the reprisals against protestants would have been severe.
Worth watching the documentary on Tudor spymasters that aired on BBC last night. Really interesting stuff.