Bishop poses ten questions for Catholic Brits ahead of general election

[PaulfromIowa]

Bishop poses ten questions for Catholic Brits ahead of general election May 16, 2017 - by Catholic News Agency

Pastoral Letter from the Bishop to be read in all churches of the Diocese of Portsmouth on 14th May 2017, the Fifth Sunday of Eastertide

…Britain is preparing for a General Election and as Catholics we have a crucial contribution to make to this democratic process. Here are ten key questions to think about. You could use them to evaluate a manifesto, or you could put them to a prospective parliamentary candidate.

First, and foremost, how far will this or that candidate protect the sacred dignity of each
human life from conception to natural death, opposing moves to liberalise the abortion
laws, to extend embryo experimentation and to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia?

How will they strengthen Britain’s Christian patrimony, its history, classics and values,
whilst curbing fundamentalism in its various forms, scientific and religious, and promoting
a fruitful dialogue between faith and reason?

How will they support families, traditional family life and family values?

How will they correlate freedom and responsibility? How will they build up community, foster philanthropy and support charity? How will they help the homeless? How will they improve the care of the mentally ill? How will they give greater support to the lowest earners, to the sick, to the disabled, to the dying? How will they care better for the environment, promoting an ‘integral ecology’ with a simpler life-style?

And tenthly, how will they foster peace, justice and development abroad, whilst encouraging our Government to stand up for Christians who are being persecuted in such
places as Syria and Egypt?

 

[Stat_Crux]

A good list of considerations. Bishop Egan continues with his outspoken public defence of the Catholic faith.

 

[Isca]

I checked out my party’s local candidate today. It’s not commonplace in the UK for candidates to give out a lot of information about their personal views outside of their party’s manifesto, but I found out that she’s a Catholic (or at least, all her education was at Catholic schools).

The Bishop’s suggestions are good, and it gives us something to think about.

 

[abucs]

The Bishop’s suggestions are good, and it gives us something to think about.