Religion Should Stay The Hell Out Of Politics
Religion, all religions, have no place in modern politics. Especially religions who make calls like Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland. He is attacking politicians who support abortion,. and even threatens them with being barred from taking Holy Communion. In a sermon to mark forty years since abortion was legalised, he will say:
“I urge politicians to have no truck with the evil trade of abortion.
For those at Westminster this means finding means of overthrowing the legislation, which makes the killing possible.
For those at Holyrood that means refusing to allow our health services to participate in the wanton killing of the innocent…
[Catholic politicians face] the barrier such co-operation [with abortion] erects to receiving Holy Communion.”
So a member of the Catholic clergy is providing what is pretty much an ultimatum to our elected representatives. Either try and make abortion illegal or you can’t be a full member of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church can have whatever belief it likes over abortion, and I couldn’t care less. They can believe whatever they like, so long a they don’t try and force it on others. He can have his beliefs and preach about them, but this is going way too far. What Cardinal O’Brien is doing is interfering in politics, where he has no place - especially when he is basically blackmailing Catholic MPs.
Britain has not been a Catholic country for the best part of 500 years. We aren’t even a truly Christian country any more, as only 53% of the population even call themselves “Christian”, let alone actually go to Church. The Catholic Church is stuck in the Middle Ages, whilst society and the world has moved on around it. Whenever it makes statements like this, it just points out how obsolete and out of date it truly is.
Religion and politics should not, and must not, mix. Religion has no place in politics, and politics has no place in religion.
Sources: BBC, The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian
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Seems to me that the Catholic church is trying to ‘force’ it’s beliefs on catholic representatives.
I think even you’d agree it has that ‘right’.
You’ll have to point out some of the ’stuck in the middle ages’ parts of the church. Hopefully it’s not simply because the church doesn’t want people to kill children?
The Cardinal is saying that elected representatives should use their position top try and change a law supported by the majority of the people.
Because someone is a member of the Catholic Church does not mean that the Church has a right to dictate their beliefs to them.
If they are a member of the Catholic Church, then the Church does indeed have the right to ‘dictate’ their beliefs to them.
It is the church’s business to attempt to change the law for abortion and it is the congregation’s business to follow the church.
This isn’t Islam, these rep’s can change religions anytime they feel pressured to go against their personal beliefs.
As I understand it, they can’t do anything anyway, so going on record as being against abortion and attempting to get laws for the people to vote on wouldn’t be against politics either.
Politicians pass, or decline to pass, laws, against the wishes of us poor sods, every day. What makes this any different.
I want conservatives to vote for lower taxes and if they do i’ll donate some money. Or even join. Is that “blackmail”?