This last week I attended the hustings at the Central Methodist Church of our parliamentary candidates for Sutton and Devonport Ward. Some people there had already decided for whom they would vote and came to support them. But many, like me, attended to in order to make a responsible decision about the person who should represent this part of the world in the decisions of the British Parliament.
Many questions were asked about various issues of policy. Sometimes it can be very confusing and overwhelming to make decisions based on all these diverse subjects. I think I could agree with at least one policy of all the parties represented at the hustings! So how are we to make sense of it?
Well I have no easy answers, but I do think Catholics ought to reflect on the Church’s teaching about human community (found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church). In the following blog posts I propose to outline in my own words what that teaching is, so that you can allow the teaching of the Church to illuminate your own thinking. It may also be of help to those who are politically active, as it can give a theological basis to some aspects of public policy, or give a faith based challenge to other policies.
May Christ the light illuminate the darkness of our minds so that we may have the wisdom to make the right decisions in the forthcoming elections.
Fr Ian
