Below is a letter published in the Sunday Telegraph on 4th January 1015, signed by a group of Catholics in Parliament.
SIR – Matt Showering makes a no doubt well-intentioned call for improved Roman Catholic representation in the House of Lords by granting seats to Roman Catholic bishops. This would not be the way to go.
Over the Catholic Church’s long history, it has discovered that mixing clerical and legislative offices can lead to problems. There are many famous examples where the seduction of temporal power diminished and obscured the pastoral mission of ordained ministers, or where the Gospel suffered instrumentalisation at the hands of passing ideologies.
The Catholic Church instead challenges its laity to enter the public sphere and to work through a variety of political parties and structures to see Christ’s teaching reflected in public life. As Catholic politicians, we believe that is the right way to go.
Rob Flello MP (Lab)
Jonathan Evans MP (Con)
Mike Kane MP (Lab)
Stephen Pound MP (Lab)
Cllr Chris Whitehouse (Con) Isle of Wight County Council
Lord Hylton (Crossbench)
Lord Balfe (Con)