The Catholic Union has called for a manifesto commitment from the three main, national parties to tackle religious persecution.
Writing to Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, and Jo Swinson, the Catholic Union has called for freedom of religion or belief to be at the heart of government policy, whoever who wins the election.
The Catholic Union has specifically called for a commitment to implement the recommendations of a recent report into Christian persecution, carried out by the Bishop of Truro.
The Truro report revealed that 250 million Christians face persecution around the world, accounting for 80 per cent of all religiously motivated discrimination. Catholics played a crucial role in providing evidence for the recent report into Christian persecution by the Bishop of Truro, commissioned by the former Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt.
Speaking at a talk hosted by the Catholic Union, the Bishop of Truro said that progress made by the Government in implementing the 22 recommendations in his report had been “like a curate’s egg – good in parts”.
The Catholic Union will make the responses from the party leaders available to members and supporters to help inform their decision on how to vote in this election.
Catholic Union Head of Public Affairs, James Somerville-Meikle, commented: “The Truro report received a warm welcome from politicians across the political divide in the last Parliament. At a time when so much divides our country and our politicians, we hope this is one area where common ground can be found, and consensus reached on the importance of acting on the recommendations in the report.
“Religious persecution should be something that concerns everyone. The ability to practise your faith freely is one of the most fundamental rights we have and underpins so many other rights and freedoms. That’s why talking about it in this election and seeing a manifesto commitment from our main parties is so important.”