Following the Queen’s Speech on Thursday 19 December, the Catholic Union has issued the response below.
“There is much to welcome in the Queen’s Speech, not least a commitment to protect those persecuted for their faith and implement the recommendations of the Truro report. This is something the Catholic Union has been calling for. The Government must now put words into action and show that promoting religious freedom around the world is a key foreign policy objective.
This table selects a number of relevant extracts from the manifestos of parties other than the three main national parties which were covered in the previous table. These parties (in alphabetical order) are the Brexit Party, Green Party, Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party.
The Catholic Union is publishing an Election Statement which includes a link to this table:
Please click below to see some questions about religious freedom to ask your parliamentary candidates in the forthcoming General Election.
Holy Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at 6pm on Wednesday 19 February 2020 at Farm St Church (postal address 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH). This Mass will mark the 150th anniversary of the Catholic Union of Great Britain and will be followed by a Reception kindly sponsored by the Catholic Union Charitable Trust. All welcome.
Please register for the Reception with the office (020 8749 1321 or info@catholicunion.org.uk) or on Eventbrite here.
Each of the three main parties has been accused of discriminating against people with religious beliefs. There appears to be an alarmingly low level of understanding of the nature of a religious belief and about what it means to respect the beliefs and consciences of others.
The Catholic Union has therefore formulated three questions for you to ask your parliamentary candidates. It also sets out some facts for discussion should you wish to use them.
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 Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Rehman Chishti, has praised the contribution of the Catholic Church to tackling religious persecution.
Speaking at a talk hosted by the Catholic Union on 7 November, Mr Chishti said that the Church and Catholic charities like Aid to the Church in Need are helping to provide information on the ground in some of the worst affected places. He also drew on the words of Saint John Henry Newman – lead kindly light – as inspiration for tackling religious persecution.
The event at Mary Moorfields Church in Moorgate began with a talk from the Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen, who led a recent report into Christian persecution.
Bishop Philip said that whilst he had been asked to lead the report by the Archbishop of Canterbury, he saw this as an ecumenical project and praised the contribution of Catholics to the review. He said that persecution of Christians was a “bellwether” for other forms of discrimination, both religious and other types. Continue reading
The Catholic Union Charitable Trust has organised the following meeting:
Venue: St Mary Moorfields Church, 4-5 Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LS (not wheelchair accessible).