Hamish Macdonell criticises the Catholic Church for "bullying" voters and politicians (your report, 15 July).
As evidence, he cites my claim that this Labour government has "repudiated and abandoned Christian truths and values" and that Labour "has broken its pact with Christian voters". Yes, those are my claims. And there is ample evidence to justify such s
entiments in respect of the raft of legislation introduced by this government that contradicts and repudiates Christian teaching and beliefs. Where is the threat or "bullying" in the above quotes? As a Roman Catholic bishop what else does Mr Macdonell expect me to do when my Christian faith is subjected to such public discrimination and challenges – whistle a happy tune, perhaps?
And where and when did the Catholic Church claim, as Mr Macdonell asserts, that Labour would lose the Glasgow East by-election because of its record on embryo research and abortion? Neither I nor my brother bishops made any such forecast on behalf of the Church. Quite properly, the electorate will decide which issues take priority and vote accordingly. We can only hope that they give due consideration to family and life issues. It is certainly our duty to draw such issues to their attention.
Mr Macdonell's article was not entirely overwrought. His assertion that "Labour Party managers are terrified of upsetting the Catholic Church" did introduce a lighter moment. Oh, how we laughed. For someone who is supposed to be something of an authority on political issues, one wonders where the focus of Mr Macdonell's attention has been over the last five to ten years as this Labour government has introduced more anti-family and anti-life legislation than any government in recent memory. So much for Labour's "terror" of the Catholic Church.
It is no secret that I have been a high profile critic of this Labour government. And I do not retract any statements or criticism I have made to date in relation to its anti-family and anti-life legislation. But for the record let me clarify once and for all that embryology research and abortion are not Catholic issues. Nor are they even multi-faith issues. They are national issues. Opinion polls conducted prior to the vote at Westminster identified that 67 per cent of the population were opposed to the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos. That is the position of the electorate in the UK. And the Catholic Church represents one small part of that majority view.
(RT REV) JOSEPH DEVINE
Bishop of MotherwellHamish Macdonell blames the Church for lobbying and bullying. He then goes on to use me as an example. I don't know whether to be flattered or not at this imputation of power and influence.
I am only a composer, after all. I have no power or influence inside or outside the Church. I am simply a private citizen who happens to have views which often coincide with many others, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic, etc. Mr Macdonell is labouring under some ancient conspiracy phobia about Catholics, which seems to see insidious Jesuitical sophistry round every corner and under every bed. The truth is far less melodramatic. It is not just bishops, and certainly not just Catholics, who are worried that Labour is shedding its connections with millions of ordinary people with traditional moral perceptions.
There is nothing "extraordinary and intemperate" about raising these anxieties, certainly not in a Catholic newspaper (to which I think he is referring) where I wrote an article on this issue. The overwhelming reaction to my criticisms of our abortion culture was positive and in agreement. If these views cannot then transfer into a more public arena without provoking liberal secularist militants into a state of apoplexy, one has to ask who is doing the bullying here?
JAMES MacMILLAN CBE
Address suppliedThe full article contains 646 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
