The Catholic Union has published an election guide as momentum builds toward the UK General Election on Thursday 4 July.
The guide includes suggested questions that any of the country's 4.5 million Catholics can pose to candidates, as well as useful quotes from Church teaching to provide context. It follows a <a href="https://catholicunion.org.uk/2024/04/catholics-getting-ready-to-vote/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">General Election survey carried out by the Catholic Union earlier this year</mark></a> that found that over 90 per cent of Catholic Union members and supporters were planning to vote in the election: a figure that is <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/catholics-in-uk-not-going-to-take-general-election-and-issues-at-stake-lying-down/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">significantly higher than the national average</mark></a>.
“Catholics are one of the largest – and one of the most politically- and socially-minded – religious minorities in the country,”<strong> </strong>says Catholic Union Interim Director Tristan Feunteun. “The election is an opportunity to elect people who recognise the importance of faith to society and will work towards the common good. We hope that this guide provides a valuable resource for people as polling day approaches.”
The guide's questions are based on the results of the survey conducted earlier this year. It found that the top five issues of greatest concern to Catholics ahead of this election are the following:
· Care for the vulnerable
· Religious freedom
· Family life
· Education
· Dignity of life
The survey also revealed a strong link between politics and religion, with 92 per cent of people saying that how they vote is influenced by their faith and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“The Church has much to offer our politics and society, and it is right that candidates engage with the interests and concerns of Catholics in this campaign,” Feunteun says.
The Catholic Union is encouraging people to <a href="https://catholicunion.org.uk/2024/06/catholic-union-election-guide/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">read the guide</mark></a> and put the questions it contains to their parliamentary candidates – either at hustings or by contacting them privately. The guide is available to <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://knf62a.n3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Manifesto-final.pdf">download for free</a> </mark>from the Catholic Union’s website.<br><br>"With many commentators suggesting that turnout could be low in this election, votes from the 4.5 million Catholics in Britain could make all the difference," James Somerville-Meikle <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/there-is-much-at-stake-for-catholics-in-this-general-election/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">previously wrote</mark></a> for the <em>Catholic Herald</em> in an article about what's at stake this election. "There are no shortage of issues for Catholics to consider, along with the broader themes of the economy and security." <br><br>The guide's release follows news that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is in <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/uk-prime-minister-indicates-he-wouldnt-oppose-assisted-dying/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">favour of assisted dying and changing the law on it</mark></a> as long as “safeguards” are in place. That news means that both leaders of the UK’s two largest political parties have now indicated that they personally do not have a problem with a practise that is also known as assisted suicide and that the Church vehemently opposes.
“As this Parliament comes to an end, there are plenty of questions about where this leaves the <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/cardinal-nichols-on-uk-elections-how-do-we-construct-a-society-in-which-families-flourish/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">interests and concerns of the Catholic community in this country</mark></a>, and what might come next," Somerville-Meikle says. <br><br><em>Photo: A nun departs after voting at St John's parish hall polling station in London as Britain holds a general election, 12 December 2019. (Photo by NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP via Getty Images.)</em>
