A Catholic priest in England reportedly warned a Liberal Democrat member of parliament in his parish that he would be refused communion should he vote in favor of the United Kingdom’s controversial assisted suicide bill.
Despite this warning, Chris Coghlan voted in favor of the bill on June 20 and claimed he did so in accordance with his “conscience.”
While Coghlan underscored in a Saturday op-ed that his faith is irrelevant to his parliamentary responsibilities, Father Ian Vane of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dorking, England, indicated that the liberal’s political decisions were very much relevant to whether he could receive the Eucharist.
‘Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder.’
After learning that he would be denied communion — evidently not in person, as the Observer indicated the lawmaker didn’t even show up to the relevant masses — Coghlan had an ugly meltdown online, calling the priest’s actions “outrageous”; accusing Fr. Vane of “completely inappropriate interference in democracy”; filing a complaint with Bishop Richard Moth, the bishop of Arundel and Brighton, who publicly campaigned against the bill; and suggesting lawmakers’ faith should be publicly considered when they vote on matters of possible relevance.
“I was deeply disturbed to receive an email from my local priest four days before the vote on Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill saying if I voted in favour I would be ‘an obstinate public sinner,’” Coghlan noted in his op-ed. “Worse, I would be complicit in a ‘murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.’ Such a vote would, he wrote, be ‘a clear contravention of the Church’s teaching, which would leave me in the position of not being able to give you holy communion, as to do so would cause scandal in the Church.’”
Coghlan suggested that the priest was in the wrong and had wrongly characterized so-called “assisted dying” as a “murderous act.”
While the leftist lawmaker indicated his faith was “profoundly important” to him, he appears to have greatly misunderstood or altogether missed the church’s unwavering moral stances on euthanasia and suicide.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states that “intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.”
The Catechism also states that “suicide is seriously contrary to justice, hope, and charity” and is “forbidden by the fifth commandment.”
Canon 915 in the Code of Canon Law forbids the administration of communion to those who obstinately persevere “in manifest grave sin.”
One year prior to becoming pope in 2005, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger signed a memorandum on the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith clarifying that:
Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.
In other words, Fr. Vane did exactly as expected by the church and echoed the Catholic Church’s longstanding moral teaching when warning then admonishing Coghlan.
In advance of the parliamentary vote on the legislation, Bishop Moth, the recipient of Coghlan’s complaint, encouraged Catholics in his diocese to “pray earnestly that the dignity of human life is respected from the moment of conception to natural death” and to urge their members of parliament to vote against the bill.
“While the proposed legislation may offer assurances of safeguards, the evidence is clear that, in those countries such as Canada and Belgium (to take just two examples) where legislation approving ‘assisted dying’ is in place, it takes little time before the criteria for ‘assisted dying’ expand, often including those living with mental illness and others who do not have a terminal diagnosis,” wrote Moth.
Despite being framed as a “stringently limited, carefully monitored system of exceptions” around the time of its legalization in 2016, state-facilitated suicide is now a leading cause of death in Canada, accounting for 4.7% of all Canadian deaths last year.
As Moth indicated, so-called medical assistance in dying in Canada is not just killing moribund people, but individuals who could otherwise live for years or decades, as well as victims whose primary symptom is suicidal ideation.
After parliament voted 314 to 291 in favor of changing British law to legalize assisted suicide earlier this month, Catholic Archbishop John Sherrington, lead bishop for life issues for the Catholic Bishop’s Conference, reiterated the church’s opposition to the legalization of assisted suicide, noting, “We are shocked and disappointed that MPs have voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. This Bill is flawed in principle with several provisions that give us great cause for concern.”
Coghlan claimed that after the vote, his priest “publicly announced at mass that he was indeed denying me holy communion as I had breached canon law.”
‘There is no in-between. Choose.’
The leftist politician continued complaining on X, writing, “It is a matter of grave public interest the extent to which religious MPs came under pressure to represent their religion and not necessarily their constituents in the assisted dying vote.”
“This was utterly disrespectful to my family, my constituents including the congregation, and the democratic process. My private religion will continue to have zero direct relevance to my work as an MP representing all my constituents without fear or favour,” added Coghlan.
Blaze News reached out to Fr. Vane for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
In addition to stressing that religion should effectively be neutralized in public so that Britain could “be a secular country” — par for the course in a nation where silent prayer can already result in a criminal record — Coghlan suggested that lawmakers’ faith should be publicized and taken into account when relevant to parliamentary votes.
“Constituents’ [sic] absolutely should know if an MP is of faith on a conscience vote and is obliged by their faith to vote a certain way and/or is under pressure from religious authorities from their faith to do so. It is potentially a clear conflict of interest with putting their constituents first,” wrote Coghlan.
The Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton told the Observer in a statement, “Bishop Richard spoke to Mr. Coghlan earlier this week and has offered to meet him in person to discuss the issues and concerns raised.”
While the leftist lawmaker received an outpouring of support online from secularists, he was also met with biting criticism from orthodox Christians.
Dr. Chad Pecknold, associated professor of systematic theology at the Catholic University of America, noted, “Mr. Coghlan, I’ve taught Christianity and Politics for many years. What you express is not a Catholic but a Liberal view that your faith should be something private. Western civilization was built upon the very public nature of Christianity. Your faith is either Liberal, and you have owned it, or your Faith is Catholic, and you have denied it. There is no in-between. Choose.”
“Good work by this priest,” wrote Fr. Matthew Schneider, a priest with the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi. “If you are not a devout member of a Church, it should not matter if you receive Communion. If you are a devout member, your faith should penetrate your life enough to vote in accord with common good, & not for murdering the sick & disabled.”
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