Last month our church newsletter - in the interests of maintaining a free press - published Reform MP Danny Kruger’s “A Prayer in Parliament.” A number of us complained to the editor, expressing our disappointment in the message conveyed within. I shan’t link to his speech, but I’m sure you can find it if you want to. This is the (edited) article I had published in this month’s newsletter as a response to that speech:
I hope that the desire to share Danny Kruger’s speech came from agreement with Kruger’s stance on abortion and assisted-dying, rather than support for the Christian Nationalism and anti-Catholic rhetoric contained within. And don’t we all have far more in common than that which divides us? How wonderful to find an MP who appears to be so pro-life in his stance.
However…
Kruger’s speech worries me, as a human being, but particularly as a Catholic. Oh, I know that Catholics may hold differing views on political and moral questions; the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that every human being “has the natural right to be recognised as a free and responsible being.” (CCC 1738) But the uncritical reproduction of this speech troubled me. Its content, in several places, departs from Catholic social teaching, misrepresents the nature of human rights, and promotes a vision of Christianity bound up with national and ethnic identity. Dignitatis Humanae asserts that freedom must be exercised with due regard for the rights of others and for the common good:
“In the use of all freedoms the moral principle of personal and social responsibility is to be observed. In the exercise of their rights, individual men and social groups are bound by the moral law to have respect both for the rights of others and for their own duties toward others and for the common welfare of all. Men are to deal with their fellows in justice and civility.” (Dignitatis Humanae, Section 7)
Catholics are called to respect others’ freedom to speak, but at the same time to maintain that truth should guide public discourse. In Pope Pius XII’s words, freedom of expression “does not mean freedom to destroy or to wound moral principles, or to attack the rights of others.” (Pius XII, Address to the International Congress of the Catholic Press, 17th Feb, 1950) Kruger’s free to speak. I am free to disagree. If our words are disregarding the rights of others, then we’re not exercising our freedom appropriately. At least not in the eyes of the Church.
Kruger’s views are inconsistent with Catholic teaching; in fact they contradict the Church’s commitment to the universality of the Gospel, the dignity of every human person, and the respect due to people of all faiths and none.
Kruger’s prayer differs from Catholic teaching on other religions, framing Islam as a threat. I was taught that the Catholic Church recognises truth and holiness in other religions. Nostra Aetate states that the Church respects and affirms truth found in other religions. “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.” This includes Islam, which the Church regards “with esteem.” We are to reject any discrimination on the basis of race or religion. Dignitatis Humanae declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom, and that the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person. The Catechism teaches “the right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person.” (CCC 1738) We cannot both follow the Church’s teachings, and, at the same time, question another religion’s right to exist in this country.
More worrying to me is Kruger’s implication that a concern for human rights, or being “woke,” is like worshipping fairies. When the image of God is in every person, and human rights are rooted in the natural law and the dignity of the human person created by God, how can we be considering the words of a man who believes that human rights are mythical and malevolent? Kruger says that human rights outside of Christianity are inventions and meaningless, but the Catechism states that human rights are accessible to all by virtue of reason, independently of any particular religious belief. “The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties.” (CCC 1956) The source of human rights is not the teachings of Christianity, but the stamp of our Creator on every human made in His image.
Kruger assumes that England is, by nature, Anglican, overlooking the approximately 4 million Catholics in England (and Wales), as well as those from other Christian denominations, and other religions; and completely ignoring the several centuries of persecution experienced by Catholics in this country. Persecution that occurred, in part, because Catholics wouldn’t submit to being a “national church.” He also writes that the reformers of the 16th century brought this country back from idolatry. He is, of course, referring to the Protestant Reformation that resulted in the break from Rome, and as such is implying that Catholics are idolaters.
By association, he assumes that to be Christian is to be English. Defining Christianity in ethnic and national terms risks marginalising non-white and immigrant Christians. Tying faith to Englishness risks idolatry of nation over God. Doesn't the Catholic church teach that the church is universal, and not bound to one ethnicity, nation or political system? Galatians 3:28 reminds us that we are all one in Christ Jesus. And don’t we stand up at Mass, next to our brothers and sisters from so many nations and backgrounds, declaring that we believe we are “one holy, catholic, and apostolic church?” Leviticus 19:34 and Matthew 25:35 both call us to welcome the stranger and the migrant. Pope Francis told us to remember that, “If every human being possesses an inalienable dignity, if all people are my brothers and sisters, and if the world truly belongs to everyone, then it matters little whether my neighbour was born in my country or elsewhere,” (Fratelli Tutti 125) and said that our response to immigrants should be to welcome, protect, promote and integrate. Our priest is Polish. Our Deacon is Hungarian. Until recently we had a Nigerian priest here too. We have such a multicultural congregation, and it is beautiful. I believe that our church is a far more welcoming community than Kruger’s dream of England, and I pray that we continue to be so.
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| Photo by Ketut Subiyanto |
