Friday 9 June 2017

Why Political Parties Need Catholicism


I am sure I am not the only Catholic, not the only British citizen, who looks at the moral wasteland of the British political scene wondering just how it is that with so much experience under our collective belt, of left, of right, we British are incapable of producing a political party with balanced, compassionate and reasonable policies that uphold natural law and natural justice. I think I am right in saying that at the time of writing, in truth, Christianity has been expunged from the major political parties and it has to be said that it is showing with disastrous results.

You don't have to be a Catholic (but it helps) to have felt bewildered and depressed, 'dismayed', by the electoral choices on display during this election but going by the evidence of my social media feed, like me, many Catholics walked into this election feeling that there was nobody to vote for yet again. Yes, Catholics now operate in a society so paganised that when the "Christian" leader of the Liberal Democrats is questioned about the non-negotiables of same-sex marriage and abortion, he collapses and concedes victory to the secular culture that lauds both. Just how are people to trust someone whose principles can be altered according to the fashions of the age so easily?

For as long as I can remember, the Conservative Party has been marred by its determination to neglect some pretty basic prerequisites for a civilised society. Without wishing to sound utopian, can it really be that difficult to produce a Conservative manifesto that doesn't make it appear that its leadership believe that the most poor and vulnerable members of society can go jump off a bridge? It wasn't difficult for Jeremy Corbyn to claim the moral high ground in an election in which the moral low ground was deliberately occupied by the Conservative Party, unable to shake off the label 'nasty party' because, quite frankly, it is. Even the family values once cherished and protected by the Tories, infested, as it is, by sexual libertines, are now nowhere to be seen. No wonder their political base is disappearing. What is left for Conservatives to vote for? David Cameron, we recall, jettisoned the vestiges of Christianity in the Conservative Party when he introduced same-sex marriage into the United Kingdom. Unable to present itself as a party of traditional morality, all the Conservative Party has left is its indomitable and well-earned reputation for screwing over poor people and protecting rich people's assets.

While in principle the proposals of the rabidly left-wing candidate were fiscally absurd, the Conservative Party's mantra that a government would have to borrow and get into debt in order to achieve these aims overlooks that a well-financed health system and a well-financed education system for a country's citizens are not inherently bad things, but social goods. It is easy to make a Marxist look noble, if you are determined to be seen as uncaring and lacking in human compassion. All the 'unelectable' Jeremy Corbyn, who in a sane world would be teaching Marxist political philosophy in a former polytechnic, had to do was smile his friendly uncle smile, promise the Earth and look like the man of principles that he is, even if those principles are the principles of the man who sells the Socialist Worker outside the train station, a man who thinks the answer to every human problem is the State and for whom the institutions of marriage and the family, the two primary social goods that are the building block of every society, mean nothing.

Some may say that a post-Christian society deserves all it gets, even if what it gets is chaos, yet chaos is the hallmark of the pagan world, a world in which nascent human life can be exterminated legally and no political party will raise even a finger to protest it and a world in which unnatural sexual relationships are celebrated and crowned with the title of 'marriage' and no political party will raise even a whimper of defiance while the Cross is trampled upon by its foes. One British political party needs to embrace that Cross and hold it aloft for all of the United Kingdom to see, even if that political party is roundly defeated, publicly scorned and ridiculed with derision and contempt. At the time of writing, that party is not the Conservative Party, it is not the Labour Party, it is not the Liberal Democrat and it is not UKIP or the liturgically appropriate Green Party either. It may never achieve political success, but at least that party would give Catholics and many others, even if we and they comprise a minority, someone to vote for with conscience clean, knowing that we had voted for a political party that cares about the elderly, the poor, the sick, infirm and homeless, the unborn, marriage and the family. Why should it be so difficult, or impossible, to find that party?

9 comments:

Andrew said...

The Forza Nuova movement in Italy seems to fill this void. I'll cut and paste its core mission values here, which I've taken straight from Wikipedia. There's only one point which I have omitted because I don't agree with it, but you can find out which one that is by visiting the Wiki article in your own time:

1. The repeal of abortion law.

2. A social policy that encourages population growth and the traditional family.

3. The fight against the Mafia, the banning of Freemasonry and all secret societies, together with exit from NATO and removal from the U.S. sphere of influence.

4. The fight against usury and writing off of public debt, as well as the abolition of capitalism.

5. The restoration of the 1929 agreement between the State and the Church and the defence of national identity.

6. The repeal of the Mancino and Scelba laws, which the Forza Nuova believes destroy freedom.

7. The formation of guilds for the protection of workers.

8. Laws to eliminate seigniorage banking income and for the state to issue currency; complementary currencies for local trade, and the nationalization of the following sectors: health, the central bank, commercial banks and strategic industries.

9. The "recovery of Christian religiosity" and of "faith in the Catholic Church".

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Force_(Italy)#Political_platform

Blotto said...

I don't necessarily blame the politicians for kowtowing to the pagan zeitgeist. After all, their raison d'ĂȘtre is ultimately to gain power, retain power and use that power to enrich themselves and their friends.

No, the people who must shoulder a large part of the blame for the lack of a clear moral lead in society are the supposed leaders of the Church. Take for example the Bishops of England and Wales who can issue a lengthy 'guide' for Catholics weighing up their electoral choices and not refer to either abortion or same-sex pseudo marriage by name but instead warble weakly about 'the flourishing of family life' and 'supporting measures to promote the intrinsic value of life at every stage'. And these pointers were just part of a long list of issues placed on an equal footing, including leaving the EU, refugees (of course), freedom of religion for all and even prison reform. They should have just given an unequivocal directive that no Catholic could vote in good conscience for any candidate supporting the Culture of Death - like the 172 MP's (146 from Labour including Corbyn) who voted in favour of an Abortion Bill in Parliament little more than ten weeks ago on March 13th which proposed to extend the abortion time limit from 24 weeks to 28 weeks' gestation and to allow sex-selective abortions.

We can't expect politicians to help feed the lambs and the sheep when our own shepherds are either too afraid to do so or have gone completely AWOL?

Nicolas Bellord said...

It is interesting that the Conservatives are going into coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party who do seem to embody some of the things you mention such as being against abortion and same-sex marriage. Predictably one sees them being characterised as far right, conservative, anti-gay crackpots in the media. But perhaps it will lead to greater public consideration of these issues which I believe to be absolutely vital. Abortion in particular is just the pinnacle of a decadent society which is ripe to being overtaken by Islam.

Blotto: I was interested to see that the only quote the Bishops were able to come up with from Pope Francis regarding the Family was one where he was not talking about the family as normally understood but some vague concept of society as a whole being a family.

Pelerin said...

I noticed the omission Blotto pointed out and found the Bishops' advice no use whatsoever in choosing who I would vote for. In the end I did not vote at all.

Some time ago I remember reading a quote from Cardinal Ratzinger in which he is stated to have said: 'You can vote for a candidate in favour of abortion IF you are voting for other reasons.' I have had arguments since with friends about whether this is correct.

Andrew - not much good unless you live in Italy.

This morning there is a headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror referring to the PM linking up with the DUP. The headline states 'Coalition of Crackpots' and directly underneath points out that the Unionists oppose Same-sex 'Marriage' and Abortion. So those of us who hold these views are now regarded as 'crackpots.'

To think that once our laws were governed by Judaeo-Christian morality but this is sadly no longer the case.

Blotto said...

Nicholas and Pelerin,

You could not make it up, could you? The Calvinist DUP are now the only grouping in Parliament that espouses policies on these crucial issues that are virtually identical to Catholic teaching. I agree that it's good that these issues are back in the public eye and I'm normally a big fan of irony but the reality that lies behind this situation is both tragic and thoroughly unpalatable.

That quote from Cardinal Ratzinger is deeply disturbing. Picture the scene: You're accosted by a parliamentary candidate on the high street. "Hi! I'm committed to helping the poor, looking after the elderly, funding construction projects, strengthening defence, managing immigration, equalising the tax system, improving education and giving everyone a four day week.....oh, and by the way, I also support child sacrifice. Can I have your vote?" (as he extends a bloodstained hand...)

Anonymous said...

Forza nuova is under 5%, so will never be a govt.party, crackpots, yes, is what we are for the Enlightened, there's no way out, Europe is a godless, doomed continent, sooner or later we're going to be the islamic state of Eurabia.

Pelerin said...

Blotto - I agree that quote is disturbing. On googling it, it appears to be in a note written from Cardinal Ratzinger to another Cardinal. All I can think of is the fact that as there appear to be so few pro-life candidates in Britain ( and elsewhere?) then perhaps we can vote for a candidate who is not pro-life but whose other policies we agree with. Otherwise we would perhaps never be able to vote again.

I still remember after David Steel introduced the Abortion Bill my husband saying to me 'Well we can't vote for them again.' so that ruled out the Lib Dems or Liberals or whatever they called themselves at the time. As Labour are equally pro-abortion (or pro-choice as they prefer to term it) and Conservatives must be as well as they continue to allow Abortion then that does not leave anyone to vote for if we cannot vote for someone who is not pro-life.

In the US the choice was stark and I understand Catholics voted for Trump (while figuratively holding their noses) because he said he is pro-life, despite his lack of political experience, unpredictability, egomania etc. The fact that he has his finger on the nuclear button and could blow us all to kingdom come if he so wishes is the most worrying fact of this so called pro-life President.

Anonymous said...

The shoddiness of political chatter in Britain would have appalled my hero Hilaire Belloc.
The other day speaking on television news Nick Clegg said the Tories were having to go into an 'unholy' alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party.
When did unholy come to have its opposite meaning?
Since the chattering progressives took over the madhouse, one imagines.
In Clegg's lexicon it is 'unholy' to be associated with a group of decent men and women who are pro-Life on the one-sided abortion debate, and pro-marriage in the equally one-sided marriage re-branding debate.
Michael Portillo emotes in the same unctuous, feel-good manner as Boy Clegg.
Speaking on late-night 'couch TV' Uncle Michael said the Tories had worked so hard to 'build up a good relationship' with the LGBT 'community'.
But now the Tories were going to blow their gay-friendly image by getting into bed with the horrid DUP, he lamented.
No doubt Clegg fancies a telegenic career like Portillo.
Or they could go into the C of E in the God-rebranded roadshow.
John Bunyan would have spotted the beamish boy Clegg as Mr Flatterer who frolics so smugly on the Enchanted Ground, telling his media-led groupies just what they want to hear.
Portillo now assumes the role of Mr Wordly Wiseman, pontificating on moral relativism and railway timetables.
I am glad I only have the radio as from next month. My licence expires.
I don't have to watch their nitwit bloody faces ever again.
J Haggerty

Our Lady of Good Success-pray for us. said...

The valley of tears is something that Catholics know truly. As for the heresiarchs' 'aggiornamento' Society, the elite of which, has worked with satanic pride to throw off and deny the Social Kingship of Christ, God allows those who refuse Truth to be a part of the operation of error.

Catholic is not Novus Ordo. 'New Order' does not equal Christ. Society does not need 'catholicism-post-piusxii=N.O'. It needs Catholicism.

The Holy See may have a vacant seat, but it may never be a seat for satan. Christ promised.

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