Relations between the Catholic Church and the British state have always been slightly delicate. Unfortunately, last week they suffered a worrying decline as a result of over-zealous action by the latter.
Chris Coghlan, the Lib Dem MP for Dorking, is both a Catholic and a strong supporter of the assisted dying bill. Before the vote on 20 June, his priest, someone known for strict adherence to canon law, warned him that this could cause spiritual difficulty. Voting for the bill, he said, involved complicity in a “murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded”; it would 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.” The man was as good as his word. Mr Coghlan voted for the bill; his priest denied him Communion, as he was entitled to do.
