On July 20, Andy Burnham entered Number 10 Downing Street as the UK’s first lifelong Catholic Prime Minister.
Raised by an Irish mother, Burnham attended a Catholic school and served as an altar boy at his local parish. These days, he describes himself as “Catholic by upbringing” but “not particularly religious”, while admitting that he attends Mass only “occasionally”.
Even so, Burnham has credited his Catholic formation with helping to inspire his overall political outlook and his vision for social justice. Given this, it seems appropriate to consider what policies a distinctly Catholic approach to his premiership might include.
