The British MP refused Holy Communion by his local priest due to his vote in favour of the UK’s assisted suicide Bill has claimed that his local bishop told him that the Church should not deny Communion over the issue.
Liberal Democrat MP Chris Coghlan, who represents Dorking and Horley in Surrey, confirmed that he had spoken with Bishop Richard Moth, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, and that he plans to meet with him, <a href="https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/how-a-uk-bill-led-to-a-communion"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> <em>The Pillar</em>. The MP also said that Bishop Moth had told him that “it is not the Church’s position to deny Holy Communion over this”.
On the Sunday following the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill being approved at its Third Reading in the House of Commons on 20 June, Father Ian Vane, the pastor of St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dorking, <a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/mp-denied-communion-after-backing-assisted-suicide-bill/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">told parishioners during Mass that their respective MP would not be permitted to recieve Holy Communion</mark></a> because of “the way he had voted”. The priest repeated the announcement at a later Mass with about 150 people present, though Coghlan was not present at either service.
In a radio interview, Coghlan described his “public naming and shaming” at the Masses as “pretty horrific", reports <em>The Pillar</em>.
He said the priest's actions raised “fundamental questions around the interference of religious authorities in politics, because I am a Liberal Democrat member of Parliament. I am here to represent my constituents. I am not here to represent the Catholic Church."
He added: "For Catholic authorities to expect me as a Catholic to put the Catholic Church before my constituents is utterly illegitimate,” before describing himself as having been “born into the Church, more on the liberal end" and having “serious doubts about certain parts of the Church’s teachings".
The MP described the priest as "acting on, I guess, his own initiative".
Due to the priest's actions, he said that he did not know whether he would remain a Catholic, but would “see how I am feeling in a year’s time or so".
In a statement released on 27 June, the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton said: “The recent vote on the assisted dying bill was a complex one for all involved and while many in our society are deeply saddened by the result, we recognise the difficult task faced by MPs in seeking to represent their constituents.
“The Catholic Church believes in the sanctity of life and the dignity of every person. Prior to the vote, Bishop Richard Moth encouraged members of clergy and lay faithful to write to their MPs in a private capacity to express their concerns about the bill, and to ask them to vote against the proposed legislation."
The statement from the diocese noted: "Bishop Richard spoke to Mr. Coghlan earlier this week and has offered to meet him in person to discuss the issues and concerns raised. Our prayers remain with all those impacted by the passing of this bill, and the Peers in the House of Lords who are engaged in the next stage of this debate.”<br><br>Bishop Moth has been a vocal opponent of the Bill, previously asking Catholics in his diocese to write to their MPs to oppose it. In a pastoral letter, the bishop said: “Rather than offer ‘choice’ – as has been suggested – it will, instead, potentially impose significant pressure on people who are at a very vulnerable time in their lives, especially the elderly and those living with disabilities.”
<em>The Pillar</em> notes that the "closest precedent in England to Coghlan’s situation" came in 2014 over the issue of same-sex marriage.
In March that year, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth gave an interview to <em>LifeSiteNews</em> in which he discussed Communion being taken by politicians whose voting record was at odds with Church teaching.
“When people are not in communion with the Catholic Church … in terms of the teachings of the Church on marriage and family life – they are voting in favour of same-sex marriage – then they shouldn’t be receiving Holy Communion,” Bishop Egan said.
In response to the interview, Conor Burns, then a Conservative MP representing Bournemouth West, who voted in favour of the UK’s 2013 same-sex marriage act and who co-chaired a parliamentary committee on Vatican relations, described Egan’s remarks as a “tragedy”.
Burns said: “I feel a little less welcome in my home diocese than I did a couple of weeks ago.”
Amid extensive media coverage, <em>The Pillar</em> notes, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) emailed parliamentarians on the matter.
“There are no plans by any bishops in England and Wales to deny Communion to Catholic MPs or peers who voted in favour of same-sex marriage legislation last year,” the email said.
<em>The Pillar </em>notes that the email was written by Greg Pope, a former Labour MP who was then serving as the head of parliamentary relations for the bishops' conference; he became acting general secretary of the bishops’ conference in November 2024.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was approved at its Third Reading in the House of Commons on 20 June by 314 votes to 291, a margin of just 23, and down from the 330 votes to 275 in its favour at its Second Reading in November of 2024.
Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, the lead bishop on life issues for the conference, said the bishops were “shocked and disappointed” that MPs again voted in favour of the Bill.
Dozens of Catholic hospices and care homes for the elderly face closure if the controversial Bill passes its final hurdle in the House of Lords and becomes law.<br><br><a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/breaking-news-catholic-hospices-face-closure-after-mps-pass-assisted-suicide-bill/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">RELATED: Catholic hospices face closure after MPs pass assisted suicide Bill</mark></a>
<em>Photo: A priest giving Holy Communion. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.)</em>
