THE
P RTAL
March 2019
Page 9
Catholic Social Teaching
Catholics and Brexit
Fr Ashley Beck
O ne of
the great things about Catholic Social Teaching, the subject of these monthly articles, is that
the tradition gives us lots of opportunities for witnessing to our faith. In their document about social
teaching which came out in the months before the 1997 General Election, The Common Good, our bishops
stressed that ‘nothing is beyond the scope of faith’ and that has to include what is (at the time I am writing
this) still likely at the end of this month, the departure of the UK from the European Union.
It is well known that the founders of the ‘European
project’ in the 1950s (such as Robert Schuman
and Konrad Adenauer) were committed Catholics
motivated by social teaching, so as you would expect
this whole body of moral teaching gives us a lot of
guidance at this extraordinary time. Witnessing to
Christian moral teaching - especially when there
isn’t much moral leadership around - is part of
evangelisation. It is for us primarily about morality,
not politics.
‘Brexiteer’. When we were Anglicans we wanted to try
and undo the Reformation, so this should matter to us.
The second moral problem about ‘Brexit’, both
in the campaign nearly three years ago and in the
current process, is the attitude towards migrants. The
‘Leave’ campaign has candidly admitted that its focus
on immigration - which was in so many ways really
disturbing and nasty - was the key factor in achieving
its narrow victory.
There are at least three reasons why ‘Brexit’ is at odds
It capitalised on people’s fears, insecurities and
with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
economic hardship (especially in the north of
England), and most of those who suffered abuse and
Firstly, our teaching says a lot about international violence resulting from this, during and after the
relations. The concept in our tradition known as campaign, were members of our Catholic community,
solidarity obliges us, both within societies and as particularly men and women from Poland and other
countries, to work together and co-operate in the eastern European countries, working here in particular
interests of a wider Common Good. Solidarity is an since their countries joined the EU in 2004. While
antidote to selfishness; for this reason, particularly accepting that countries have the right to regulate
since St John XXIII, who began his pontificate just migration responsibly, the Catholic Church affirms
over sixty years ago, the Church has welcomed and migration as a basic right - including migration for
supported international institutions such as the UN economic reasons - and for us, basic charity demands
and the common European institutions, which have that we are supportive to migrants; Pope Francis has
grown into the present-day EU. Sovereignty is not an repeatedly reminded us of this. This is also part of our
absolute right - building peace and reconciliation is history - simply look at the make-up of our parish
more important. In repeated documents and speeches, communities. The anti-migrant rhetoric of ‘Brexit’
St John Paul II demonstrated his support for European shows its moral wickedness most clearly.
unity, while at the same time challenging Europe
about its approach to moral values, and the present
The final reason is to do with our view of the nation
Holy Father has continued this teaching: he reiterated state, and this should be particularly important for
this a few weeks before the EU Referendum in 2016 former Anglicans because we laboured for many
when he accepted in Rome the Charlemagne Prize for years within the Established Church. It seems to me
his contribution to European unity (for details go to that underlying the outlook of ‘Brexit’ supporters is
http://bit.ly/CharlemagnePrize)
an absolutist and almost idolatrous view of the nation
state, wanting it to reclaim powers which were qualified
The EU has its faults, but the vision behind it - of or lost when we joined Europe in 1973. This is far from
countries giving up sovereignty and trying to be Catholic teaching. What they seem to adore is really
united - is a fruit of our teaching. Look at history: the rather like what St Augustine, in his treatise The City of
Reformation sundered European spiritual unity, and God, calls the ‘Earthly City’. This was the disintegrating
in our own land King Henry VIII was the original
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