The Dangers Of Dishonesty

The dangers of dishonesty - 8 March 2010.

Religious influence on the political process is at its most pernicious when it is hidden.

The Catholic church's much-trumpeted contribution to the pre-election debate Choosing the Common Good (pdf) turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Instead of the ranting, anti-Labour tract that we had expected, following the intervention of Cardinal O'Brien in Scotland, Common Good didn't really have a political message at all. It could have passed for an extended and more than usually platitudinous Thought for the Day. It talked of "trust" and "virtue" and the value of marriage (for heterosexuals only). Even we wicked non-believers could sign up to it.