THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 1978. Church and State

Press, 8 March 1978, Page 16

THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 1978. Church and State

The inquiry into the religious affiliations of members of Parliament conducted recently by “The Press" has. not surprisingly, provoked a spate of letters to the editor. Many of them have been written under the mistaken impression that the Roman Catholic Church is under attack, or that “The Press” has questioned the right of religious denominations to attempt to influence the decisions of Parliament. Our correspondents appear to have overlooked the following paragraph in our March 4 leading article:

“There is. of course, nothing improper about an attempt by a religious denomination to change the laws of the land; but, just as a member of Parliament who is a farmer or an importer will expect to be identified as such when urging a measure tn the interests of farmers or importers, so should a Roman Catholic And. like any other pressure group, the Roman Catholic Church should expect its political activities to attract the same attention from journalists as those of. say, the Chambers of Commerce or the Federation of Labour.”

Many critics have interpreted the application of this view as an attempt to create, or revive, sectarian argument or division This is a seriously mistaken interpretation and. if applied generally, would stifle much public inquiry and

debate. Some have the impression that “The Press" demanded a response from members of Parliament. Because “The Press” believes religious affiliations to be significant in the forming of opinion on the subject of abortion, we would prefer not to leave the affiliations of members to speculation, much of which has been ill informed. Nevertheless, we have respected the preference of some members of the House to decline our invitation to disclose their religious connections, if any, or to offer their views on how. and whether, these connections influenced their voting.

Some of the correspondents have demanded to know the religious affiliations of the editor and members of the staff of “The Press,” as if the appointment of executives by a company’s board were comparable to the election of a member of Parliament by voters. “The Press” does not keep records of the religious affiliations of its staff, but to satisfy the curiosity of inquirers the editor is a lapsed Anglican. “The Press” believes that any elector is entitled to inquire of any candidate for Parliamentary office his or her religious affiliation or to inquire into what other influences or philosophies may have helped to form political attitudes. By no means all matters on which members of Parliament have to make decisions are set out in party manifestos. The abortion law has been conspicuous among these.