Monday 20 June 2016

European Referendum: final week




Many no doubt have already made up their minds or even voted by post. For those of us still struggling to discern the correct way to vote, there are my final suggestions:

1) Pray:

"Lord, grant us wisdom that we may walk with integrity, guarding the path of justice, and knowing the protection of your loving care for all". (From the English and Welsh bishops here. Apologies to the Scottish bishops if I've missed their equivalent advice! )

2) Reflect:

a) The advice from the English and Welsh bishops is simple. It is to ask yourself:

How in the light of the Gospel, can my vote best serve the common good?

The common good is defined by the Compendium of Social Doctrine as:

 The principle of the common good, to which every aspect of social life must be related if it is to attain its fullest meaning, stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good indicates “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily”.[s.164 here]

b) Although a non-Catholic source, the advice from political scientists Paul Cairney and Andrew Glencross strikes me as being some of the most helpful I've seen on the actual process of decision (here).

c) The report of the Catholic Voices debate on the referendum provides a handy checklist of some of the issues Catholics ought to be thinking about (here).