When it comes to the relationship between religion and politics in the future, it’s the job of Churches to help people find “the better part of ourselves”, Irish EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said.
Speaking recently on RTÉ’s The Meaning of Life with Joe Duffy, Ms McGuinness said that the relationship the Churches have with politics has changed, but that there is still a place there.
“We shouldn’t go back to the way we were, where religion and Churches really imposed their will on politics and on people,” she said.
“Therefore I think what religion should remember is that it has a place in trying to get us to find the better part of ourselves, rather than the worst bits, that we’re capable of.
“So I don’t think Churches should interfere. I think you have to respect that Churches and non-confessions have a view on policy, which they should be able to express.”
Ms McGuinness said she was “struck” by Pope Francis’ vulnerability during their meeting in 2017, as he asked her while she was leaving if she would pray for him.
“I thought, ‘I was going to ask the other way around’. So even those who are leaders of faith have a vulnerability that you perhaps don’t think about until you meet them upfront,” she said.