Michael Kelly
“Conscience has to be understood more widely than the mere deification of feelings or obedience to a dominant orthodoxy”, writes Editor Michael Kelly
By the time most people read this, the general election will be over. At least the vote-casting part of it. All but a few seats will be decided, and it will be the responsibility of those who can form a Dáil majority to begin the process of putting together a government that can serve for the next five years.
The Catholic bishops entered the campaign late in the day with a short statement signed by the four archbishops of Ireland. It was a welcome statement, earlier indications from Maynooth having given the impression that there would be no such statement from the hierarchy.
The statement was peculiar in parts, particular in construction. I for one, was struck by the oddity of the fact that the most important value – the right to life – was relegated to a mention towards the end of the statement. Ahead of the right to life was: the need for reform in the health system, the need for the State to build more social housing and equality of opportunity for children in deprived areas.
All very worthy causes, but it’s difficult to understand the sequencing of priorities in the statement.
So what was going on? I suspect that someone involved in the drafting of the statement may well have felt that putting the right to life first might pigeonhole the bishops’ statement.
Better, the logic might’ve gone, to mention issues that there is broad agreement about first before mentioning a controversial subject like the right to life.
It’s certainly one strategic approach.
The Irish Times trumpeted the fact that the hierarchy were not telling Catholics who to vote for, but merely offering points for reflection. I don’t ever recall the bishops telling Catholics who to vote for, but I’m open to correction from older observers. The Irish Times referred to the statement as a signal of a “new brand of humble message”.
Humble
Of course, more often than not when media outlets that are hostile towards Catholicism refer to the Church as “humble” they mean that it has been house trained, in other words, it knows its place.
A Church that ‘knows its place’ will never be a counter-cultural voice. While speaking the truth with humility, the Church must never be afraid to stand up to powerful vested interests and a mono-cultural media.
It’s proper that the Church does not tell Catholics how to vote. The decision on who to vote for is a prudential decision that each voter must make for him or herself. So, what is the place of Catholicism in politics or is a vote merely a private matter for Catholics?
This is where the issue of conscience is vital: Catholic voters or politicians should not do what the Church tells them to do, they should do what their informed conscience tells them to do.
Conscience is the great neglected force in Irish politics. Traditionally, the party whip has been imposed with such rigidity that politicians who might have abdicated their responsibility to the hierarchy in a previous generation, now merrily abdicate it to the chief whip.
In the aftermath of the general election, the Church would do well to try to stimulate a debate about the meaning of conscience. Conscience has to be understood more widely than the mere deification of feelings or obedience to a dominant orthodoxy.
The development of truly conscientious politicians who are willing to sacrifice career and promotion for what is right will not happen overnight, but it is a dialogue and journey that is long overdue in Ireland.