Scottish Catholic Observer

In the run-up to last week’s general election, the Scottish bishops issued a letter urging all the faithful to use their vote wisely. But one section of the letter was different. It was concerned not just with voting, but with a deeper participation in politics: “The time has come for a new generation of Catholics to join political parties and to dedicate ourselves to political service in a way that remains faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, laying the foundations for a new civilisation of love that serves the common good of all, especially the most vulnerable in our society.”
We are always in need of good people to get involved in politics in order to promote justice and to renew the temporal in conformity with the Gospel. And with so much change afoot in the political parties, there could be no better time than now to get involved. Many of the barriers that might have stood in the way in the past are simply no longer there. Join a party and go along to the constituency meetings and you will be able to make a real difference. For example, if you were unhappy with the candidates standing in your constituency, then getting involved in a party in your constituency is the way to influence who gets selected next time. Join one of the parties with a couple of friends and you could well hold the power to decide who stands in the next election.
It may even be that you decide to stand yourself. As the bishops said, ‘for Christians today the political complexion of Parliament is secondary to the values and beliefs of those who sit in it.’ We will only have good representatives if good people stand for election. We cannot simply sit back and complain that there are no good politicians: we must be those politicians.
Speaking to students as couple of years ago, Pope Francis said, we must participate in politics because politics is one of the highest forms of charity because it seeks the common good. And Christian lay people must work in politics. It is not easy; politics has become too tainted. But I ask myself: Why has it become tainted? Because Christians have not participated in politics with an evangelical spirit?’ It is our duty as Christians to purify politics and to set it to work perfecting society in goodness, truth and justice.
All this applies not only to the Westminster elections, but also to the elections for Holyrood which will take place next year. We have before us a real chance to change society, but it will slip by if we do not step up to the challenge.
As Pope Benedict XVI said in Deus Caritas est: “The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity.” For many, this will mean simply taking part in the political process as a concerned citizen, but for others, it will mean getting involved more directly: as party members, election candidates, and ultimately as representatives. Now is the time for them—us!—to step forward.

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