MP Denied Communion for Having a Conscience (While Voting on a Conscience Bill)
Local politics took an unexpected trip back to the Middle Ages this week, after Liberal Democrat MP Chris Coghlan found himself blacklisted from the communion queue at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dorking. His crime? Voting in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill—a piece of legislation designed to give terminally ill adults the choice to end their suffering with dignity.
Before the vote, Coghlan received a letter from the parish priest, Father Ian Vane, reminding him that the church takes a dim view of letting people die on their own terms. But the real headline act came after the bill passed: during Mass, Father Vane reportedly told the entire congregation that Coghlan would no longer be welcome at the altar rail.
Coghlan wasn’t present for the public naming and shaming (small mercies), but word spread quickly among his constituents—some of whom were “pretty appalled” at the priest’s decision to air political grievances during a church service.
“It’s one thing for a priest to have a view on how I vote,” Coghlan told BBC Radio Surrey. “It’s quite another to broadcast it to hundreds of people, especially when it’s about a deeply personal and complex issue like this.”
The Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton has since waded in, describing the situation as “complex,” while also reminding everyone of the Church’s official stance on the sanctity of life—though not, apparently, the sanctity of privacy.
Bishop Richard Moth has offered to meet with Coghlan for a discussion. Whether that will involve bread, wine, and forgiveness remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the Assisted Dying Bill still has to pass through the House of Lords. But one thing’s already clear: when it comes to moral high grounds, the church remains very selective about who’s allowed to stand on it.
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