The Fallacy of Private Religion

Catholic Twitter recently enjoyed a rare moment of unity when Labour MP Chris Coghlan used the platform to announce his own excommunication. The politician had been warned by his priest, Fr. Ian Vane, that a vote in favor of the U.K.’s assisted suicide bill would remove him from a state of grace in the eyes of the Church. Coghlan ignored the warning, and Fr. Vane accordingly denied him the sacraments. The priest rebuked Coghlan by name before his congregation, which provoked this much more public counter-announcement. At the top of Coghlan’s mind (apparently much higher than any thoughts of self-examination or repentance) was the fear that Fr. Vane would no longer sign off on his children’s Catholic education. But he wished to assure everyone that “My private religion will continue to have zero direct relevance to my work as an MP representing all my constituents without fear or favour.”