Sir,—Apropos of Mr. St. John-Stevas' question on the whereabouts of Catholic M.P.s during the reading of the Abortion Bill, where also, one must ask, has the voice of the Catholic clergy and people of this country been?
The statement by Mr. William Wells, M.P., that "the last thing Catholics wish to do is to impose our beliefs, or the consequences of them, on those who do not share them" is surely wrong in this matter.
do not see why a Catholic minority should not seek to impose its will upon a majority, where that majority seeks to enact such a Bill as this. To approve murder by demands (for such this Bill really amounts to) must be the duty of every Catholic and nonCatholic who respects human life.
May I ask all readers to oppose this Bill either by writing individually to their M.P., or jointly with their fellow parishioners? May I ask that the clergy should organise opposition to it?
Surely we can, in this way, provide such a force that the worst and most vague features of this Bill are eliminated before it is passed into law.
We can live with a "tidying up of the law", but can we live with murder on our consciences, by default?
John Beardsworth