Member

I shall speak briefly now to the other amendments in the group, which give one the option of no Bishops, five or 20. The number has not changed since 1878, I believe. After 147 years, the Church in the legislature looks the same, but it does not look the same out there. We need fewer Bishops, and we need other denominations to be represented. While the canon law of the Church of Rome may prevent a cardinal joining the legislature, there are, if I am correct, 6.2 million Catholics in the UK. With a wonderful history of Catholic social teaching leading to Caritas, CAFOD and the Jesuit Refugee Service, to name but a few, there is many a lay Catholic who could join the nation’s legislature. It would not be difficult to find such representatives.