"The anachronistic inconsistency is that the Church automatically gets some people who have worked their way up through their own ranks My point - surely
Why are they represented as a body at all - they have no qualifications?
"Ten percent of the UK population is a lot of votes"
These are not votes - they are people who attend church to worship god, not to give the churchmen authority to represent them politically.
My point is that even their traditional role is dwindling.
"That's the sort of thing happens in a democracy."
They have no basis in democracy - they were never put their democratically - just tactically by politicians (and before that, by Royalty).
Democracy plays no part in any of this.
"The Magdelaine Laundries are a red herring."
Certainly not - they are a perfect example of collusion between church and state in confining 'unacceptable members of society) out of the public view.
From day one of the laundries, the Government was fully away of what was happening to 'sinners' who were sent there, many of the girls were actually put into them at the request old local politicians.
The appalling conditions were well known and the state dis nothing to improve them.
Even whan the Laundries were closed (the last one in 1996); when the inmates began to sue their captors, the Government acknowledged the part played by politicians by paying a large part of the monetary awards out of taxpayers money.
As I say - a perfect example of criminal collusion between church and state.
As for my"issue with the Catholic Church" - I would have thought that, given the revelations, most human beings would have - as human beings.
My concern is that such people, of whatever denomination, should play any part in politics.
No qualifications, no special skills, no reason to be there.
They should not be involved in any way in our non religious lives any more than our local football team or golf club should, and there is every reason why they shouldn't.
You still haven't begun to put up an argument to show why they should - nor has Keith.
Jim Carroll