London, England, Apr 3, 2008 / 21:00 pm
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, on Monday said that “Judeo-Christian values” were the only thing holding British society together, the Guardian reports.
Speaking to the Guardian on the eve of a lecture series about the place of faith in British public life, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor criticized the “aggressive secularism” that he believes is advancing in the United Kingdom. He also defended the Catholic Church’s stance in the debate over human-animal “hybrid” embryos, and argued that Christian leaders should hold a privileged position over representatives of other faiths in debates about public policy.
The Guardian contrasted the cardinal’s remarks with the controversial statements of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in February suggested that the introduction of some aspect of Sharia law in Britain was “unavoidable.” Archbishop Williams will also speak at the lecture series.
"People are looking for a common good in this country. A very large number of people are saying, 'What is it that binds British people together?'" Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said. “There is no other heritage than the Judaeo-Christian heritage in this country." Replacing that heritage with a “totally secular view of life,” the cardinal said, would lead the nation down “a very dangerous path.”