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Pope Francis and the United Kingdom’s Catholic bishops expressed sadness and prayed for the soul of Baroness Thatcher, the Iron Lady” who led the British government from 1979 to 1990.
The Pope recalled with appreciation “the Christian values which underpinned her commitment to public service and to the promotion of freedom among the family of nations”.
Thatcher, a Methodist who became an Anglican when she married, read the prayer of St Francis of Assisi in her address to the nation when she was elected Britain’s first female prime minister.
From the steps of the prime minister’s residence, she said: “Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope, pledging to bring harmony where there was discord.”
Domestically, she supported economic deregulation and privatisation, and opposed trade unions. Internationally, she was closely aligned with US President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II against communism and the Eastern bloc.
When her policies of deindustrialisation in the 1980s brought rising unemployment and rioting in major British cities, Catholic and Anglican bishops appealed for her to take a more “compassionate” approach.
Thatcher also took an uncompromising approach on Northern Ireland, and in 1980 wrote to John Paul II to ask the him to condemn an IRA hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Belfast.
Lord Alton of Liverpool, a Catholic member of Parliament, recalled how he had once arranged a meeting between the Thatcher and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa told Lord Alton later that she had challenged the prime minister about the number of people living on the streets and the number of abortions in the United Kingdom.
“In response, Margaret Thatcher gave her a short speech on Britain’s welfare provisions and social security,” Lord Alton said. “Mother Teresa simply responded by asking ‘But do you have love?'”
Sources:
Image: Catholic World Report
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- Father Dwight Longenecker says Baroness Thatcher’s core policies and values were consistent with Catholic social teaching.
- Canon Alan Billings says Baroness Thatcher bequeathed a legacy that was to have lethal consequences.
News category: World.
