Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Andrew Turner’s office shares this latest release. Ed
Last month the Church of England published a prayer for the EU referendum ahead of the vote on 23rd June.
The prayer calls for an honest and open debate, seeks for voters’ ability to judge well, and generosity to those who seek to form opinion. The prayer was first released without any additional comments, but the Church has since said it is a prayer for everyone and it does not take a side in the debate.
Earlier this year the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, declined to take a side, declaring that there is no correct Christian view about the referendum.
The Island’s MP, Andrew Turner, said:
“I am glad that the Church of England, including on the Isle of Wight, is staying neutral in the debate regarding the EU-referendum. Of course, every individual has a right to hold and express their personal opinion. But in this instance the Church as an institution has made the right decision not to seek to influence individual decisions.
“There is a line in the prayer, reading ‘that with all the peoples of Europe we may work for peace and the common good’, which initially invoked some controversy. However I do not think there is any hidden message. The Vote Leave-campaign has on several occasions made it clear that we want to cooperate with Europe; we just do not want to be told what to do by the EU.”
The full prayer for the EU referendum reads:
“God of truth, give us grace to debate the issues in this referendum with honesty and openness. Give generosity to those who seek to form opinion and discernment to those who vote, that our nation may prosper and that with all the peoples of Europe we may work for peace and the common good; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Image: foreignoffice under CC BY 2.0
