Chris Coghlan, the MP for Dorking and Horley, described his treatment as “outrageous”. He has complained to Richard Moth, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.
In the days before the vote, Coghlan was contacted by his local priest, Father Ian Vane, who suggested a vote in favour would be “obstinately persevering” in sin and that Coghlan would be refused communion if he did so.
Vane, the priest at Coghlan’s local church, St Joseph’s Catholic church in Dorking, Surrey, wrote: “As priests, we are custodians of the sacraments.”
Writing in The Observer Coghlan said: “Although he made no reference to it, this priest is also well aware that he is responsible for signing off my children’s education forms for the Catholic state school they attend.”
Despite the threat, Coghlan supported the bill, which was passed in the House of Commons on 20 June with a majority of 23 MPs.
Two days after the vote, Vane told the congregation at the 8am mass that the MP would be refused communion because of the way he had voted. He repeated the announcement at the 10am mass, which typically attracts a congregation of more than 150 parishioners. Coghlan did not attend either of these services.
“It is completely inappropriate,” Coghlan told The Observer. “It undermines the legitimacy of religious institutions in this country if representatives think it is acceptable to try to coerce members of parliament.”
Coghlan said he was moved by messages of support from constituents who had been in church when Vane denounced him. He added that he knew other MPs of faith who had been put under pressure prior to the assisted dying vote.
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who introduced the assisted dying bill, said: “Religious leaders and people of faith have every right to communicate their views to their MPs and to parliament as a whole, but this is totally unacceptable. Chris Coghlan was very brave and principled to resist that pressure.”(...)