Netherlands: vote on 22 November to decide post-Rutte era. Bishops write to Catholics

“Human dignity is the foundation of common action”. This is the title of a letter that the Dutch Bishops addressed to Catholics ahead of the elections for the House of Representatives, to be held on 22 November. Now that the era of centre-right leader Mark Rutte is over, former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans is trying to build a new stability, with a Social Democrat-Green coalition. According to the Bishops, “we are facing great challenges with the development of radical visions of the human being”. In their letter, the Bishops also refer to the six major themes of the Magisterium and the Catholic Social Doctrine. First, the theme of the common good that politics should seek to promote, by “acknowledging the dignity of every human being and the solidarity that we all share”. The second topic, the Bishops wrote, is the “culture of life” in which “there is no room for abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide”. The third is the “gender theory”, “an idea which is incompatible with the Christian vision of human life”. The Bishops also mention the “care for Creation” and how “human dignity and care for the environment go hand in hand”. The last paragraph is on the “culture of encounter” where the Bishops voice their concern “for the growing divisions and mounting fear in our country due to conflicts in other parts of the world”. They call on political leaders to work both for the common good, “not only by fostering connections between people, but also by uniting them around common projects, such as Europe, which began as a peace project fostering trust and cooperation”, and for “a society based on human dignity, where people take care of each other and everyone can participate”.
Valentina Bombelli