The Prime Minister has spoken of how his Catholic upbringing inspires him to tackle social issues in society, saying he does not “differentiate” between faith and politics.
On the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast, the host asked whether Andy Burnham viewed himself as the first Catholic to live in Number 10 Downing Street.
“Yes, I think that is true”, he said, “Boris [Johnson] may have been baptised, but never was raised in that way. But I was. I’m not going to claim that I’m the most observant. But once you are one, you're always one when it comes to Catholicism. You can't shake it out of you.”
Burnham went on to explain how the Catechism of Catholic Social Teaching, “shaped my views”. The Prime Minister added that he “absorbed” what Archbishop Derek Worlock, who led the Archdiocese of Liverpool when he was an altar boy, had to say about the challenges facing inner city communities in the 1980s.
“I couldn’t, and still don't actually, differentiate faith and politics. I think they’re all part of the same thing. How do you live your life? How do you treat other people? Do you have a care for people at the heart of everything that you do? And if you do, I think basically you’re going to be on the right lines. So I’ve tried to stick to that.”
Later in the discussion, Burnham went back to how the teaching of “love thy neighbour” was a foundation of his beliefs and of the motivation behind the issues he champions. The Prime Minister recounted the encouragement given by Paul Goggins, a fellow Labour MP and Catholic, that he should “give your power to those who have none”.
“I know some people think it’s controversial to say religion and politics should mix, but they are part of the same thing to me,” Burnham said.
On the first day of his premiership, the Prime Minister visited a Catholic-founded homelessness charity as he pledged to end rough sleeping. He has also committed to reform the social care system.
Speaking about his relationship with Catholicism today, Burnham believed that the “irreverent” Church of his youth, full of Irish priests who had a “big emphasis on humour”, “became a bit more judgemental” in the 2000s.
“I was a big supporter of Pope Francis because I thought he brought back the humour, the humanity, the slightly live and let live approach that had been lost by his predecessor”, he added.
Questioned by Day on whether he ever “sneaked communion wine”, the Prime Minister replied: “definitely”.