In 1996, the year before the general election which saw Labour oust the Conservatives by a massive margin, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales published a radical new policy document, The Common Good and the Catholic Church. It was interpreted by many as an endorsement of Tony Blair’s New Labour, despite repeated denials that this was the case. Every election since then has seen a document from the bishops encouraging Catholics to engage but carefully steering clear of party politics.With less than a year before next year’s general election, a group of bishops led by Archbishop Peter Smith has begun meeting to work out what they should do this time around, but they have an uncommon dilemma. In charge of crafting the Labour Party’s manifesto is Jon Cruddas (pictured