tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34875104855547586322024-02-19T06:55:51.593-08:00CATHOLIC VOICES MEDIA MONITORREVIEW OF THE REPORTING LINKED TO THE PAPAL VISITUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-39538219004754887772010-10-01T01:33:00.000-07:002010-10-05T07:20:46.831-07:00Monitor takes a holiday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztS9JDe0aXxrnfiBoJu9vjHlXwB7MDVmSx_5vSw5F7UcwLsIEM3oGMmpWtoYpv_1YCuZnvMLUwBayhBZ079yYKxdBQsvyb-jaI-b0ip6SylAky9eLgISXmUT52SKV-8F4os94f8q0faQ/s1600-r/blogheader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztS9JDe0aXxrnfiBoJu9vjHlXwB7MDVmSx_5vSw5F7UcwLsIEM3oGMmpWtoYpv_1YCuZnvMLUwBayhBZ079yYKxdBQsvyb-jaI-b0ip6SylAky9eLgISXmUT52SKV-8F4os94f8q0faQ/s1600-r/blogheader.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The reporting on the UK papal visit now all but over, Monitor is taking time out to ponder its function and future. Judging by the many emails we have received, the demand for it to continue monitoring press reporting of the Church, pointing up the good, the bad, the marvellous and the mythical -- and offering expert briefings on key points -- is very great; and we are certain to be back, once plans for the future of Catholic Voices are more clearly defined. Comments and suggestions to info@catholicvoices.org.uk are, as always, very welcome.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-61986253920178194832010-09-30T16:32:00.000-07:002010-10-05T07:20:59.480-07:00Revealed: secrets of the 'We love you papa more than beans on toast' campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/wp-content/themes/cherald/cache/706d75c15e7dcc6d805567efc4f4d3db.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/wp-content/themes/cherald/cache/706d75c15e7dcc6d805567efc4f4d3db.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Niamh Moloney, diocesan youth officer in Northampton, and creator of the vivid signs (and those yellow wellies) which attracted TV cameras and photographers during the papal visit, <a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2010/09/30/%E2%80%98i-saw-red-shoes-stepping-out-of-the-car%E2%80%99/">spills </a>the, er, beans at the <i>Catholic Herald</i>: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>We are just three normal young people. Brendon is 19 and Rachel is 21 and I am 25. The day the Pope arrived we went out and bought some permanent markers and some old pieces of cardboard and decorated them with messages such as the famous “We love the Pope more than beans on toast”. We had no idea that pictures of us would go around the world. We had been disheartened by the media in the week before the visit and we just wanted to make some joyful noise for the Holy Father. We only wanted the Holy Father to see our signs and know that the young people in England loved him ... </blockquote><blockquote>We had some incredibly moving conversations with people who were from all sorts of different backgrounds. We were outside the nuncio’s residence in Wimbledon one morning and a young man going for a morning run stopped to get a glimpse of the Pope. He was an atheist but spoke of how he agreed with the Pope and had been truly touched by his words. Following the visit we have all been inspired to witness to our faith all the time with joy. We are incredibly grateful to God that our little wacky message of love for the Holy Father was seen by millions. </blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-60099092414186170882010-09-30T16:02:00.000-07:002010-10-05T07:21:24.119-07:00The fictions of Geoffrey RobertsonA letter from Neil Addison in the <i>Sydney Morning Heral</i>d:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Geoffrey Robertson is disingenuous in claiming he does not want the Pope arrested and blaming the media (''Holding Pope responsible for abuses is not too dangerous'', September 29).<br />
<br />
In the British newspaper <i>The Guardian</i> on April 2, Robertson specifically accused the Pope of a ''crime against humanity'' contrary to the rules of the International Criminal Court. It is only the realisation that this suggestion has made him look ridiculous in the eyes of other lawyers that has caused him to backtrack.<br />
<br />
As far as the legal status of the Vatican is concerned, Robertson is presenting his personal opinion that the Vatican should not be a state and pretending that he is putting forward a legal argument.<br />
<br />
More importantly, Robertson is pretending that the legal status of the Vatican is protecting abusive priests, but the reality is that Catholic priests and bishops throughout the world are citizens of their individual countries and not the Vatican and they are answerable to national law.<br />
<br />
No country has ever suggested that the legal status of the Vatican has prevented the proper investigation of any allegations of abuse by any Catholic priest.<br />
<br />
<b>Neil Addison</b> national director, Thomas More Legal Centre, Warrington (England)</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-7088322416149646902010-09-30T03:57:00.000-07:002010-09-30T03:57:15.806-07:00CNN film: 'What the Pope knew'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://catalog.osv.com/images/products/T1109_150.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://catalog.osv.com/images/products/T1109_150.gif" width="131" /></a></div>A documentary with an identical title to that <a href="http://catholicvoicesmedia.blogspot.com/2010/09/panorama-what-pope-knew.html">screened </a>by BBC Panorama on the eve of the papal visit was shown on American television last weekend. But unlike Panorama, CNN's documentary took at face value the wild assertions of the lawyer Jeffrey Anderson, who is seeking to lay the groundwork for legal action against the Vatican on clerical sex abuse. Monitor has not seen the CNN film, but recommends the <a href="http://www.osv.com/PopeBenedictXVIandtheSexualAbuseCrisisBlog/tabid/8019/entryid/73/CNNs-missed-opportunity.aspx">comments </a>on it by Greg Erlandson and Matthew Bunson at their <i>Our Sunday Visitor</i> blog, which monitors the reporting on Pope Benedict and the sex abuse crisis. Erlandson and Bunson are the authors of a useful <a href="http://www.osv.com/BooksNav/PopeBenedictXVIandtheSexualAbuseCrisis/tabid/8017/Default.aspx%20">book </a>(photo) on the subject.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-19233050213447480432010-09-29T09:44:00.000-07:002010-09-29T09:44:11.206-07:00Papal visit inspires conference on equality and religious freedom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thomasmoreinstitute.org.uk/files/pictures/trigg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://www.thomasmoreinstitute.org.uk/files/pictures/trigg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>A <a href="http://www.ionainstitute.ie/index.php?id=1067">conference </a>on the tension between equality and religious freedom organised by the Iona Institute in Dublin has been inspired by Pope Benedict's call for Catholics in the UK to take a stand against "aggressive secularism". The <i>Irish Times</i> reports:<br />
<blockquote>FREEDOM OF conscience and religion is meaningless if we do not allow freedom for beliefs and practices we do not share, a conference in Dublin was told yesterday.<br />
<br />
“That is the foundation of democracy,” the conference organised by the Iona Institute in Dublin was told.<br />
<br />
Prof Roger Trigg [photo] of Kellogg College, Oxford also described as “nonsense” the idea “that religious freedom is at odds with human rights”.<br />
<br />
Religious freedom was “one of the most basic of human rights. It cannot be simply trumped by other rights,” he told the conference on freedom of conscience and religion.<br />
<br />
When rights clash “the solution is not for one to override the other but for ‘reasonable accommodation’ of both”, he said.<br />
<br />
He said that in Ireland “the recent debate about civil partnerships has exposed an unwillingness on the part of Government to allow any legal exceptions to cater for freedom of conscience or manifestation of religious belief”.<br />
<br />
Similar attitudes were gaining ground in Britain, he said. “Because every exception cannot be allowed, it is assumed that none can be. Yet allowing conscientious objection in time of war provides a ready example of existing tolerance, in the face of deep principle. . .” he said.<br />
<br />
In Europe “the pursuit of equality, non-discrimination and ‘human rights’ is seen as overriding any claim to freedom of conscience, or of religion”. An example of this in Britain was that Catholic adoption agencies had “recently been forced to give up rather than give children to homosexual couples”, he said.<br />
<br />
Barrister Neil Addison, director of the Thomas More Legal Centre in England, told the conference that “religion is often subconsciously seen in Britain as not merely a harmless eccentricity but as a potentially dangerous eccentricity”.</blockquote><br />
The <i>Irish Independent </i>report is <a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/equality-a-threat-to-religious-freedoms-2352606.html">here</a>. Neil Addison's speech is <a href="http://religionlaw.blogspot.com/2010/09/iona-institute-talk-24-september-2010.html">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-63408662425378709832010-09-29T08:26:00.000-07:002010-10-05T07:21:54.456-07:00Lord Patten: 'a visit to remember'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39259000/jpg/_39259790_patteneu203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39259000/jpg/_39259790_patteneu203.jpg" /></a></div>In an <a href="http://www.zenit.org/article-30492?l=english">interview </a>with the Rome-based news agency Zenit, the government representative who oversaw Benedict XVI's Sept. 16-19 journey to the United Kingdom says Pope Benedixt XVI's visit was a "huge success" and a "triumph." <br />
<blockquote>"His four days with us in September were a triumph for His Holiness, for the Catholic Church and its partner Christian denominations, for other faith groups in our country and for all those from civil servants to police officers who helped to organize his visit," he said.</blockquote><blockquote>Lord Patten spoke of the "huge and enthusiastic crowds of well-wishers, Catholic and non-Catholic alike" who greeted the Pope. <br />
<br />
"I will long remember the crowds in Edinburgh when he arrived, the throng along the Mall in London on his way to the Hyde Park prayer vigil and the mix of worshippers -- young, old, and from every race and class -- on all the pastoral occasions," he said.<br />
<br />
Citing the role of Catholic education in the country and the government's partnership with the Church on certain issues, Lord Patten said that the visit "reminded us, in case we had forgotten, the role that faith groups play in our domestic life."<br />
<br />
He affirmed that the Pope was "clearly impressed by the evidence that the Christian legacy is -- in his own words -- 'strong and still alive in every level of social life' in Britain."<br />
<br />
Lord Patten called the Pope's series of speeches and homilies "remarkable," and said that he "challenged us all to observe the relationship between reason and religion and the importance of establishing an ethical foundation for political action and policy making in the public arena. Success is not just about advances in consumerism."<br />
<br />
The government official made particular reference to the Pope's speech to representatives of British society at Westminster Hall. He said this address "will have a substantial impact on public debate for many years to come."<br />
<br />
"So Pope Benedict’s stay with us was in the most profound sense a visit to remember," Lord Patten concluded. "Some of its lessons and messages will reverberate down the years.”</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-19473762281111176812010-09-29T08:17:00.000-07:002010-09-29T08:17:14.133-07:00Westminster priest vocations on rise since 2005<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/83/58/835803_08343a48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/83/58/835803_08343a48.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>There are 46 men studying for the Catholic priesthood at London’s Allen Hall seminary, according to figures put out today by Westminster Diocese. Eleven of them have just started. Of the 46, 33 are preparing for the priesthood for the Diocese of Westminster; three more are studying for Westminster diocesan priesthood at Vallodolid, Spain; one is at the Beda College in Rome; and another is at the Venerable English College in Rome.<br />
<br />
Between 2002 and 2005, numbers of men training for the priesthood at Allen Hall were never more than 34. In 2006, there were 37; in 2007, 40; 2008. 43; 2009, 45; and this year, 46. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-39493191211071011812010-09-29T03:29:00.000-07:002010-09-29T03:29:32.808-07:00Pope 'ranks 6th in world influence'<a href="http://images.newstatesman.com/logos/new_statesman_logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="41" src="http://images.newstatesman.com/logos/new_statesman_logo.gif" width="320" /></a>In its ranking of the "50 people who matter today", the left-wing weekly puts Pope Benedict at No. 6, up from 26. Before "Papa Ratzi", as the magazine calls him, come the Murdochs, Barack Obama, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Steve Jobs. The brief, sneering <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2010/09/benedict-xvi-vatican-papa">text </a>focuses exclusively on sex abuse cover-ups and the alleged "financial power" of the Vatican. In describing Pope Benedict's UK visit, the magazine mentions only the "reaction" to it, which demonstrates, says the NS, "the divisive but enduring impact of the pontiff today".<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>By publishing a front-cover article by Geoffrey Robertson in the week of the papal visit, the NS showed itself to be, along with the <i>Independent</i>, the mouthpiece of British secularism. The <i>Independent </i>has since come close to admitting it got the Pope badly wrong. No such humble recognition from the NS.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-26477532237052138712010-09-29T02:32:00.000-07:002010-10-05T07:22:23.927-07:00Philip Lawler on Pope's disarming radicalismThe director of the Catholic Culture project <a href="http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/civilization/cc0360.htm">explains </a>the paradoxes of the papal visit.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Throughout the trip, Pope Benedict was quietly, humbly, but persistently staking a claim. He was not coming to Britain as a visitor from outside, hoping to be welcomed by the nation's leaders. He was claiming, as St. Peter's successor, to <i>be</i> the rightful moral leader of this old Christian society. He was inviting Britain to end its 400-year flirtation with Protestantism and reclaim its Catholic heritage. He was promising that a nation founded on the truths of the Catholic faith could be a prosperous, pluralistic, and successful modern society.<br />
<br />
The Pope was making an astonishingly bold series of claims, really. He made them with disarming humility, so that his audiences did not take offense. Still the challenges were unmistakable. Now with the Pope back in Rome, a stunned British society has time to digest the papal message, to realize the implications of what he said, to sit up and think.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-69804713558924403732010-09-29T01:03:00.000-07:002010-10-05T07:23:06.013-07:00Stuart Reid: 'Valero right on media bias'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/9/25/1253868863860/reid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/9/25/1253868863860/reid.jpg" /></a></div><i>Catholic Herald</i> columnist Stuart Reid <a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2010/09/27/jack-valero-is-absolutely-right-when-he-says-that-the-english-media-are-not-anti-catholic/">agrees </a>with Jack Valero that there is no "institutional anti-Catholic bias" in the media. The counter-protest website 'Protect the Pope' had earlier <a href="http://protectthepope.com/?p=1381">criticised </a>Valero for his <a href="http://catholicvoicesmedia.blogspot.com/2010/09/valero-on-catholic-voices.html">remarks </a>to Zenit. Responding crossly to Reid, Protect the Pope reveals something of itself:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>I apologise for not meeting Stuart Reid’s high journalistic standards for nuance, irony and scepticism but its been enough of a challenge trying to keep up with the deluge of anti-Catholic attacks in the media over the past two months. This is a one-man operation, balanced between my other responsibilities as a deacon in the Diocese of Lancaster.</blockquote>For its part, Catholic Voices salutes the Rev Nick Donnelly for his tireless work and many useful posts.<br />
<br />
It helps, in any discussion about the so-called "anti-Catholic bias" of the media, to distinguish between the latent ignorance of and hostility to the Church in wider society, and the media itself; naturally, the latter will reflect the former -- not in the sense of reproducing the ignorance, but in asking the Church to confront those criticisms. That's why the media can <i>look </i>anti-Catholic.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-52276210483979487392010-09-28T07:15:00.000-07:002010-09-28T07:15:47.102-07:00Blair on the media: is this what happened with clerical sex abuse?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5YpUtMCq14Vv4QghHefCqcGN9m0F_nAZJjqTSQwTfPlvc_Pn81ve6pE00c2eo7GfyoToz9DlUswgXkP_9lobC_r1pa2R_M2aNZti1qumcx0sGvitS7qFt5qssZIC9yt6Amxr15mImOr1/s1600/article-1267709282394-089021BB000005DC-510444_304x446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5YpUtMCq14Vv4QghHefCqcGN9m0F_nAZJjqTSQwTfPlvc_Pn81ve6pE00c2eo7GfyoToz9DlUswgXkP_9lobC_r1pa2R_M2aNZti1qumcx0sGvitS7qFt5qssZIC9yt6Amxr15mImOr1/s200/article-1267709282394-089021BB000005DC-510444_304x446.jpg" width="136" /></a>Tony Blair's memoir is almost entirely devoid of any reference to his Catholic faith. But it contains some very interesting analyses, not least of contemporary media mechanics. <i>Monitor </i>is struck by the following passage on how the media generates a "scandal": is this what has happened with clerical sex abuse?<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Then, in April, there was Charles Clarke and the foreign offenders who on completion of their sentence should have been deported and removed from the country and weren't. This was serious, but Charles made the mistake of trying to be too open too early, when the full facts could not be known -- the problem, as with many such things, had existed for a long time, well before we came to power -- and he suffered a mauling with bad consequences for me, him, and the government.<br />
<br />
As with any such issue, what happens is that the spotlight suddenly shines in a corner that has lain dark for ages. That's fair enough; but what then occurs is that a complete ex post facto attitude is imposed on it, so that you end up with a ludicrously exaggerated sense of wrongdoing. So when the foreign offenders' 'scandal' is uncovered, it leads the news and this is perfectly sensible; but then because the media focus is so intense, every detail becomes another headline as if the politician in charge, in this case Charles, has literally been doing nothing else for months on end and is therefore incompetent in not having sorted it all. Then, for sure, someone pops up and says: Ooh, I warned them all about this (usually in paragraph 193 of some memo) and then the frenzy develops into hysteria.<br />
<br />
Anyway, you have to go through it, and by the end I became quite deft at dealing with these kinds of furore. Basically you have to get on top of the detail quick, and then grind people down with fact, context, rebuttal, explanation and the art of blinding with science.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-38901939641596077062010-09-28T04:18:00.000-07:002010-09-28T04:19:01.512-07:00'The politics of atheism'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week625/pics/p_news_profjohnmilbank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week625/pics/p_news_profjohnmilbank.jpg" /></a></div>Writing for the Australian ABC 'Religion and Ethics' site, Professor John Milbank, one of the leading exponents of Catholic social thought in the UK, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2010/09/28/3023727.htm?topic1=home&topic2">ponders </a>the rise of atheism in the politics of the Left. <br />
<blockquote><br />
Marxism was the first current within socialism to think of economics in entirely materialist terms and so to regard capitalism as a necessary phase of development. The Chinese Communist Party is witness to how easy it is for this to mutate into the idea of the final necessity of Capitalism after all.<br />
<br />
But pre-Marxist socialism was mostly religious, and the Labour Party up until recently continued this legacy. Sometimes we think of religious and moral socialism as the "soft option."<br />
<br />
But to the contrary, it was this legacy - inspired by Methodism, Anglicanism and Catholicism, and not by hyper-Augustinianism - which seriously hoped to render all economic practice moral. It sought a just distribution in the first place, and, prior to Anthony Crosland's revisionism in the late 1950's, not just an ameliorative "redistribution" that was entirely predicated upon the promoting of capitalist growth.<br />
<br />
The truth is that the differences between social democracy and neo-liberalism are in the end trivial, and that both sides have covertly to borrow from each other. This is because the worst ravages of an amoral market have to be plastered over by the State, but in the end the main game for either ideology is producing 'wealth' that is defined indifferently to questions of true human flourishing.<br />
<br />
It is for this reason that a secular Labour Party today tends to abandon its critique of a market where things and money dominate people ('capitalism' if you like) and defines itself instead as against all tradition and in favour of unfettered personal choice.<br />
<br />
A programmatic atheism is at work in the growing hostility to the Crown, to the House of Lords (which needs reform, not total mutation into a second House of Commons which would likely be a less radical body), to the Churches, to the family and to group-rights, and in favour of foxes, exclusively metropolitan life-styles and absolute value-pluralism.<br />
<br />
Indeed, it can sometimes appear that for sections of today's Left, as for past totalitarianisms, a naturalistic atheism is the main program. This is why political categorisation is increasingly made in terms of attitudes to sexual issues, to traditional cultures and to religious belief, rather than to issues of substantive economic justice. 'Culture wars' have come to displace older debates about just distribution.<br />
<br />
But the evidence of history is that the politics of atheism drifts towards a nihilism of the rule of power alone. The evidence is equally that advocacy of the sovereign power of the individual soon gives way in practice to the absolute power of the amoral market and of the sovereign State whose only purpose is itself.<br />
<br />
In the face of this drift of the Left towards secularism and away from radicalism, there is today a remarkable counter-tendency that is a real source of hope. This is a new tendency of religious bodies, and especially of the Catholic Church, in despair at the nihilistic drift of secular politics, more directly to articulate and enact its own political views, often outside current conventions of what counts as Right or Left.<br />
<br />
These views, as exampled by Benedict's encyclical <i>Caritas in Veritate</i>, refusal to be resigned to the notion that there is any aspect of human life where justice cannot be implemented.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-908009275288027642010-09-27T16:52:00.000-07:002010-09-27T17:11:56.786-07:00Osservatore: the Kindly Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgUL91BqUYgARNqbSxRqjkLGkODL53WJaX5_qkSLVvAjhPDVxPd41tBuI1tnm6WJ9mhIXQYFY6kIZ9AjnMZKXfaY02EylNFJ2foGP6Ge89QbM-HYJK39AIO5bGUWFRQTV41M1QgxvG-4/s1600/CaptureOsservatore.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgUL91BqUYgARNqbSxRqjkLGkODL53WJaX5_qkSLVvAjhPDVxPd41tBuI1tnm6WJ9mhIXQYFY6kIZ9AjnMZKXfaY02EylNFJ2foGP6Ge89QbM-HYJK39AIO5bGUWFRQTV41M1QgxvG-4/s320/CaptureOsservatore.JPG" width="313" /></a></div>This week's English-language edition of the Vatican newspaper <i>L'Osservatore Romano</i> carries an <a href="http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/text.html#1">editorial </a>by Gian Maria Van on the success of the papal visit. Snip:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>It was thanks to the broadmindedness of the media in this great country marked by what, today, has become a multi-ethnic society in relaying his gestures and words on a perfectly organized Journey, that multitudes were able see Pope Benedict speaking to elderly people and conversing with them, "as a brother above all". They saw him gently caressing children just as on his last day, on leaving the Nunciature, he caressed a blind child in the arms of his mother who, moved to tears, could not stop thanking him and adoring the Blessed Sacrament in the impressive silence of the 80,000 young people who had gathered for the Vigil a few hours before Cardinal Newman's beatification.<br />
<br />
Indeed the tenderness Benedict XVI shows to the little and the weak explains his powerful words renewed and repeated in the face of the crimes of the abuse of minors by members of the clergy and his meeting with some of the victims and with a group that works for the protection of children.<br />
<br />
The British Episcopate, which collaborates with the civil authorities, is exemplary in this regard, in line with the age-old tradition of the care and education of young people which, in the past, was undeniably to the credit of the Catholic Church and her many institutions in every part of the world.<br />
<br />
In brief, this was a historic journey. It was marked by the official and cordial Visit to Elizabeth II, a universally esteemed Sovereign, by the solemn meeting with the civil authorities in Westminster Hall (where the Pope paid tribute to the institution of the British Parliament), and by conversations with several political leaders and with Prime Minister David Cameron, who in his farewell address emphasized the positive contribution of religion to the public debate.<br />
<br />
At the end of a State Visit which also because of the friendship with Archbishop Rowan Williams proved very important for the development of relations with the Anglicans, with representatives of other Christian denominations and with other religions. And above all Benedict XVI made the Visit shine with the kindly light that leads every human person, just as it led Newman.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-20512533926948561732010-09-27T14:30:00.001-07:002010-09-27T16:54:01.197-07:00How many Catholics are there?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/2/26/1235668667922/Badge-Andrew-Brown-Blog-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/2/26/1235668667922/Badge-Andrew-Brown-Blog-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Andrew Brown <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2010/sep/27/religion-catholicism-statistics-britain-baptism">wonders</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-31867443461717124282010-09-27T09:13:00.000-07:002010-09-28T08:20:41.423-07:00CV debates Protestant Truth SocietyCV Peter Williams debated Duncan Boyd of the Protestant Truth Society on Revelation TV on 9 September. Here is the clip -- on the subject: "We believe the Papal Visit will be good for this country".<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="265" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/15305970" width="360"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-17487206275770081022010-09-27T08:36:00.000-07:002010-09-27T16:55:50.953-07:00Chief Rabbi to Pope: what faith offers Britain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/speeches/pope-benedict-and-chief-rabbi-sacks/95407-1-eng-GB/Pope-Benedict-and-Chief-Rabbi-Sacks_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/speeches/pope-benedict-and-chief-rabbi-sacks/95407-1-eng-GB/Pope-Benedict-and-Chief-Rabbi-Sacks_medium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>From the <a href="http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/Replay-the-Visit/Speeches/Speeches-17-September/Chief-Rabbi-Lord-Sacks-Address-to-Pope-Benedict">speech </a>of Dr Jonathan Sacks to Pope Benedict at the meeting with faith leaders at Twickenham.<br />
<blockquote><br />
<br />
Britain has been so enriched by its minorities, by every group represented here today and the intricate harmonies of our several voices. And one of our commonalities is that we surely all believe that faith has a major role in strengthening civil society. <br />
<br />
In the face of a deeply individualistic culture, we offer community. Against consumerism, we talk about the things that have value but not a price. Against cynicism we dare to admire and respect. In the face of fragmenting families, we believe in consecrating relationships. We believe in marriage as a commitment, parenthood as a responsibility, and the poetry of everyday life when it is etched, in homes and schools, with the charisma of holinessand grace.<br />
<br />
In our communities we value people not for what they earn or what they buy or how they vote but for what they are, every one of them a fragment of the Divine presence. We hold life holy. And each of us is lifted by the knowledge that we are part of something greater than all of us, that created us in forgiveness and love, and asks us to create in forgiveness and love. Each of us in our own way is a guardian of values that are in danger of being lost, in our short-attention-span, hyperactive, information-saturated, wisdom-starved age. <br />
<br />
And though our faiths are profoundly different, yet we recognize in one another the presence of faith itself, that habit of the heart that listens to the music beneath the noise, and knows that God is the point at which soul touches soul and is enlarged by the presence of otherness.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-35748830438165949282010-09-27T06:49:00.000-07:002010-09-28T04:19:39.390-07:00Labour must learn again to 'do God'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/files/2010/09/ED-MILIBAND.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/files/2010/09/ED-MILIBAND.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>CV coordinator Austen Ivereigh in the <i>Guardian</i>'s 'Comment is Free' <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/sep/27/churches-help-labours-political-renewal">argues </a>that Labour under Ed Miliband (photo) now needs to recover some of Tony Blair's ability to tune into the concerns of churches, lost under Gordon Brown.<br />
<blockquote><i>Most people are not in churches and mosques. But millions are. And in political terms those millions are dynamite. Fired by strong values, believers in a better world, members of organisations built on strong bonds of trust, and willing to turn out to demonstrate and build power – churches were, and for Labour can be again, potent sources of political renewal. True, there are plenty of secular people with ideals, but they are less organised; or, if they are organised, they tend to know better what they oppose than what they stand for. Contrast the 10,000 who protested Pope Benedict with the 200,000 lining Whitehall to welcome him.</i></blockquote><blockquote><i> </i><br />
<i>Ed-led Labour needs to know that you can't have the fruits without the roots. If what the party must now do is galvanise people where they gather – and especially where those who gather are hardest hit by joblessness and cuts – it must first remove the single biggest obstacle in the way of the party reconnecting with communities: its dogmatic, sneering secularism.</i></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-22373941278883759522010-09-27T01:52:00.000-07:002010-09-27T01:52:26.701-07:00Pope on UK visit: 'all just wonderful'<a href="http://truejustice.org/ee/images/perugia/frontpage2/2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://truejustice.org/ee/images/perugia/frontpage2/2013.jpg" width="200" /></a>Richard Owen, <i>The Times</i>'s shortly-to-retire Rome correspondent, was granted a brief <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/a-rare-audience-with-pope-benedict-xvi/story-e6frg6so-1225929100469">audience </a>with Pope Benedict on the flight back from his UK visit. <br />
<blockquote>I was curious to know how he really felt his tour of England and Scotland had gone; not just the official communiques, but his personal reaction. I asked him what had been the highlight of his trip. Meeting the Queen, perhaps? The service at Westminster Abbey? The turnout of crowds, despite the protests over birth control and child abuse?<br />
<br />
Benedict shook his head. "Everything," he said in Italian. "Everything."<br />
<br />
Then he added in English: "It was all wonderful."<br />
<br />
He looked out of the aircraft window at the coast of England sliding beneath us as we headed across the Channel. "It was all just wonderful," he repeated.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-35900876879387199602010-09-25T09:10:00.000-07:002010-09-25T09:10:36.019-07:00Breda O'Brien: papal visit 'triumph of civility'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/7/22/1248253278372/breda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/7/22/1248253278372/breda.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0925/1224279657408.html">Writing </a>in today's <i>Irish Times</i>, the teacher and columnist describes how Benedict XVI confounded those who sought to paint him as an authoritarian. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Whatever Benedict did in Britain, he did not bore. People used to the slur, “Nazi pope”, saw instead an elderly man who suffered under Nazism, forced like so many of his generation to join Hitler Youth.<br />
<br />
According to the Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team, Hitler Youth was the largest youth group in the world, with 7.3 million members. Any parent who held out against it was threatened with forcible removal of their children to an orphanage.<br />
<br />
Ironically, it may have been Benedict’s experience of Nazism that shaped his commitment to truth as a boundary against totalitarianism. John L Allen jnr, the respected reporter on the Vatican, agrees. “Under Hitler, Ratzinger says he watched the Nazis twist and distort the truth. Their lies about Jews, about genetics, were more than academic exercises. People died by the millions because of them. The church’s service to society, Ratzinger concluded, is to stand for absolute truths that function as boundary markers.”<br />
<br />
For some people, the moral authority of the Roman Catholic Church has been fatally undermined by the nature of the response to the abuse scandals. Benedict mentioned the scandals four times, and made clear his abhorrence. However, the UK visit showed that while the scandals are and should continue to be central, this does not negate every other contribution that faith can make. In a sense, Benedict was not there just as a representative of the Roman Catholic faith, but as an articulate exponent of the right of religion to be treated with respect and tolerance. Much was made of his references to aggressive secularism, and the fact that he spoke of attempts to prevent celebration of Christmas struck a particular chord with British listeners. However, the pope has made it clear that while aggressive secularism exists, he is a proponent of what he calls “positive secularity”.<br />
<br />
As Raymond d’Souza says: “He has argued not so much as a Christian combatant against secularism, but rather in favour of a secularism that preserves the great achievements of European culture.”<br />
<br />
Archbishop Rowan Williams echoed this theme. “We do not, as churches, seek political power or control, or the dominance of Christian faith in the public sphere, but the opportunity to testify, to argue, sometimes to protest, sometimes to affirm – to play our part in the public debates of our societies.” It’s a modest enough hope, and one that came closer as a result of the recent visit.<br />
<br />
The visit was a triumph for civility, and for mutual respect. It showed there is a limited tolerance for verbal abuse, and an ability to see goodness beyond the caricatures.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-61104688365711731252010-09-25T04:04:00.000-07:002010-09-25T04:05:27.418-07:00+Vincent reflects on papal visit in pastoral letterThe Archbishop of Westminster's pastoral letter to be read out at Mass in his diocese this weekend:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/New+Archbishop+Westminster+Takes+Up+Post+4RGCSPnv1sJl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/New+Archbishop+Westminster+Takes+Up+Post+4RGCSPnv1sJl.jpg" width="123" /></a><i>My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<br />
<br />
We have been very blessed indeed by the Visit of Pope Benedict during those four marvellous and unforgettable days. His presence has brought such joy and given a great boost to so many. I am immensely grateful to Her Majesty The Queen for extending the invitation to Pope Benedict to come on a State Visit to the United Kingdom.<br />
<br />
There is so much to talk about. But at this point I offer some brief initial reflections.<br />
<br />
The Holy Father has given us new heart for our mission. In our Cathedral he spelt out that task. He said we are to be witnesses to the beauty of holiness, to the splendour of the truth and to the joy and freedom born of a living relationship with Christ.<br />
<br />
We have glimpsed the beauty of holiness especially in the moments of prayer during this Visit. The holiness of God is reflected in the reverence shown in the liturgies, in the actions of the Mass, in the music and song we have offered and most vividly in the silence of prayer. The beauty of this holiness permeates us from within as ‘heart speaks unto heart’. I will never forget the richness of the silence of 80,000 people at prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in Hyde Park. I hope every celebration of Mass contains times of shared silence in which we can draw close to the Lord.<br />
<br />
We witness best to the splendour of the truth of our faith when we follow the example given by Pope Benedict. In speaking of our faith he was always so gentle and courteous, so sensitive to the achievements and anxieties of his listeners, so clear and reasoned in presenting difficult points, so humble and open-hearted. We must strive for these same qualities when speaking about our faith, in witnessing to its truth.<br />
<br />
The Holy Father has also asked us to witness to the joy and freedom born of a living relationship with Christ. He certainly did so himself, with his own serenity and unfailing generosity of response to both individuals and great crowds. We can do the same, day by day, as long as our focus remains on the Lord and, particularly, in his power to forgive and heal us. We find our joy and freedom in the saving sacrifice of Christ. From it we draw the strength to be generous and self-sacrificing ourselves. Young people, too, gave witness to this joy and freedom. Outside our Cathedral they exclaimed their desire to be saints in the third millennium! Their pathway will be that of heartfelt prayer and generous service.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><i>With the blessings of this Visit we can be more confident in our faith and more ready to speak about it and let it be seen each day. A small step we can all take is to be quicker to say to others that we will pray for them, especially to those in distress. Prayer is the first fruit of faith in the Lord and we grow so much by giving prayer its place in our homes and in our hearts. Even the simple step of more regularly using the greeting ‘God bless you’, gently and naturally, would make a difference to the tone we set in our daily lives as would the more frequent use of the Sign of the Cross. Making faith visible is so much a part of the invitation the Holy Father has extended to us all.<br />
<br />
In these ways we can begin to respond to the urging of the Holy Father ‘that the Catholics of this land will become ever more conscious of their dignity as a priestly people, called to consecrate the world to God through lives of faith and holiness.’<br />
<br />
I thank everyone who worked so hard in preparation for this Visit, through difficulties, doubts and criticism. I thank all who came to show their love for the Holy Father. Travelling with the Holy Father in the Popemobile gave me a unique experience of the joy, delight and love in the faces of so many. I thank God for our Pope and for all the blessings of this Visit from which we have so much to ponder and learn for a long time to come.</i></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-73371109312759746152010-09-25T00:22:00.000-07:002010-09-27T17:14:31.119-07:00Britain to have ordinariate 'by end of the year'?Two of the Church of England's "flying bishops" will take up the ordinariate offer by the end of the year, <a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2010/09/24/britain-could-have-an-ordinariate-by-new-year/">according to</a> Anna Arco of the <i>Catholic Herald</i>. She quotes unnamed "sources" for this. As of a couple of months ago, no application had yet been received by the bishops' conference of England and Wales. It wouldn't be surprising if one were to be made by the end of the year, as Arco suggests. But the headline is misleading. One thing is for Anglicans to <i>apply </i>for an ordinariate before December; another thing altogether is to <i>have</i> the ordinariate -- ie establish it -- by then. Rather a lot of negotiation has to take place first. <i>Anglicanorum coetibus</i> provides the legal means of setting up an ordinariate; the terms of that ordinariate have to be negotiated with the bishops' conference - ie who leads it, what flexibility can be allowed in liturgy, and so on. That takes time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-6296390403378183032010-09-25T00:06:00.000-07:002010-09-25T04:58:35.057-07:00Catholic populations in Britain and Ireland now level<a href="http://cara.georgetown.edu/staff/webpages/uk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cara.georgetown.edu/staff/webpages/uk1.jpg" /></a><br />
This seems to be the most interesting <a href="http://nineteensixty-four.blogspot.com/2010/09/catholicism-uk.html">finding </a>of the respected CARA institute at Georgetown University in Washington. In 2008, the Catholic populations of Britain and of Ireland were roughly the same: 5.2m in each case.<br />
<br />
The study also confirms that, despite being many fewer than Anglicans, there are Catholics in church to Sundays than their Anglican counterparts -- 35 per cent of Catholics go to Mass once a week or more. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>Although fewer in number, Catholics in Britain are more likely than Anglicans to indicate that they regularly attend religious services. Thirty-five percent of British Catholics say they attend Mass once a week or more often and 19% say they do not attend weekly but go to Mass at least once a month. By comparison, just one in ten Anglicans attend services weekly and 13 percent attend at least once a month (all of these attendance estimates are likely overestimated due to social desirability pressures; see: The Nuances of Accurately Measuring Mass Attendance). The difference is very significant because it means that the number of weekly church attending Catholics (3.2% of the total adult population) is greater than the number of weekly church attending Anglicans (2.8% of the total adult population) in Britain.</blockquote>Here is the relevant table:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cara.georgetown.edu/staff/webpages/uk3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cara.georgetown.edu/staff/webpages/uk3.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-510582329244057452010-09-24T11:30:00.000-07:002010-09-25T02:04:14.633-07:00Christians must fight for their place in societyThe director of the <a href="http://www.ionainstitute.ie/home.php">Iona Institute</a>, David Quinn, <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/david-quinn-christians-have-to-fight-for-their-place-in-society-2351201.html">writing </a>in the <i>Irish Independent</i> about the Pope's UK visit:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Benedict spoke of a growing threat to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience and, in Scotland the previous day, of "aggressive forms of secularism" and the "dictatorship of relativism".<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ionainstitute.ie/assets/images/DavidQuinn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.ionainstitute.ie/assets/images/DavidQuinn.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><br />
Bizarrely, there are people who doubt that aggressive secularism even exists, who deny that the rights of religious believers are under increasing assault in Western societies. But if Richard Dawkins and company are not examples of aggressive secularism then what is?<br />
<br />
And if the forced closure of Catholic adoption agencies in the UK and elsewhere because they want children to be adopted by married, opposite-sex couples isn't an example of a direct attack on the rights of religious organisations, then nothing is.<br />
<br />
In some parts of the US, Christian nurses have been fired for not performing abortions. In Sweden, you must be willing to perform an abortion if you work in a public hospital. Pharmacists are increasingly being forced to dispense the morning-after-pill (an abortifacient), regardless of their convictions.<br />
<br />
In Britain, a nurse was suspended from work for offering to pray for a patient. Christians have been investigated by police for "hate crimes" after handing out literature deemed "offensive" to minorities. In Ireland, a Catholic infertility doctor was recently investigated on a professional misconduct charge because he would only treat married couples.<br />
<br />
Also, the Government and opposition parties refused to add a conscience clause to the Civil Partnership Bill, a true example of the "dictatorship of relativism" which insists that no distinction can be made between one "lifestyle choice" and another, and that those who make such distinctions must be penalised.<br />
<br />
The most obvious impact of the Pope's visit to Britain was its success as a public spectacle. But he also had a message, and his message was that Christians have to start fighting back against attempts to drive them from public life and deprive them of their legitimate rights.<br />
<br />
The visit will have been a real success only if Christians begin to take up that fight. If not, then one day they will wake up and discover that they have been reduced to second-class citizenship.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-68592604878302282162010-09-24T11:14:00.000-07:002010-09-25T02:03:55.610-07:00John Allen on the hope the papal visit bringsThe veteran Rome-watcher John Allen gives an upbeat <a href="http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/pope%E2%80%99s-visit-week%E2%80%99s-stories-show-divisions-rays-hope">assessment </a>of the success of Pope Benedict's UK visit, from which he draws "two rays of hope":<br />
<blockquote>First, even in what appear to be thoroughly secularized societies, the religious instinct has hardly been extinguished. Benedict’s crowds exceeded expectations, buoyed by substantial Catholic turnout. What was most fascinating, however, was the appeal of the trip to other Christians, members of other religions, and ordinary secular folk who still somehow feel the tug of faith.<br />
<br />
Aside from the activists who have a specific beef with the pope, most people seemed curious about what Benedict was saying and doing, and also genuinely impressed with the sincerity and good will of the throngs of pilgrims they saw over these four days. (As a footnote, one of the fruits of a papal visit is that ordinary believers have the chance to tell their stories to a national audience.)<br />
<br />
Benedict did not magically refill the churches or win waves of converts, but the largely favorable interest in religion his presence stimulated offered a reminder that many people, even in the heart of the secular world, do still want to believe – even if, as sociologist Grace Davies has put it, they find it much tougher to belong.<br />
<br />
Second, the trip was a reminder that when wielded wisely, the papacy is still a unique bully pulpit, the single greatest asset Catholicism has in shaping public debate. It’s difficult to imagine any other figure on the planet who could have come to Great Britain and led a four-day national examination of conscience about the role of religion in public life like Benedict XVI did.<br />
<br />
In part, the reason Benedict was able to pull it off was because he gave those prepared to dismiss him no excuse to do so. He did not ride into town breathing fire about the equality laws, abortion, gay marriage, or any of the other fronts in the culture wars. Instead, he went to the foundations of the issue -- the right of citizenship of people of faith in a secular culture that prizes tolerance, and the positive contribution believers can make to common humanitarian and social concerns.<br />
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Put that way, it was virtually impossible to paint the pope as an extremist, and it made Dawkins’ claim that Benedict is an “enemy of humanity” seem faintly ridiculous. In effect, Benedict’s U.K. trip offered a model of how religious leaders can successfully engage secular conversation, through the template of “affirmative orthodoxy” -- no compromise on church teaching, but phrased in terms of what the church says “yes” to, rather than its well-known catalogue of “no’s.”<br />
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This was Benedict’s 17th foreign trip, and many of them have left behind the same kind of warm afterglow, only to be quickly swamped by some new crisis or PR meltdown in Rome. One can only hope that in this case, the past is not prologue.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487510485554758632.post-82276284029316239992010-09-24T06:46:00.000-07:002010-09-25T02:04:39.144-07:00Chaplin responds to secularist manifesto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/uploads/images/people/Jonathan1-full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/uploads/images/people/Jonathan1-full.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>Dr Jonathan Chaplin (photo), Director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, has <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/sep/24/response-evan-harris-secularist-manifesto">spotted </a>the lack of pluralism in Evan Harris's "secularist manifesto". <br />
<blockquote>First, it proposes a restrictive interpretation of the right to conscientious objection within the public sector, which would be limited to "rare and specific" exemptions agreed by parliament. His stance is in accord with the trend of recent employment tribunal and court decisions but it departs from the generous British tradition accommodating conscientious objection wherever possible.<br />
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Why, for example, must a marriage registrar be legally compelled to perform a same-sex civil partnership ceremony against her religious conscience when other colleagues are readily available to do so? Protecting conscience would not imply a "blanket religious exemption based on subjective feelings" but rather a better balancing of objective legal rights.<br />
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Second, it fails to recognise that an effective right to "manifest" belief is not only individual but organisational. For many religious believers, manifestation is a corporate not a solitary enterprise, coming to expression in a wide range of faith-based educational, welfare, charitable, publishing or campaigning associations. Some operate outside the public sector while others come within its purview either through historical incorporation by the state (eg church schools, religious hospitals) or through having entered into contracts with the state to pursue specific public purposes (eg faith-based social service agencies).</blockquote><blockquote>But Harris wants to impose severe legal restrictions on the ability of such religious organisations to act according to their distinctive religious beliefs the moment they enter the public sector, thereby frustrating the very reason for them existing as distinct bodies rather than mere replicas of secular agencies. For example, it could have the effect of coercing church schools into hiring staff who might repudiate the very religious beliefs or moral practices defining the school's distinct identity, or of preventing such schools from teaching RE from their own perspective.<br />
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Third, it elides the distinction between a separation of church and state and a separation of religion and state. The meaning of the first is plain enough but Harris is worryingly unclear about what he means by the second. Like many who call themselves secularists, he claims to be against "banning religion from the public square", yet the tenor of this and other public interventions suggest a desire to keep it on a tight leash.</blockquote><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com