Here is an interesting comment on the apalling Foreign Office memorandum on the forthcoming visit of Pope Benedict. It occurred to me this morning that this attack (because that is what it is) could have been engineered by a Catholic or Catholics. This is not a strange idea. There are disaffected Catholics who not only disagree with the official teaching on various matters but are also angry about these things. They may be lapsed or occassional attenders at Mass. We know well enough that there are Catholics in the Media who openly disagree with Catholic teaching on certain aspects of sexual morality, and are quite happy to portray themselves as indulging in sex outside of marriage, using condoms etc. It is also possible that the memo was leaked by a Catholic although, the way things are shaping now, it is more likely to have been leaked by a Catholic-minded Anglican who may have more attachment to the Holy Father than a Roman Catholic. Do you think this scenario is far-fetched? I have been a priest for 34 years. I can assure you that it is not; it is a frightening possibility.
Father, the link you provided doesn't open. I think it has an extra couple of characters.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link:
http://davidaslindsay.blogspot.com/2010/04/no-brains-to-storm.html
I agree with your musing here. I was in conversation with a couple of catholic mummy friends from the primary school my children used to attend ( they are home educated now). They both expressed a loathing for the Holy father that was unnerving in it's completely irrational virulence. No intelligent arguments were forthcoming ( one attempted the 'condoms in Cameroon' one but happily I was in possesion of enough facts to kill her points stone dead so she quickly dropped it) Honestly, the most frequently repeated argument was "He gives me the creeps".
Such deception and to see catholics joining in with this anti popery is enough to make one weep.
My friend moved on from the Pope to make general points about priests and how in her mothers day they "held people down" and "crushed them".
I asked her why she was still a catholic if everything about the church was so dreadful and she looked stunned and a little cross at being asked such a question. I think she found it hard to answer because it took her a while. Eventually she said that she was a catholic because it was her "culture".
Actually, I think that it may also be because the best schools are Catholic.
By the way, both of the friends I mention are catechists.
I knew another woman who was quite sexually depraved and had a houseful of p*rn and she was also a catechist.
Small wonder I left the church ( back for good 2 1/5 years ago Deo Gratias!)
It's hard to maintain friendships with these people. I try also remind myself of their many other traits that are good and noble, but this seething, blind hatred which is rooted in lies and haughtiness tends to eclipse so much of the good.
Thanks Clare. I have ammended that link. Thanks also for your comments. These attitudes and others like them have devloped over the last 20 - 30 years and have not been dealt with because - sadly - our bishops are afraid to face the truth head on.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the possibility that it has been deliberately leaked, possibly by a Catholic or manybe by a friendly Anglican or maybe by just a decent person who does not like the skullduggery of the Labour Government. Do you really believe a civil srvant would have circulated those outrageous proposals if he/ she did not think they would be countenanced by higher authority, or at least be in keeping with government underlying policy?
ReplyDeleteI am beginning to wonder how safe the Holy Father will be from 'insiders' if he comes here. God knows we need him and I am sure God can take care of him, but Clare is right-there are so many "Catholics" who hate the Church it is scary.
ReplyDeleteI have come across "ethnic/cultural Catholics" of the kind referred to here in the past but I am not sure the picture regarding the holy father's visit is necessarily so bleak. Remember last autumn when journalists in papers like The Times referred to the anticipated visit of the relics of St Therese in very negative terms. This was to be "macabre" and involve "slobbering fanatics". In the event the visit was a great success with many thousands more attending than anticipated. Pope Benedict's visit will be an opportunity for faithful Catholics to stand up to the media bullies and although in overall terms we may be a minority we can surely swamp any negative protests.
ReplyDeleteYou are right father. The comments are like the words of a demon trivialisimg our teachings in the light of secularised thought. Yes the words could clearly be from the mind of a dissenting Catholic.
ReplyDelete