When Aspirations Collide With Hard Reality?

This article appeared in the The Independent, today I think, concerning the Irish Bishops's remarks on solemnising marriages in Ireland following the referendum result. The article is interesting and the journalist does have something legitimate to say about the Church's confidence and credibility today. However I do think she is being little unfair, the Bishops have to be prudent and need to wait and see what the Marriage Act will contain before making any decisions. They may well be waiting to see if Church ministers will be given an exemption or will be protected. 

However, and I am open to correction, given the way the amendment to the Constitution is framed any legislation that limits citizens's access to marriage may well be unconstitutional. If the State is to protect marriage, gay marriage included, then it cannot tolerate organisations, religious or otherwise, which dissent from that. We shall see.

The real test will come after the publication of the Marriage Act and any Constitutional challenge which may follow, then the aspirations of the Bishops will face hard reality and decisions will have to made. Courage will be needed then. I hope and pray we may well find the witness and strength of Oliver Plunkett and John Fisher among them then.

That said, even if Catholic priests are protected, Catholics and other Christians who provide wedding services are not. Those who choose to stand with Christ's teaching will face prosecution and civil suits as we see with Ashers in Belfast and Bulah Print in Drogheda. The Church cannot abandon them. It is interesting to note that those two cases above concern evangelicals, Catholics, as far as I can see, have not featured in acts of resistance to the new laws. What does that say about the Church here in Ireland?

Non-Irish Irish Bishops?

St Patrick, Bishop to the Irish: not Irish but British

David Quinn always has something interesting to say.  Here are his views on the appointment of non-Irish priests to Sees in Ireland.  I have heard that Rome may be considering appointing priests from overseas as bishops in Irish dioceses, and that may cause problems here.  The Church has been quite insular here for some time - we tend to be very local, so to see how non-Irish bishops would go down with Irish Catholics would be interesting.

Personally I have no problem with it, in fact I would be in favour of it - we are a universal Church after all.  Our national apostle, St Patrick was not Irish and some of our bishops in the past were not Irish - some of the former Archbishops of Dublin were not Irish born for example, including Archbishop Hugh Inge who was Bishop of Meath before being appointed Archbishop of Dublin.  Archbishop Inge was born in Somerset, educated at Oxford and was a favourite of Cardinal Wolsey who was influentual in having him appointed Bishop of Meath.  Inge died in 1528, just before the English Reformation and the downfall of Wolsey.

Great care will have to be taken, but I think David has a few valid suggestions as to how it could be done.  And let's face it, Irish priests have been appointed as bishops to various overseas dioceses for years, in Africa for example, so we should be willing to accept bishops from other countries.

The Thorn In The Side

What a wonderful feast day today - the feast of St Thomas a Becket, the martyred Archbishop of Canterbury - put to death by King Henry II of England as the two clashed in a battle over the freedom of the Church.  It was a battle which would be repeated five centuries later when another Thomas died in defence of the Church, martyred by another King Henry.

St Thomas a Becket was a man with a past - so we can all find comfort in him and in his conversion.  As we look over the mistakes of our lives, we can be sure that all is not lost, God can still ask great things of us and offer us the graces to respond.  Thomas changed when he achieved high office.  He was ambitious, but when he was appointed to the highest ecclesiastical office in England, the Holy Spirit touched him and he became a humble man and a mighty defender of the Church's freedom. 

And Thomas was a mighty defender.  He was not afraid to stand up to his former friend, King Henry, who sought to reduce the Church to a department of state.   In fact, Henry had Thomas appointed Archbishop of Canterbury because he wanted to control him.  Henry exiled Thomas for refusing to be a lackie, but instead of isolating the Archbishop, Henry only increased Thomas's credibility and popularity among the faithful.

There is an important lesson in Thomas's life and example for our prelates.  As secular governments try to control the faith of their people, and seek to haul the Catholic Church under its influence, our present prelates need the courage and tenacity of St Thomas to help them resist. 

In Ireland our government is doing its utmost to undermine the Church and perhaps even nurturing the possibility of the emergence of a "national catholic church", another erastian monster to confuse the faithful.   Indeed one of the big state-Church battles is about to break out: that of Catholic education: we need a Thomas a Becket to rise up to help us face the challenge.  May God send us one.

Today I remember with fondness my visits to Canterbury Cathedral to pray at the spot where St Thomas was martyred.  The Saint's tomb no longer exists: though Canterbury was one of the most important shrines in Europe in the Middle Ages, it was destroyed by King Henry VIII.  St Thomas's body has disappeared.  Various stories tell us that either Henry had it destroyed or the priests of the cathedral buried it in a secret place before Henry's soldiers arrived to desecrate it.  There are a few ex ossibus relics of him though, and I was given one when studying in Rome.  On both visits, I walked around the cathedral and prayed holding the relic in my hand and venerating it at the spot where he died.   It will be brought to the faithful of Rathkenny this morning for veneration.

And so, today, let us offer a prayer to St Thomas for our beloved bishops who, like him, seek to govern, guide, protect, teach and sanctify the flock.  Let us remember in particular those bishops who struggle to fulfill the requirements of their office: may the martyred Archbishop lay his gentle hand upon them and assure them of his loving presence and encourage them to heroism.