Secular blemish at Easter

The Easter Conferences of the Teaching Unions are the best advertisement for home schooling there is. Who would willingly give their children into the hands of these activists? Every year I hope the Conference attendees are a self selecting barmy fringe, as General Secretaries Ms Keate and Ms Blowers marshal their army of malcontents to oppose every change, refuse every improvement, and deny every criticism. As Britain falls lower down the international tables, speaker after speaker blames everyone but themselves for all those children who leave school scarcely able to read and write, leave alone have any understanding of  maths, history, geography, or religion. Spurning every reform of Ministers, Labour or Conservative, these are the spokesmen for a profession that is supposed to be preparing children for a world that is changing faster than ever before. Yet they see no reason for change despite the evidence of widespread failure. Nothing can spoil Easter but if anything could it would be this sad spectacle.

Christus Surrexit - Alleluia

Packed church. Car park overflowing. Priest tearful at unexpected numbers. Ran out of candles and wine. Simple homily struck home. Lots of young. Only flaw - terrible hymns. Sang the old favourites in car going home. Estelle White has much to answer for but nothing could undermine the joy of Easter and the living congregation.

Selective Obedience

The supertrads condemn the liberals for a la carte religion but the Pope washing women's feet has shown just how selective supertrads are. Anything new, any departure from the religion of their childhood, any nuanced understanding even by the Pope and they're up in arms. Us real traditionalists  are happy to support His Holiness in using symbols to draw all men to Christ - and that means women too. The faith is unchanged but its presentation is bound to alter in so different a world.

His Holiness washes women's feet

And the self-appointed guardians of the Faith have the vapours. The dogmas of the Church are few and unchangeable, the customs in the Church are many and have always been subject to change. Indeed that change is necessary if the dogmas are to be presented unchanged to each new generation. It's a very peculiar view of Jesus that suggests He's in the slightest bit interested in red shoes or the sex of the people whose feet Pope Francis washed.

Waiting for.......

We know that we are waiting for Easter. The cross we have venerated today is empty and He will rise. We can't unknow that. Yet the Aposles didn't know, they didn't even know what they hoped. Easter was a revelation to them, so this time of waiting was truly bewildering. They still believed in Him but there was now no certain way forward. He was dead but he had promised that was not the end. Now it had happened, how could that promise be fulfilled? Saturday is still a day of waiting but we can look forward with confidence. They were looking backward without understanding what it all meant. Only the Resurrection makes sense of it all, as they came to see when the waiting was over. Jesus, the good man, makes no sense at all. Jesus, risen from the dead, makes sense of everything.

Repressive Regimes back 'family'

Catholics should beware of standing shoulder to shoulder with Moslems and extremist African Protestants on family issues. Our opposition to abortion and euthanasia must not lead to our alignment with regimes that repress women and lock up gays. Once again SPUC misses the point when it moves from its real purpose and pontificates on other issues. We won't win our sad societies to understand the evil of abortion if we associate that with the burka and the persecution of homosexuals.

SPUC in mission creep

Fighting for the unborn child is a huge and crucial task. Abortion is the biggest stain on our society in Britain. John Smeaton, SPUC's Director, should be 100% fixed on that task. Instead, he has hares off fighting against same-sex marriages. Now, it doesn't matter which side you have taken on this issue, its not the business of SPUC. They are using money raised to fight abortion to fight another, entirely different battle. It's as if Help The Aged had gone off to help the young single homeless. A good cause but not the one for which people had given them money. What's more, Mr Smeaton won't allow you to discuss the matter on his blog because no comments are allowed. Is that because he knows he's  on weak legal ground? As Margaret Thatcher once memorably remarked, "he's frit".

Smeaton again forbids comment

Once again John Smeaton of SPUC has posted an interesting but controversial blog. Once again he encourages his readers to write to their MPs. Yet, once again, he discourages any interaction, discussion, or information with himself. Evidently his views are not subject to correction or comment, not even of congratulation. His is the only Catholic blog I can find which has no mechanism for comment. Isn't it about time Mr Smeaton had the courage of his convictions and allowed others in on the discussion. Is it thin skin, uncertainty, or fear of contradiction that makes him so coy.

The simplicity of the Pope

The Pope is to live more simply and more clearly in community. What an exciting prospect for the Church. Collegiality expressed in this simple change just as the Holy Fathet's priorities were expressed in the choice of a name.

Triangular flapjacks

So a school in Essex has banned triangular flapjacks because a child was hurt when the sweetmeat was thrown. They didn't seek to stop children throwing things but instead tried to make the missile safer! It's another of those health and safety stories you couldn't make up. When the mince pie was allowed back into England after the Puritans had banned them, they could no longer be oblong in the shape of a manger but round as they are today. At least those unpleasant Puritans were making a serious, although falacious, point - striking out against the idolatry of the image of the baby Jesus on the pie.

Starbucks

So Starbucks have told shareholders that, if they don't like the company's support for Gay Marriage, they can sell their stock. What kind of moral compass does this display? It is not clear that a view on same sex marriage is integral to the sale of coffee and buns. However, paying proper tax on the profits made by the company certainly is. How do executives of Starbucks justify their failure to deal with the profits issue which does concern them while making a stand on same sex marriage which does not?

Defending Unborn Children

As a long time upholder of the right to life, I very much agree with the important message of John Smeaton's blog published today. There are, however, occasions on which his comments should be questioned and yet, unlike most of the rest of us, he provides no place on his blog for comments. This gives a very bad impression of the attitudes of SPUC and suggests the organisation feels it has no need of support, advice, or comment. Isn't it time Mr Smeaton opens up to his supporters' comments instead of saying we can email him personally with messages which he does not share more widely.

Snow in March

Two inches of snow on the car. Nothing like as bad as for so many round the country. Funny how I welcome snow in Decenmber or January but resent it in March. Why isn't it 'going out like a lamb' ? Palm Sunday Mass really moving, well sung and the Gospel well read. Going off at the end in silence with no recessional hymn, as Holy Week begins, was particularly effective because the snow had made everything so much quieter outside. Back home with the family to make preparations for next weekend when we will have a houseful. When will we get on to the garden? Planting is going to be so late and I despair of early salads.

Catholic Trivia

What is it about Catholics that leads so many of the bloggers to be waspish and critical? I've just seen one blog in which, after seeing the video of the two Popes, the author commented that the altar in the background wasn't a portable one! Just about as relevant to the Faith as all that tosh about red shoes. Can this be the electronic witness to which we were called or is it the Catholic version of the bar-room comments you get on a bad phone-in.

Dr Justin Welby

So Dr Welby didn't mention same sex marriage in his sermon at his inauguration as Archbishop. He didn't mention abortion, climate change, euthanasia, the acidification of the oceans, the threat to Christians in the Middle East and a host of other things with which Christians ought to be concerned. I can't help thinking that the things he did mention were more important than gay marriage as indeed are all of that list he didn't.

The Challenge of Francis

Well, we're back on line after a false start. Celebrating the arrival of Pope Francis and fed up with the trivial nonsense of some so-called Catholic blogs that can't help criticising. What a remarkable statement to the world and all those secular know-alls who defined the job of the new pope as dealing with the Curia, clerical abuse, and the Vatican bank. The Holy Father simply said - Francis. That defined his priority of bringing Christ, the lover of the poor and the outcast, to challenge the world. Even then they didn't believe him and muttered about Francis Xavier - so he had to say it again. St Francis of Assisi - lover of the poor and celebrant and protector of the natural world.