As well as confirming that he intends to visit England later this year the Holy Father has encouraged the Bishops of England and Wales to speak with one voice in defending freedom of expression. Result? Much self-righteous indignation on the part of the Harriet Harridan supporters (notably the Guardian this morning - but then that is a complement to the Holy Father) as she fumes at the Upper House's refusal to agree to her grubby little opinions being passed into law.
The blogosphere is full of comments from those who embrace the nihilist tendencies of the bourgeois ungrown-ups running this country. They seem to think that their personal opinions are much more important than any Bishop, let alone the Pope. We see actors and chat show hosts being asked for their opinions and they are feted for it. A certain actor who loves to see himself as the successor to Oscar Wilde seems to think he is a competent person to comment on the Scriptures, and presumably the weak-minded do as well as they laugh at his pronouncements couched in mocking, inflammatory terms. When are such brave people going to say the same things to the members of the predominant middle-eastern religion as well as to Christians? The answer: probably never - because the consequences are............ well.................
So Christians are an easy target as we turn the other cheek. Problem is we have confused turning the other cheek with not saying anything for fear of offending. The world of apologetics is not filled with sensible people either. There are a few bright sparks, but a lot of extreme people out there whose views and whose grasp of theology and science is so poor that they are an embarrassment. The Church needs more true apologists who are well-informed in many disciplines and who can remind the modern world that theology is the Queen of the Sciences as it is concerned with ultimate truth.
Who is going to respond to a writer of fantasy novels who was last night pleading for legal tribunals to be set up to agree an assisted suicide with a guarantee of non-prosecution for those who assist them? His case is distressing and no sensible person would deny that, but can we really agree as Christians that suicide is a righteous act? For some the temptation is to point out potential consequences of such acts; e.g. it could lead to someone committing murder under the guise of assisted suicide, or a situation where Mrs Y and her family thinks her husband would be better off dead as he is such a drain on her time and energy and anyway he will spare himself lots of suffering if he lessens their burden and takes the pill.
In reality, no matter how correct these views are - they will not persuade anyone of theological truth - they are simply window dressing. To take ones own life is to deny the gift of life that God has created, it is to deny the possibility that suffering can be redemptive and it is to deny the grace of God. Suicide is a selfish act (look at the effect it has on those who are left behind) and it can never be considered brave, or for the benefit of others.
So while the great and good and those that control our lives (yes, for that is what Government has become, rather than serving the People) seek to state that there is no God and no moral code except niceness, what is the response we hear from Bishops in England? Well, there are signs that at last in the CofE we are waking up to the serious situation being created by politicians and uneducated people in positions of power and/or influence. The Pope has asked that the Bishops of the Catholic Church in England and Wales speak out with missionary zeal. In this they should be wholeheartedly supported by the Bishops of the CofE and all other Christian Leaders. The CofE may be the established Church, but in reality those who run the State have gone back on their part of the deal. The CofE can no longer afford to act as a state poodle, trying not to offend anyone by obfuscating Christian Truth, smiling and blessing whatever is presented to it, or straining out a gnat to swallow the camel of apostasy.
Contrast the faint-hearted approach of some to such moral dilemmas to this:
Pope Benedict stated:
If the full saving message of Christ is to be presented effectively and convincingly to the world, the Catholic community in your country needs to speak with a united voice. This requires not only you, the Bishops, but also priests, teachers, catechists, writers – in short all who are engaged in the task of communicating the Gospel – to be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit, who guides the whole Church into the truth, gathers her into unity and inspires her with missionary zeal.
This needs to be taken on board by all Christian Leaders in this land. As the warm, fuzzy glow of "The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" fades what emerges is that the Octave is just that: warm and fuzzy. It has no real teeth - it is just a vehicle for those who like talking about unity rather than genuinely desiring it. It is warm and fuzzy because it equates unity with niceness and politeness, as if we were all members of some gentleman's club. If we really desire unity we will need to understand that we cannot divorce unity from truth, and many of us in the CofE will need to give up that grave error of believing that truth is decided by whoever can summon up the greatest number of votes or by Christina Rees (aka personal opinion).
In reality unity is essential if we are to bring the light of Christ to this generation which has been constantly led astray not simply by our politicians and leaders, but by the unwillingness of many in ecclesial authority to do or say anything that could be considered impolite, i.e. speaking Christian Truth. In these intolerant times we are colluding with the enemies of Christ by our refusal to:
a) genuinely seek reunion with the ancient churches of the First Millennium
b) recognise that there are many souls that could be saved, but may not be, because of our weakness in firmly, but lovingly, proclaiming Christian Truth
The Holy Father's visit to our land this autumn will continue to attract criticism, some of it veiled, but equally damaging; some of it in Murdoch Newspapers where one journalist constantly writes about Roman Catholics as if they are from outer-space. But if all Christians joined together in welcoming him wholeheartedly, and joyfully welcomed the message of Truth that he brings, then this visit will also prove to be a catalyst for evangelisation and mission, where we are given the boost that we need to respond to the secular agenda and engage in a robust, loving and steadfast upholding of the "faith once delivered to the saints."
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