LETTERS
Tests of orthodoxy Clifford Longley wrote in a recent column (21
August): “To create a consensus where none has so far existed, the Vatican then instituted a rule that only priests who were prepared explicitly to endorse Humane Vitae and Ordinatio Sacerdotalis could be appointed bishops.” His words gave me cause to pause and ask myself if I hadn’t read words like those before, which give the impression they are stat- ing a certain fact, and yet are not necessarily doing so. Then I remembered that during Pope John Paul’s last illness, the media was stat- ing it as a fact that the next Pope would necessarily be conservative for the simple rea- son that all the cardinals meeting in conclave, bar a handful, had been appointed by Pope John Paul, whom the media was presenting as an arch conservative! Interestingly enough, by the time the cardinals assembled in Rome for the conclave, the same media had conve- niently segregated them into two camps –one progressive, the other conservative. Why do I associate Clifford Longley’s com- ment with the conclave? It is because the similarities are so close. Both contained undisputable facts. It is absolutely true that Pope John Paul II appointed all but four of the 119 cardinals eligible to participate in the 2005 conclave. But is it true that every car- dinal appointed by Pope John Paul II was necessarily conservative? Similarly, it is undoubtedly true that all bishops-to-be are required to make a profession of faith and to take a pledge of loyalty to the Successor of Peter. But is it true that an “episcopable” priest has to swear allegiance to Humanae Vitae and Ordinatio Sacerdotalis? To my knowledge, none of the six new bishops in the ecclesiastical Province of Durban has been required to endorse Humanae Vitae as part of pledging loyalty to the teaching of the Church. Is there perhaps a different process in England and Wales? +Wilfrid Cardinal Napier OFM Archbishop of Durban, South Africa
Exclusive liturgy I was dismayed to read (News from Britain and Ireland, 4 September) that quite a large part of the Masses during the papal visit is being sung in Latin. Surely this is making the Catholic Church exclusive, while at the same time hon- ouring Cardinal Newman, who was one of the great ecumenists. My grandfather was a pupil at the Birmingham Oratory while Cardinal Newman was there, and therefore our whole family grew up with the idea of ecumenical Christians. Surely, this is why the MORI poll points out that one out of every three Catholics in Britain is not “sold” on the Pope’s visit. It is a pity that the poll did not ask why those Catholics were uninterested. They might have found out why many people are angry,
The Editor of The Tablet 1 King Street Cloisters, Clifton Walk, London W6 0GY
Fax 020 8748 1550 Email
thetablet@thetablet.co.uk All correspondence, including email, must give a full postal address and contact telephone number. The Editor reserves the right to shorten letters.
have been more influential than those in busi- ness, law or politics. Writers have been prominent by number if not by rank. But, by their omission, The Tablet implies that Catholic voices may not have been persuasive in medicine, science or engineering. (Dr) Frederick P. Wheeler Stockport, Cheshire
fpwheeler@msn.com
Sin of omission? ‘Including Susan Boyle [in the 100 top lay Catholics] list and not Charlotte Church [above] is really not on’. Photo: Reuters
disappointed and dismayed at the attitude of the Church in Rome towards the grass-roots Church of ordinary people. (Mrs) Clare Owens Yateley, Hampshire
philip.owens@ntlworld.com
Covering up Catholics like Gerard Burns, who wrote last week (Letters, 11 September) about the possible involvement of a priest in the IRA bomb in Claudy in 1972 need to get out a bit more. Covering up has always been available to those with influence. In 10 years in the prison service, I don’t remember too many politicians, bankers, lawyers, clergy or other professionals who went to jail. Their misde- meanours tend to be financial and sexual and therefore more amenable to collusion, unlike petty theft and common assault. One might regret that the Catholic Church in this country has taken advantage of estab- lishment privilege when the occasion offered, but it is not difficult to understand the temp- tation. I once replaced a priest who was allowed to leave the country after a drink-driving incident. Of the two priests I then found myself working with, one was about to join the British army as an officer chaplain while the other was being questioned by the Special Branch about his contacts with the IRA. Experience in the latter case would tend to
support the heroic Bishop Daly, who minis- tered to the wounded under fire even after two other priests had been shot dead in similar circumstances, in his claim that the IRA would be unlikely to recruit a cleric who wore his republicanism on his vestments. (Fr) Willy Slavin Glasgow
willyslavin@googlemail.com
Leadership gaps A brief analysis of The Tablet’s choice of top 100 lay Catholics (11 September) suggests that Catholics at the top of public service and char- itable organisations, though fewer in number,
Your list does not include even one Welsh per- son. I can cope with the Vatican’s not deeming Wales worth a visit by the Pope, but includ- ing Susan Boyle in the list and not Charlotte Church is really not on. (Dr) Martin Price Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan
martin@martinprice.com
Even a cursory glance at your list of impor- tant Catholics shows that many of them are members of the elite anyway. Most went to university, and very often Oxbridge. Several went to public schools – or to schools mod- elled on them. The fact that they are Catholic is incidental: it’s the kind of education you get which makes you important – in Britain, this has been the case for a long time. George Timmons Barrow-upon-Soar, Leicestershire
Care for prisoners Dom Antony Sutch offers timely reflections (“I was in prison and you visited me”, 11 September) on the challenge of Christian serv- ice in working for justice for prisoners. For almost 20 years, I was a probation officer work- ing with prisoners and their families. Catholic Social Teaching gave me a rounded appreci- ation of the importance of seeing the dignity of the person, amidst the harshness of the lives of many of those most despised by society whose route in and out of the prison gate and probation office seemed almost foreordained by circumstance. The determination of many of those same people offered a pathway out of offending, working within supportive and challenging human relationships. The availability of meaningful opportunities to move away from crime furthers the common good of all in the community. It is vitally important to address the insatiable growth in wasted lives repre- sented by an expanding prison system. Mike Guilfoyle London SE4
mikeguilfoyle2003@yahoo.co.uk
Working options Your thought-provoking editorial (“Retirement isn’t working”, 11 September) concludes that “the very concept of retirement … may well have reached the end of its useful life”. One
18 September 2010 | THE TABLET | 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48