The Pope Brings Tidings Of Joy To Britain’s Agnostics
AS the head of the Roman Catholic church begins to prepare for a Scottish audience of around 65,000 today, there is a plethora of articles about the much-needed reform of the Roman Catholic Church.
In a very powerful piece in today’s Herald writer Iain MacWhirter strikes a few sharp uppercuts and more than a few low blows. He points out the Pope, Benedict XVI, was once…
“Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger … a key figure in attempts to contain the sex abuse scandal in the early years of the decade when he was Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a scary office derived from the Inquisition. During his four-day visit, Pope Benedict is expected to meet some victims of sexual abuse – a public relations exercise of doubtful worth since it will only revive the controversy.”
Unusually for a Herald feature writer and commentator, Iain is web-media savvy and today in one article mentions Cherie Blair, Charles Kennedy, Stephen Fry and Philip Pullman (all either passionate reform or disappointed Catholics) and the Rev Ian Paisley who be holding a protest meet in Edinburgh today. (All sure to lift the number of internet hits).
MacWhirter’s piece as ever strives for balance and he says that as a “...lifelong atheist, I might be expected to regard this (the Church’s decline) with some satisfaction. I do not. The faith mystifies me and aspects of the doctrine repel me, but I have great respect for the Catholics I know.”
It is there the fine work is undone.
Forget the patronisation implied since MacWhirter is a product of the predominately Protestant Scotland with its fine tradition of warring between Catholic and non-Catholic and a nation which often displays a level of bigotry normally only seen across the 30 mile or so gap to Northern Ireland. Indeed, the two countries are tied together from ancient times when the Scots Kingdom of Dalaradia was actually a Scots-Irish fiefdom of feudal Viking Lairds or Jarls.
It is the use of the word ‘atheist’ which offends. An atheist is one who has never known the principle of a Supreme Being, an almost impossible situation these post 9/11 days of Jihad and outraged Juedo-Christian Gods’ State revenge.
The word is agnostic meaning one who has been taught the principles of a Faith but rejected them. I’m happy to admit being in that band while probably still being convinced the last journey will be straight to a non-existent Hell…along with a few million non-believing and essentially evil corrupt Priests, Ministers, Parsons, Rabbis, Imams and the odd Guru or two.
The question should not be one of Faith. This is a Catholic Church Hard Man and Devil’s Advocate but worse a former member of the Hitler Youth and at the risk of a quicker journey to Hades, I don’t give toss for his opinion or place in this world or the next he professes to represent. – AGW
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Posted: 16th, September 2010 | In: Reviews Comments (5) | TrackBack | Permalink
