THE POPE IN ENGLAND… AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY?

When I was in England at beginning of the seventies where I taught Latin French and Spanish to the son of the miners in Yorkshire it was an honour to push some of my pupils to Oxford. Some of the advantaged became enthusiasts of Caesar, Titus Livius, Juvenal, others just could not cope.

 One Winter evening we were translating Seneca De Vita Beata in which the philosopher praises the glories of the rural live in contact with nature and far away from the intrigue and trafagus of the urb, “vita tranquila et quieta, et not aurum et famam sed honestitas” and all of a sudden there was Pailing rasing his finger. He said: “Sir what I need Latin for. I am not going to be no Pope and I am going to be in the pit all my life”.

 I did not know what to answer but little Pailing had scored a goal to my aspiration to become a latin master in that mining village of Armthorpe where I received all kinds of attentions coming across with what British tolerance and compassion is. Not only that. The lad has made me to understand what most of the English think o Popery with the memories of religious war, rilvaries, debaucheries, cruelty and blood on both sides. And also the idea of god conceals some of the most cruel aspects of the human ego and could become a prolongation or an excuse of our ambition to rule, to maim, to impose ourselves over the others. But he did not blot or rescinde my religious believes.

 Christ will endure and last in history notwithstandig the fact of our selfishnes and our longin for power (external church) as an inner force (exoterism). In England I had a zest for Anglicanism. Anglicans in those days seemed to me better Christians, more pious, and leading simple lives, reading the Bible and living thriftly and thinking highly. They also had better priests and no with the hypcresy and double standards that we are used to in the Catholic Church. That was part of the magia, perhaps Anglicanism, of the English Sunday, singing Psalms at the Eucharist, read the papers, wringing the clock. English people loved peace and quiet of their Sundays as the Jews are fond of their Sabbats.

I also liked the simple liturgy of the High Church. Anglicans in general dont mingle religion with politics, they never discuss throne and altar as the head of their church, their real Pope is the Queen. They are very practical people. As the matter of fact this precludes my caveats and my misgivings in connection with the recent visit of Benedictus XVI to the British Isles reported wit c ertain bombast. Anglicans the word comes from angels and English is Engels like in German. They like peace and quiet and not to be disturbed. Rome can’t put the clock back to the XVI Century. What happened jus it did happen indeed.

Of course, bishops there had their preventions toward ordanation of women, parsons that are queer, etc and in the middle of the debacle turn their eyes to Rome. But catholic priests are also in the duldrums. The Pope is not entitled to pontiphicate in a land like in England. The Vatican had to cure its own wounds. Paedophilia is not a phenomenon. It is structural in the Roman Church which needs a reform and is in more confussion that the Anglicans.

Those priests who abused choirboys and maidens to condem them is not enough. Action is more necessary than words. The whole church needs to be rebuilt anew from its own foundations. We need new priests and and a new idea of what ministry and cure of souls is.

 Celibacy?

 To certain point but why cant fathers of family or even grandfathers can’t be granted orders?

 That shall calm down the scandal and abuse. Presbiters are ordained too young.

 Newman?

A bit silly willy-willy Victorian priest disintanched.

 Ratzinger?

He has a queer voice and certain mannerism in his demeanour?

Why did he go to London?

The power and the glory. The caves of the Vatican need money. He knelt down to the throne of the bankers of the city. He went to pay hommage to the Rothschild. The whole journey was an exercise of public relations and a big paraphernalia.

 Oh Pailing, that poor lad from Yorkshire, you opened the eyes to me. Why do we need popes?

I dont know if we need Popes, but we need saints on the Church of Christ

 But still we need Latin, my dear friend, just to read that wonderful text of the “Vita Rustica”. That was “gaudium et vita honesta”. I loved that rural England you know, just as much as I distrust certain priests and recent Popes. they prefer the power and the glory of fame to the narrow door.

24/09/2010