Mary Kenny“gay people are surely part of God’s plan too”, writes Mary Kenny
There is some criticism on social media about Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s insufficiently energetic support for the ‘no’ side in the same-sex marriage referendum.
Dr Martin was really between the devil and the deep blue sea. If he had been more affirmative in urging the faithful to vote ‘no’, there would have been an even greater torrent of abuse about the Catholic Church ‘meddling’ in politics.
If he had said nothing at all, he’d have been regarded as cowardly – outpaced by the only woman bishop in the Church of Ireland, the Rev. Pat Storey of Derry, who came out for a ‘no’ vote.
On the whole, I think what Dr Martin said carried the right balance of gentleness and principle. A Christian Church must adhere to the tradition that marriage is between a man and a woman, if it is to stand for anything.
But gay people are surely part of God’s plan too, and many gay individuals are devout and good Christians, and their sensibilities must be respected.
However, despite Diarmuid Martin’s tact and care, he will receive criticism from those who felt he didn’t defend their values – there are an awful lot of people in rural Ireland who are bewildered and disappointed by the outcome of the referendum – and still he will have to read gloating reports from the liberal media at home and abroad about this being such a resounding defeat for the power of the Catholic Church, and by implication, his stewardship.
That is the way of the world – and indeed, the way of the Gospel. Take up your cross and follow Me.
Separation of Church and state
Returning to England after the briefest weekend trip home, I ran into a Catholic priest friend ministering in the City of London. A cheery fellow with a busy church – there are plenty of Catholics, it seems, in the Square Mile of London’s financial district who like to avail of a regular weekday Mass – Fr Peter believes that the future of the Church is to disentangle itself completely from registry duties imposed by the state. There’s a whole lot of bureaucratic malarkey imposed by such paperwork anyway.
“We should all move towards the situation which obtains in France: let the state do all its own paperwork and bureaucracy with registering civil marriage and separate it entirely from the religious ceremony.”
This, he feels, will enable people to concentrate on the spiritual in the spiritual realm, and protect the Church from state pressure to comply with secular values.
This idea has been suggested in Ireland already and it seems to me to be well worth considering.
Some voices say that the Church should get out of politics: there is also an argument that the politicians, and the state, should get out of what pertains to the Church.
That appears in the New Testament too.
Ryanair’s profits rose by an unexpected two-thirds over the last financial year, partly, it seems, as a result of a ‘charm offensive’ towards its customers.
Goodness gracious me! I hope they teach this at the Harvard Business School – that being polite and considerate to people actually helps the wheels of commerce.
Maybe Mr Michael O’Leary will now proceed towards the Sermon on the Mount and the wonderful passage in St Matthew’s Gospel where we are enjoined to be gentle and turn the other cheek.
Pope setting example with no TV
Pope Francis has given some excellent example to parents when he says that he hasn’t watched TV for 25 years.
My daughter-in-law also imposed strict rules on the grandchildren about television: as young children, they were simply not allowed to watch it at all.
Occasionally, a specially selected DVD perhaps. But no regular telly.
Emma had a strong theory that TV can distort the “neural paths” in the brains of young children.
Grandparents are often more indulgent than parents, and there have been times when, returning from an energetic park playground with the little ones, my first instinct was to flop down in a cosy chair, make a cup of tea and turn on the telly for the kids’ amusement. Many’s the time I resorted to this easy option with my own children.
But mothers-in-law must also obey the childcare rules set out by daughters-in-law, and so, I duly read them a story or embarked on a jigsaw puzzle.
And, as the two girls are now of school age, I see the benefits of ‘no TV’. They love books and doing active and creative things for themselves. They see TV occasionally, but they don’t turn to it as the entertainment of first resort.
Pope Francis is absolutely on the button about this. More difficult to rule out the internet: many jobs are now dependent on using the internet.
But not, for the moment, the role of Pontiff.