Michael Kelly: Papal visit offers opportunity for calm reflection

Published on Wednesday 8 September 2010 13:20

If it approaches the aftermath in the correct way, the Catholic Church has an even better opportunity to strengthen the faith of its Scottish adherents as a result of the forthcoming Papal visit than it had in 1982.

Then the idea of a Pope daring to break free from the prison of the Vatican to tour the world was a novelty. In addition the wearer of the Ring of the Fisherman, a Pole was a refreshing change from the series of Italians who had dominated the office for years. And this Pope had charisma.

So, all the conditions were right for his visit to Scotland to be sensationally successful.

People like myself who were in Bellahouston Park on that sunny day were carried away on a wave of emotion that had as much to do with the dominating personality of John Paul II as it had to do with genuine and deep-seated religious revival.

There was also a feeling of release that Catholics were being recognised as full members of society when they felt the goodwill extended to them by the vast majority of non-Catholic Scots. Catholics may not have become more holy as a result of the visit. They certainly became more confident.

The success of next week's visit is going to be much more difficult to pull off. This time the details of the visit have received much more critical attention from the media.

Then, the media was overwhelmingly positive, possibly not wanting to appear anti-Catholic. Now in an era where that discrimination has disappeared, the press, including some heavy-weights, have been tabloid-like in their exposing of every little mistake in the organisation of the visit.

Much of it seems petty. Thus the twenty pounds entrance fee was not presented in my parish as that at all.

The total cost of the number of tickets we had been allocated was announced. We were told that was to be met by donation from parishioners and a good old Sale of Work.

No individual parishioner, rich or poor was asked directly to hand over any money. Again there was talk yesterday of tickets being handed back. We had to ask for more than our allocation as demand outstripped supply.

But the negative stories have had the effect of dampening down expectations.

There are also issues that greatly concern Catholics, such as the Church's tardy response to the appalling cases of child abuse.

An increasingly sceptical and questioning laity can no longer be bought off by excuses that might have served in the past.

We are living in a secular society and the space given to scientists such as Richard Dawkins with his beautifully argued theses against religion cannot but have had an influence on those who believe in God.

However, maybe they have just overstepped the mark.Dawkins claim that religion is a force for evil, starting wars and persecuting unbelievers may have identified an excuse but not a cause.

The atheistic USSR, China and North Korea were and are prepared to perpetrate similar human rights abuses. It is the nature of man that is the cause, not faith in a particular god.

And Stephen Hawking's latest contention of eternal laws creating a continuous multiverse goes halfway to recognising the Christian "everlasting". Christians can add an intelligent dimension to that to make God. What can Hawking offer? Nothing yet.

But this questioning, discussion and controversy is wonderfully stimulating. And a society that spends increasing time arguing these ideas must be a good society.

The Church must not be afraid of science but embrace its advances integrating its morality with it.

No Catholic is asked to believe that the world is only 10,000 years old. Increasingly thinking Catholics are relating advances in genetics and other fields to the definition of human life. Just as it eventually accepted the theories of Galileo the Church must adjust its views in the light of today's science.

This comes down to education, the importance of which the Church has always emphasised by its vehement defence of Catholic schools.

These are not like the crazy Christian faith schools in the United States where Creationism is taught to the exclusion of Evolution. They teach conventional subjects in a conventional way and results suggest they do it as well as any other schools. But there is a belief among grandparents (my generation) that faith is not taught as rigorously as before and that today's pupils are not as acquainted with the doctrines and traditions of the Church as we were.

There is also a specific matter that parents are increasingly raising - at least in parts of Glasgow. That is the large proportion of Muslims attending Catholic schools and being allowed to practise Islam rather than Christianity.While this is welcomed as charitable and ecumenical, it is seen as endangering the very Catholic ethos that is at the root of separate schools.

How the Church - and State - solves this will require great delicacy, for the exclusion of Muslims would lead to stronger calls from them for their own schools. And few in Scotland would want that.

In these pages yesterday the Catholic hierarchy gave a sober assessment of the likely impact of the Pope's visit. But its relatively low-key nature is perhaps more conducive to religious reflection than the glamorous, personality centred nature of the visit of John Paul II. His visits throughout the world inevitably had large doses of show business imposed upon them.

Benedict XVI does not pretend to pop star qualities. He is an intellectual who can ably defend Catholic beliefs.He will be using his visits not to raise the profile of the Church but to preach fundamental messages.

If these are seen to be the corner stone of the visit and if they can be carried into every parish by meaningful sermon and into every Catholic school. Through a strengthened programme of religious education the visit can produce long-lasting effects on the daily lives of Catholics here. But that is down to the indigenous clergy. It will be hard work.