(Tridentine South Africa)

Analytical short article by Marc Aupiais

Recently, it has been confirmed, that the pope does in fact plan to
visit the United kingdom, an influential European country. The visit,
will probably happen around September this year. What has caused a lot
of attention in the public domain recently, is the pope's comments on
the British government, considered by local media in Great Britain: to
be a direct or indirect attack on Great Britain's ruling Labour Party.

Catholic media, has additionally noted Pope Benedict XVI's statements,
which were made to the Bishops of England and Wales to be a rebuke of
the Bishops themselves. The issue of concern is a clash between
homosexualist interests and those of the church. Great Britain recently
forced Catholic adoption agencies to choose between adhering to
Catholic principles which put the interests of children first, by
denying homosexual couples adoption rights: as a child preferably needs
a father and mother: and closing down their operations, or allowing
homosexuals to adopt children in Catholic orphanages, famous for the
extra work they do for society. More recently, the Labour party has
attempted to introduce a bill to force the Catholic church to allow
homosexual and women priests and bishops, and to not discriminate
against homosexuals as youth workers or school principles. The bill,
due to ardent campaigning has failed as yet to pass.

The Pope firstly congratulated Great Britain on its pursuit of
equality, as he claimed was perceived as its reputation among many in
the world, and then claimed that Great Britain was violating the right
to religious freedom. He claimed that pushes by the British legislators
via equality legislation, in fact violated natural law. In context, all
of this was said to the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales: on their
compulsory Ad Limina visit to the Vatican, in which they were to report
to the pope and confer with him about their mission in Great Britain.
In further context, while secular media has mostly focussed on the
pope's attack on the Labour party, Catholic analysts specializing in
these matters, have clearly noted the pope's statements in the context
of an open public rebuke of the British bishops.

The Pope called efforts by the British Labour lead government
violations of "natural law", which he noted as the basis for equality
among men. Unlike secular services who have largely misunderstood the
concept of natural law as used by Benedict XVI, as a foundation block
of South Africa's common law, and of Catholic thinking, I might note
that the pope was not simply calling British legislation against the
church, or sin. He was in fact calling it against natural reason, and
against basic human rights, and legal concepts. Natural law is not seen
as a theological law, but rather as the law binding all men,
essentially, as reason and reasonable behaviour. Natural law, is in
fact, as the pope attests indirectly: the basis of human rights and we
might separately note, it is a basis of the concept of the United
Nations. The pope's attack on the legislative campaign of the Labour
party, was in fact much more serious an attack than reported in press.
He was essentially calling the legislative scheme criminal.

Labour recently caused the closure of many catholic adoption agencies,
due to their refusal to give homosexual couples the children they had
in their care. According to an editorial by a homosexual in the Daily
Mail, the British Government adoption houses give homosexuals first
pick of the children needing adoption, and there was no logical purpose
in forcing religious specialist adoption agencies, known for their
extra efforts, to close down. Labour, effectively made it illegal to
discriminate against adoptive parents, due to their incompatibility
with Catholic morality. The Bishops of England and Wales, however, did
not put up a united front on the issue, as with many other issues. Many
in Catholic media view the British bishops' conference, as one which is
not entirely loyal to either the Vatican, or the magisteriam of the
church. Some have seen many bishops as complicit in the campaign Labour
has already launched against the Catholic Church and religion in
general.

Damien Thompson, blogs editor of the telegraph group, and widely
considered the best source on British Catholicism, despite his, or
perhaps due to his conservative attitude, seems to believe that the
pope in fact was noting the views one bishop in particular, who had
criticized his fellow bishops. We at South African Catholic News
Service, have often observed Benedict XVI directly or indirectly
quoting local bishops in such circumstances, and think this may well be
the case.

According to Damien, writing on his Telegraph Media group blog, the
pope was basing much of his commentary on the views of Bishop Patrick
O’Donoghue, who he says criticized the Bishops of England and Wales for
failing to uphold orthodoxy. Their seemingly divided response on issues
that the papacy considers non-negotiable, may well be partially the
focus of an address which did praise the Bishops and Britain a bit, but
not much, and which was unusually blatant for a papal address. Often
these statements in general are veiled quite deeply, but the intentions
of the pope are here quite clear.

Even the Guardian, known for its intense dislike for Catholic religion
and morality, has published criticism of the British government, and
much of the British press, believed to have turned on Gordon Brown,
have come out opposing the recent attempt to even further limit freedom
of religion in great Britain. The pope's statements on morals, which
affect public life and politics have certainly also made a splash,
perhaps one which will stifle the legislative attacks of Labour's
leadership death throws before the next election. Determining how
social activist or religious groups, societies for the common good and
democracy govern themselves- so far as social issues are concerned, has
been seen by some as a severe violation of freedom of association, and
therefore of principles of freedom of thought and participation in
democracy.

In accordance with the concept of subsidiarity, it is unusual for the
pope to directly intervene with legislative schemes. Abortionist,
pro-homosexuality and feminist and secularist groups who were already
going to protest the papal visit planned to Britain, are now noting
even more so that they will be protesting. Included in the protests:
films about Catholic sex abuse, which will certainly cheer up these
sexual revolution protesters. Also being protested by secularists, is
the bill for the papal visit. Not noted by the BBC and the like, is the
fact that the pope is a head of a European state, due all pomp and
ceremony. What is also not mentioned is that the pope has decided to
cut back on what pomp and ceremony he is offered when he visits Britain.

As a front line between practical religious secularism, and
secularists, Great Britain is certainly an important place to watch. In
a world, where leadership is increasingly more important than mere
titles and positions in governments, the Pope's statements have been
able to reignite important debate in Great Britain. His rebuke of some
of his bishops, who he has stated, he desires to united behind
orthodoxy, and whom he has said must continue to debate public issues
in a civilized and respectful manner will also not go unnoticed. We may
well begin to see some thorough debate in the catholic Church in
England and Wales, where it has often been reported that those desiring
to better obey the Pope, are stifled by the local church hierarchy.

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Posted By scripturelink to Tridentine South (And Southern) Africa at
2/03/2010 08:30:00 PM