february 2013 issue no 226 - open house scotland › pdfs › oh_2013_02_february_low.pdf ·...

February 2013Issue No 226£2.50

Making a difference: churches’ global links

Challenging times for ecumenism

Participation of Catholics in public life

Editorial

2 OPEN HOUSE February 2013

Richard Holloway rose from Alexandria in the Vale of Leven to become Bishop of Edinburgh and Episcopal Primus (Open House 120). After he retired he left the church and declared himself an agnostic. He said he thought christians were a miserable bunch of buggers. Until recently Catholics wouldn’t have thought of themselves as christians in that sense, killjoys. We had the continental Sunday, there were more of us in jail, etc. Calvinist Scotland entirely eradicated the fun around the

Latin Mardi Gras. England managed at least to keep Shrovetide and Pancake Tuesday. For most of us Carnival was when the circus came to town, especially at Christmas. However Catholics have contributed to religious misery by a negative presentation of Lent. It is the time to give up things, mainly sweeties and booze. Not many resolutions last the 40 days. Then there is confession. Or there used to be.The masks of Mardi Gras disguise its deeper meaning.

Nothing is what it seems. Flesh can mean anything. The poor can become rich. The rich can lose everything. Hey, let’s celebrate the passing things of earth while we may! There’s a healthy secular element to this. Life is a circus. We should enjoy the Feast of Fools. This should be recognised before we offer a possible religious response

to the vanities of the world. We need a more healthy, a more spiritual Lent. The place

to start is with a celebration of Mardi Gras as Carnival in the sense of carne-vale, a temporary but necessary respite from the pleasures of the flesh. Before the challenge of reconciling ourselves to ourselves, to others and to God.The classical aspects of Lent are prayer, penance and

almsgiving. These could easily be translated into modern terms. Meditation, dieting and fundraising are increasingly popular. They are things everyone knows we need. Many would like encouragement to try them. SCIAF and now Mary’s Meals have shown their community aspects. Lent could be such a gift to the world.Recently Kevin McKenna alleged that the Catholic Church

in Scotland is being taken over by Opus Dei types who give the impression that we are agin everything. Pope Benedict has warned us about this. He has commented on the secular aspects of Christian praxis. Let’s reclaim Carnival and celebrate Mardi Gras. If you have anything left over from Christmas enjoy it now. Or share it out before Ash Wednesday. Then let’s join everyone in getting off the sweet stuff, giving away the money we save and finding time for a bit of reflection on what we are called to be.

Fortunately, there is no longer anything secret about Scotland’s secret shame. The introduction of anti-sectarian legislation in Scotland in the last few years represents for many a public acknowledgement of the sins of the past and a clear message that sectarianism has no place in a modern Scotland.If the intention of the Catholic Media Office was to

stimulate debate on the evils of sectarianism then its recent intervention has misfired. The badly judged and poorly argued comparison between the experiences of Scottish Catholics with that of Black Americans during the period of the Civil Rights movement means that the messenger not the message has become the focus of the debate. Professor Tom Devine sought to give an historical context based on the facts and argued that in terms of social integration and employment opportunities the comparison was baseless. The letters pages and opinion pieces in the national press filled with those agreeing with Professor Devine’s analysis.Faith communities should publicly participate in debate

about how our society functions. They have a role to play in being a voice for the voiceless and shining a light into corners of society which would otherwise remain unexposed. Archbishop’s Tartaglia’s support for asylum

seekers in his Christmas message is welcome in that regard.This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of

the Vatican II document on social communications Inter Mirifica. This, the briefest of all the documents, published before the technical revolution of internet, summarised the essential concern of the Catholic Church that social media should be used responsibly for the common good and enhance the ministry of the church in its mission to preach the gospel. The church has enthusiastically participated in mass communications in the 50 years since Inter Mirifica - perhaps too enthusiastically. The recent debate has prompted many to ask who is

speaking for the church in Scotland. Journalists hungry for copy and racing to meet a deadline prefer the succinct and unambiguous, and the Catholic Media Office all too often obliges. In recent years we have had public pronouncements on a range of subjects from the Da Vinci Code to the crass humour of football officials. This tendency to react and be quotable blurs the line between Catholic teaching and the point of view of one small group in a particular time and place. Could it be that the ‘Opus Dei types’ have stepped into a vacuum created by changes in the hierarchy, and it is their views that we are hearing?

The masks of Mardi Gras

Who speaks for the church?

Lenten practice

February 2013 OPEN HOUSE 3

Every year during Lent, SCIAF (the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) invites people across Scotland to live more simply so that others might simply live, by giving something up, sharing what they save, and supporting efforts to end world poverty. The agency’s communications officer explains how the WEE BOX BIG Change campaign reflects SCIAF’s approach to international development.

VAL MORGAN

Living simply in Lent

Contents

3 Lent with SCIAF Val Morgan

6 Church of Scotland’s HIV journey

Robin Hill

8 Ecumenism today Sheilagh M Kesting and

Stephen Smyth

12 Catholics and democracy Newman talk

14 The forgotten rebel Florence Boyle

17 The power of words Mary Cullen

19 Reviews: Film, books

23 Letters

24 Moments in Time

Thank you to all who contributed to this edition of Open House. Please send letters and contributions for the March edition to [email protected] by 22 February. Articles should be no more than 1200 words and reviews no more than 800. Good quality photos are welcome.

Cover photo: Thomas Omondi/SCIAF

Claude Manirambona is a 22-year-old man from Burundi, a small nation in east Africa. It is a little-known country with a violent history, including a civil war which ran from 1993 until 2005. As a young boy Claude saw his father being murdered and lost many close family members. Grieving, hungry, homeless and desperate, he became a child soldier.Such a life is filled will trauma

and fear. For Claude, it involved taking part in raids, stealing to survive, and killing, or risking being killed, by leaders on his own side. When Claude eventually left the rebel group he had joined, he sought to leave his violent past behind. Then one day, he came face-to-face with the man who had killed his father.People like Claude were not

abandoned. Organisations like SCIAF’s partners in Burundi, Nduwamahoro (which literally means ‘I am for peace’) and Agakura, an agricultural training project, help many survive their tragic past.Nduwamahoro provided

training in peacebuilding and conflict resolution which enabled

Claude to work through his feelings of anger and revenge and make peace with his father’s murderer. Claude is now living a peaceful and productive life with his wife Espérance and their baby daughter Inès. He said: ‘Nduwamahoro has planted seeds in the community and they are starting to blossom. There used to be a lot of conflict but Nduwamahoro has taught us not to be selfish and to try to see things from others’ point of view because things are not always black and white. Nduwamahoro

has taught us to love each other and to try to find peaceful solutions to our problems. Now I am teaching these things to others’.As the Catholic Church’s official

Without peace, schools and hospitals cannot be built,

small businesses struggle to make money, and people

cannot work in their fields for fear of being attacked or stepping on landmines.

development agency in Scotland, SCIAF knows that peace is often the first step on the road to development. Without peace basic infrastructure such as schools and hospitals cannot be built, local people with small businesses struggle to make money if it is not safe to travel to markets, and people cannot work in their fields for fear of being attacked or stepping on landmines.That is why promoting peace and

justice in local communities in countries such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, is a core part of SCIAF’s work. The next step is giving people the help they need to support themselves. That can take the form of providing seeds, tools

and training to grow and sell food; giving people a small loan; or training them in tailoring, engineering, or making crafts from

waste products. SCIAF’s focus is on providing a hand up, not a hand out.

SCIAF helps change lives in 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. As well as supporting long term sustainable development, it provides care through its local partner organisations for people living with HIV and AIDS, and supports community education, especially among young people, on prevention. Through its membership of the Caritas Internationalis network of 163 Catholic aid agencies around the world, SCIAF is mandated by the Church to provide emergency aid like food, water, medicines and temporary shelters when disasters strike, such as the Haiti earthquake and recent drought in countries like Ethiopia and Kenya.With nearly 50 years of

experience, SCIAF and its partners across the world continue to listen to people in developing countries, and act effectively and efficiently to help bring about positive change.SCIAF’s holistic approach to

development is strengthened by its work in education and its advocacy on the political and economic decisions which cause and sustain poverty. By raising awareness and encouraging Scots to make their views known to governments and businesses, SCIAF aims to influence government policy and corporate behaviour on issues such as international trade rules, tax evasion, access to land and resources, and transparency in government and business practice in developing countries. SCIAF’s campaigns on climate

change, mining in Zambia, sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the need to maintain the Scottish Government’s budget for international development have helped change the lives of many more people than it can reach through support for its partners’ work on the ground alone. Advocacy and campaigning, often undertaken in partnership with other organisations, focus on the


By raising awareness and encouraging Scots to make

their views known to governments and

businesses, SCIAF aims to influence government policy and corporate

behaviour.

From Scotland with love. Photo: Thomas Omondi.

root causes of poverty. They reflect the need for large scale and urgent action in a world where one in eight people go hungry every day.SCIAF is a leading Scottish

member of the new UK-wide campaign on global hunger, Enough Food for Everyone IF. It brings together over 100 development organisations and faith groups to call on Prime Minister David Cameron to use the UK’s presidency of the G8 this year to tackle the root causes of global hunger. Its demands include stopping corporate tax evasion, promoting sustainable land use for food crops, honouring the UK’s aid commitments to the poor and calling for greater government and corporate transparency. It will be the biggest campaign of its kind since Make Poverty History, and aims to be the beginning of the end of the global hunger crisis which has resulted in almost a billion

people without enough food to live on.It’s no coincidence that the

approaching 50th anniversary of SCIAF’s foundation coincides with the 50th anniversary of the publication of Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Its famous opening lines, The joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ, in many ways encompass SCIAF’s vision, mission and values. SCIAF and its sister agencies in the Caritas Internationalis family were established to be a manifestation of the Church’s mission to create a more just world. Supporting SCIAF is one way we

can put our faith into action, and the Year of Faith, which marks the

anniversary of the first Council sessions, might encourage us to renew our commitment. All the strands of SCIAF’s mission: its work in schools and parishes across Scotland, its support for poor communities overseas, and its advocacy for change, are drawn together in its WEE BOX, BIG Change campaign in Lent. With the focus this year on Burundi and Claude’s remarkable story of change, we are invited to make it part of our Lenten practice. SCIAF has produced a selection of prayers, Stations of the Cross written by Fr John Bollan, a children’s liturgy for the fourth Sunday of Lent and a reflection video to accompany and enrich our journey through Lent. Visit www.sciaf.org.uk.

Val Morgan is the media and communications officer for SCIAF.


A new report warns that if action isn’t taken now, hunger and malnutrition will trap almost a billion children in poverty by 2025. It also states that in a world where there is enough food for everyone, the scandal of children growing up hungry will impose a grave economic burden on the developing world, costing £78 billion over the next 15 years.

The campaign calls on Prime Minister David Cameron to use the UK’s G8 presidency in 2013 to take action on the root causes of the hunger crisis in the poorest countries. The ‘IF’ movement challenges the Prime Minister to tackle four big IFs to make sure there is enough food for everyone:

IF we stop poor farmers being forced off their land, and use the available agricultural land to grow food for people, not biofuels for cars.

IF governments keep their promises on aid, invest to stop children dying from malnutrition and help the poorest people feed themselves through investment in small farmers.

IF governments close loopholes to stop big companies dodging tax in poor countries, so that millions of people can free themselves from hunger.

IF we force governments and investors to be honest and open about the deals they make in the poorest countries that stop people getting enough food.

The campaign is also calling for Scotland to play its part in creating a world free from hunger by taking action in five key areas; land, tax, aid, transparency and education. Copies of the Scottish recommendations can be downloaded at www.enoughfoodif.org/scotland


At first, questions were raised. Why should the Church single out one virus for attention when it might just as easily go for other killers, like TB, malaria, meningitis? What good could one small fund do to counter a vast wave of suffering in which so many millions of men, women and children had already become caught up? And, of course, there was the big sexual ethics question: by funding in certain situations the distribution of condoms to people at high risk of contracting the virus, would the

Church not be open to the charge of encouraging promiscuity?In the early days of the Project’s

work, these questions kept re-emerging. Yet, as our partners reported back to us, and as word of so many small-scale success stories reached the ears of church members, certain key truths were realised.For a start, folk came to see that

HIV is more than a virus. In addition to attacking a person’s immune system, it also attacks their self-image, their sense of worth,

perhaps even their place in family life and wider society. Again and again, whether in Edinburgh or Ekwendeni, people who had been diagnosed HIV+ were becoming the objects of other people’s stigmatising actions. Young people might be expelled from school, those of working age might find themselves unemployed. Mothers who passed HIV to their new-born babies might be reviled as immoral.Encountering such instances of

stigma, it is little surprise that many people the world over found themselves facing not only declining personal health, but also increasing levels of personal insecurity.But really, what good could one

small fund do to help people living with the virus? Working with partner churches in Africa, Asia and the Middle East (as well as with groups based here in Scotland) our Project was quick to identify many excellent examples of initiatives designed to deal with HIV at local level. This might involve education, community health care training, small group work, income generation or advocacy. All sorts of plans were put forward, with the most promising benefiting from small-scale funding of perhaps £10,000-£12,000 spread over three years. Before long, our partners were reporting back to tell us of their successes and their future plans.

HIV and AIDS

Exactly 10 years ago the Church of Scotland HIV/AIDS Project came into being. Its purposes: to provide a mechanism for awareness-raising and fund-raising across an entire denomination, and to provide assistance to partner agencies in Scotland and other parts of the world. The convener of the church’s HIV programme reflects on the journey so far.

ROBIN HILL

A hard battle worth the fight

Maria from Ekwedeni, Malawi. Photo: Church of Scotland.


The sexual ethics issue is one which continued to be raised with the Church of Scotland HIV/AIDS Project throughout much of its first decade, and it is easy to see why. On the one hand, any funding of condom distribution schemes presupposes sexual activity, much of which might be expected to be extra-marital, cutting across the Church’s centuries’ old line on abstinence outside marriage and fidelity within it. On the other hand, however, there emerged a new recognition that all around the globe extra-marital sex is an inescapable reality in many people’s lives. What is a church to do when dealing with, for example, a young, vulnerable woman who is at risk of contracting the virus from abusive partners or uncaring clients? While the question of promoting abstinence alone still remains on many people’s agendas, for others the argument is somewhat more nuanced. Surely we should help to protect a young person from a life of HIV infection through the simple and inexpensive step of condom provision while - crucially - coupling this with education and advice on wise lifestyle choices for the long term. Where possible, of course, there might be a third line of attack which might be the most important of all: providing economic opportunity to enable people to build their lives on a more solid foundation.In recent times, the Church of

Scotland has recognised that its work in the area of HIV requires something more permanent than merely a ‘project.’ The word, after all, conjures up images of primary school activities which last a few weeks and then come to a sudden close. So, in January 2011, our work was taken on by a body whose name hopefully speaks of something altogether more long-lasting: The Church of Scotland HIV Programme. This title

contained within it another interesting change, with ‘HIV/AIDS’ being shortened to ‘HIV’ alone. The justification for this move is to be found in the fact that AIDS, in some parts of the world at least, is now less of a public health policy issue than it had once been.

Through the late 20th century there was little doubt that HIV would only ever lead on to AIDS, with AIDS in turn leading on to death. (Picture those publicly funded advertisements featuring despair-laden head stones and icebergs, and you will recall the kind of dramatic message which the British Government was keen to convey at the time).Today, the development and

responsible use of antiretroviral (ARV) medication has transformed the expectations of those who are HIV+. No longer is a diagnosis of HIV a necessary death sentence hanging over a person for years. No longer is there the certainty that AIDS will inevitably follow and, with it, premature death. Rather, people now speak with real hopefulness of “living positively” with HIV. It has also been shown that those taking ARVs are 96% less likely to pass on the virus to their partners. Thanks to remarkable scientific breakthroughs, coupled with ambitious schemes to distribute ARVs to all who need them, irrespective of ability to pay, the battle against HIV has entered a new and highly promising phase.Still, as if to counter this good

news, many major challenges remain. Governments struggling to balance their books at home see the financing of ARV schemes overseas as too low a priority to contemplate. Even though fewer than half of all those people who are HIV+ currently have access to medication, it seems that economic factors may well inhibit further distribution of these greatly-needed drugs. For those without them, the outlook remains as bleak as ever it was in the 1980s.Meanwhile, with global food

prices rocketing, another major difficulty appears over the horizon. ARVs need a reliable supply of high quality food if they are to work to their fullest extent. Taken to extremes, a lack of food will result in the complete failure of the medicine, leaving some of the world’s poorest HIV+ people vulnerable to the onset of AIDS, even if they have the highly sought after pills in their hands.Since 2003, the Church of

Scotland has travelled far in its HIV journey. It may have taken some time, but congregations throughout the country have come to embrace what we stand for as a firm and demonstrable working out of the Gospel. Over one million pounds have been raised by them, with every penny benefiting partner projects near and far.Much requires to be done if the

battle against HIV is to be waged and won. It will not be quick and it will not be easy, but this war is one which needs to be fought, and fought with real commitment.

The Rev Dr Robin Hill is convener of the Church of Scotland HIV Programme and minister of Gladsmuir linked with Longniddry in East Lothian. To find out more about the Programme and its work, simply key the name into a search engine.

Today, the development and responsible use of

antiretroviral (ARV) medication has transformed

the expectations of those who are HIV+.


Unitatis Redintegratio, the Vatican II document on ecumenism, is one of the shorter Council documents: only 24 articles in 13 pages of text and three of footnotes. While few people may be familiar with the actual text, those with ecumenical interests and sensitivities will be familiar with the ideals, issues and language. The Council offers guidance and encouragement for all Catholics to engage in ecumenical prayer and activity. The document begins by stating ‘The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council’.Chapter 1 ‘The Catholic

Principles on Ecumenism’ (articles 2-4) reminds us of the revelation of God’s love in Christ, of Christ’s prayer for unity, the gift of the Eucharist, the great commandment and the promise of the Holy Spirit. It recalls the apostolic line from Peter to the bishops led by Peter’s successor. There were divisions within the

church even from the very beginning and more serious divisions later. The document recognises that ‘men of both sides

were to blame’. It says that those ‘who believe in Christ and have been truly baptised are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect’.

The Catholic Church recognises ‘significant elements’ of church within other communities. The Ecumenical Movement is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is a sign of our times. Catholics are called to engage ecumenically - attentive to the guidance of their bishops. The Catholic Church itself needs renewal and the failures of its members recognised. Catholics are called to ‘preserve unity in essentials’; in all things to ‘let charity prevail’; and to recognise the riches of Christ in other Christian traditions.

Chapter 2 ‘The Practice of Ecumenism’ (articles 5-12) makes the ‘attainment of union’ a responsibility of the whole Church, faithful and shepherds alike. It calls the Church to continual reformation, giving examples of both failures and signs of hope. Ecumenism requires a change of heart and repentance. The Council states: ‘...we humbly beg pardon of God and of our separated brethren, just as we forgive them that trespass against us’. Prayer for Christian unity is the ‘soul’ of the ecumenical movement and called ‘spiritual ecumenism’. Christians are encouraged to get to know one another’s history, spirituality and liturgical life better. The ecumenical formation of the clergy is key in this regard. There is a need for deep dialogue, involving both clarity of Catholic teaching and the concept of the ‘hierarchy of truths’. The chapter closes with a call to work together with ‘all those who believe in God, but most of all, all Christians in that they bear the name of Christ’.Chapter 3 ‘Churches and Ecclesial

Communities Separated from the Roman Apostolic See’ (articles

Church unity

Committed ecumenical activists from the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church share their insights on the Second Vatican Council’s document on ecumenism and evaluate how far we have travelled in Scotland today.

SHEILAGH M KESTING & STEPHEN SMYTH

Challenging times for ecumenism today

Christians are encouraged to get to know one

another’s history, spirituality and liturgical life better.

The ecumenical formation of the clergy is key in

this regard.


13-23) deals with the great divisions between the churches of the East and West and within the Western churches. It makes special mention of the relationship of the Catholic Church with the Anglican Communion. Articles 14-18 focus on the closer

relationships between the Catholic and Eastern Churches, whom it calls ‘sister churches’. Important elements include tradition, liturgy, Mary and the saints, Eucharist and sacramental life, apostolic succession and church life. There is recognition of diversity in custom and observances and a complementarity of theological expressions. The section concludes with a reiteration of the Catholic Church’s desire for closer unity, including: ‘...that for the restoration or the maintenance of unity and communion it is necessary “to impose no burden beyond what is essential”’.Articles 19-23 deal with the more

complicated relationships between the Catholic Church and the Churches, or Ecclesial Communities, of the West. Key difficulties include: the diversity of interpretations of revealed truth and doctrine, particularly regarding the Scriptures, the Eucharist and some moral questions. At the same time, the Catholic Church recognises within these communities their deep faith in Christ, love of the Scriptures, and the witness of their prayer and daily lives. The significance of Baptism is stressed: Baptism ‘establishes a sacramental bond of unity’ and looks forward to the ‘finally complete ingrafting in eucharistic communion’.The document ends with an

almost abrupt final article of just four paragraphs. Having set out

the principles for Catholic ecumenical engagement, the Council looks ‘with confidence to the future’ but ‘exhorts the faithful to refrain from superficiality and imprudent zeal, which can hinder real progress towards unity’. It also encourages Catholics to work closely with other Christians so that ‘no obstacle be put in the way of divine Providence and no preconceived judgements impair the future inspirations of the Holy Spirit’.

The language of the documentClearly, the language of the

document reflects the period in which the document was written: people are referred to in the masculine and the church in the feminine. This style pertains in Catholic documents today, while many other contemporary writers use more inclusive terms. The document refers to other

churches mainly as ‘separated brethren’. It also variously describes them as: churches, sister churches, ecclesial communities, communities, imperfect or deficient. When describing the attributes or activities of other churches the language is often ‘reserved’ or ‘qualified’, for example: ‘can truly engender a life of grace’ or ‘must be regarded as being capable’ or ‘the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation’ (n 3); or ‘their form of worship sometimes displays notable forms of the liturgy’ (n 23). This latter language may have

indicated a step forward in Catholic thinking in the 1960s. They are still used in ‘technical’ terms by the Church today as in the recent ‘Responses to Some Questions regarding certain

aspects of the Doctrine of the Church’ (CDF, 27 June 2007). However, with the development, deepening and frequent warmth of ecumenical relations among the churches, it is not hard to understand why fellow Christians can find some Catholic terminology harsh and uncompromising.Some particular cautions stood

out in the document. While encouraging common prayer for Christian unity, ‘worship in common ... is not to be considered as a means to be used indiscriminately’ (n 8). The issue here may be about what is understood as ‘prayer’ and what as ‘worship’ in different traditions. Another caution refers to ‘false irenicism’ where purity of Catholic doctrine or certainty of meaning is ‘clouded’ (n 11). Another, already mentioned, is to ‘refrain from superficiality and imprudent zeal, which can hinder the progress towards unity’ (n 24). This cautious approach continues to inform Catholic ecumenical engagement. After fifty years, many seasoned ecumenists still find this caution disappointing. For some, there is a sense that the vision they forged in the 1960s and through subsequent decades has failed to produce solid ecumenical fruit. A further concern is that there is tendency for documents from the Vatican only to reference other Vatican documents and not the ecumenically agreed texts e.g. Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry or the Roman Catholic/World Council of Churches (WCC) joint Working Group Reports. It is perhaps difficult to

remember how significant a change Vatican II and Unitatis


Redintegratio represented in the Catholic Church’s approach to other churches and its commitment to ecumenical engagement. Like Pope John Paul II before him, Pope Benedict XVI restated this ‘irrevocable commitment’ at Bellahouston Park on 16 Sept 2010. Ecumenical dialogue today

wrestles with both historical and contemporary issues. Some major historical, doctrinal, theological and ecclesial issues remain unresolved. The world is again going through major social, political and economic change and facing new moral and ethical challenges. Today the Christian churches, and religion in general, feel under threat from other ideologies and sometimes from internal division. There are many new churches and ecumenical bodies. There is a sense of fatigue and of diminishment in energy and resources within some churches and the established ecumenical bodies, including Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) and the WCC. These are challenging times.

Ecumenism todayIt is good then to hear afresh the

Vatican II call to deeper ecumenical engagement, respect and relationships. Where might we look for encouragement in today’s ecumenical world - particularly here in Scotland? First, we might recognise how far we have travelled on our pilgrim road together. The particular models of ‘full visible unity’ as envisioned in the 60s-80s may not have been realised, but the working towards that vision has substantially improved the relationships, knowledge and

respect among our churches. Despite the general malaise, there is a lot of good and quiet ecumenical activity going on both at the local and the national level across our country.One key insight, present in the

document, is the importance of our common Baptism and the

further implications this might have, including for Eucharistic fellowship. The Joint Commission on Doctrine of the Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic Church produced a remarkable paper on Baptism (2006) and a common liturgy for the Renewal of Baptismal Vows (2009). Another key contemporary theme is ‘Receptive Ecumenism’: when, ideally, we recognise the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in another tradition. This will call us to become more faithful in our own life and practice.The ecumenical context here in

Scotland is in some ways particular. In most areas of the globe the main partners in ecumenical dialogue are episcopally ordered churches. Here however, the dialogue is between two very different ecclesiologies: the Presbyterian and the Episcopal. Often we use the same words, but interpret things differently. If we accept the insights of receptive ecumenism, our context offers both challenge and gift to ecumenical dialogue

and development within and beyond our borders. ACTS Member Churches are alert to the need for greater theological reflection and action on a wide range of issues and, indeed, are actively exploring how to make this happen.Today it is clear that the nature

and structure of ecumenical encounter are in transition. It seems that, in terms of issues and players, the future will be more, not less, complex. The exhortation from both John Paul II and Benedict XVI to the churches in Scotland to ‘walk hand-in-hand’ together remains prophetic. Unitatis Redintegratio concludes: ‘the measures undertaken by the sons of the Catholic Church should develop in conjunction with those of our separated brethren so that no obstacle be put in the ways of divine Providence and no preconceived judgements impair the future inspirations of the Holy Spirit’ (art. 24). Clearly, we have plenty to get on with on the next stage of our pilgrimage as churches together.

Very Rev Sheilagh M Kesting is the Ecumenical Officer of the Church of Scotland and was the first female minister Moderator of the General Assembly. Br Stephen Smyth is the General Secretary of ACTS and is a Marist Brother.

This article arose out of the experience of preparing a joint workshop on the Vatican II document on Ecumenism as part of a series of workshops on the Vatican documents organised by the Ignatian Spirituality Centre, Glasgow. The workshop was held on 19 Jan 2013, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Despite the general malaise, there is a lot of good and quiet ecumenical activity going on both at the local

and the national level across our country.


When Jesus was asked by a man in a crowd to tell his brother to give him a share of their inheritance, Jesus declined jurisdiction. Who appointed me your judge, he asked, or the arbiter of your claims? (Luke 12:13) Jesus declined, Aidan O’Neill suggested, because mechanisms for the resolution of such disputes already existed, with lawyers to argue over them and civil judges to apply them. The Christian tradition is mindful of the distinction between the political and the religious spheres, and recognises the autonomy of the state and independence of civil from religious law. The text may be interpreted as a warning against making civil law mirror religious law.But recent pronouncements from

Rome and from some bishops suggest that the church may have given in to the temptation. Pope John Paul II’s address to the Roman Rota on Divorce and the duties of canon lawyers and catholic civil lawyers and judges in 2002 suggested that Catholic lawyers should not be involved in divorce work; if they have to, they should act for the ‘wronged’ party. This reveals a failure to appreciate the process of civil law which

requires the best case to be made for both sides - and does not intuit, or decide in advance, who is innocent and who is guilty.

A note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) was issued in the same year on Questions regarding the participation of Catholics in public life. It discerns a ‘marginalisation of Christianity’ within secular society which would ‘threaten the very spiritual and cultural foundations of civilisation’ (6) and directs Catholic politicians to further a Catholic agenda. The European Convention of Human Rights acknowledges the importance of the right to freedom of religion or belief. But a state may decide not to support claims by believers that they have an absolute and divinely mandated right to behave in a particular way if, for example, their behaviour stirs up hatred against others. This

does not represent an attack on religion or the marginalisation of Christianity. The church, argued O’Neill, has

introduced a fundamental tension into democratic systems by asserting its right to deny the validity of democratically enacted laws, instructing Catholics, where possible, to block or impede their implementation, irrespective of manifesto commitments. The issue is particularly acute in America where a number of bishops have issued instructions to politicians how to vote on particular issues and threatened to withhold communion if they disobey. During a year’s study at Princeton on the relationship between Catholicism and democracy, O’Neill found that complex arguments were reduced to megaphone certainties and church teaching to issuing instructions and making threats. The CDF’s doctrinal note on

Considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons (2003) said that on no account could a Catholic politician vote in favour of civil partnership for homosexuals. But the issue is more complex than the note suggests and includes prudential considerations; once again it

Democracy and Catholicism

In a talk to the Glasgow Circle of the Newman Association, Aidan O’Neill QC argued that recent church directives on the role of Catholics in public life represent a shift in traditional principles, and fail to respect the autonomy of legal and democratic processes. He made a plea for more debate within the church on complex issues and a renewed commitment to the insights of Vatican II.

NEWMAN CIRCLE TALK

A matter of jurisdiction

Natural law is not a way of trumping civil law and

should not be spoken of in terms of deductive certainty.


indicates a lack of respect for the dignity of offices within the democratic state.

The tendency to tell people how to do their job and what to think belongs to a past when the state was seen as oppressive and the church set up parallel structures for its own community. But the days of the fortress church are gone, and Catholics are active in all parts of society. Why not see them as the salt of the earth, capable of drawing on the church’s rich tradition and contributing to debate? The church teaches that an informed conscience has regard for the authoritative texts of the tradition, but is not confined to church sources: it may also draw on the insights of many disciplines, including the sciences, medicine, psychology and law.At the heart of the tension set up

by recent church pronouncements is how natural law is understood. It is frequently invoked to support the argument that civil law which doesn’t agree with church teaching is not seen as binding. But this, O’Neill argued, is to misunderstand the church’s own teaching. Natural law is not a way of trumping civil law and should not be spoken of in terms of deductive certainty. The traditional Aristotelian -Thomist teaching on natural law is that moral prescriptions are objectively based and may be discerned by all people of good will, reflecting on what it is to be human. The requirements

of moral action can and should be established by reason. To reason is to engage in discourse, to argue, to debate, to consider. The church’s reliance on natural law as an appeal to the rational nature of all human beings could be interpreted as an invitation to everyone, inside and outside the church, to enter into discussion and seek in it the right answers. But this would require the church to recognise that the democratic process has a moral weight in and of itself, given

that it embodies the idea of the individual’s inestimable worth and dignity and seeks to reconcile individual conscience with the interests of the community. We need to get beyond the radical

incompatibility that is being suggested between the principles held by the church and those held by the democratic state. Both would seek to protect individual liberty of conscience, freedom of speech, equality of treatment, tolerance and pluralism. Both

THURSDAY 28th FEBRUARY 2013 at 7.30pm

THE ANGRY CHURCH:CATHOLIC CONSERVATIVES AND

LIBERALSA talk by

PROFESSOR GERARD CARRUTHERSDepartment of Scottish Literature, University of Glasgow

THURSDAY 14th MARCH 2013 at 7.30pm

THE VATICAN AND THE AMERICAN SISTERS’ LEADERSHIP GROUP

A talk by SISTER MARY ROSSSisters of Notre Dame

GLASGOW UNIVERSITY CHAPLAINCYTurnbull Hall

15 Southpark Terrace, Glasgow G12 8LG

Admission: Non-Members: three pounds (includes refreshments)

Any enquiries, email to: [email protected]

The Newman Association (Glasgow)2012/2013 LECTURE SERIES

Promoting open discussion and greater understanding in today’s Church

The church teaches that an informed conscience has

regard for the authoritative texts of the tradition, but is

not confined to church sources.


When John Torley died in 1897, aged forty six, the Irish in Clydebank lined the funeral route to mourn the loss of a man, who, for almost half his life, had been their public representative. Leaving a widow and four young children, Torley was lauded in the local press for his long contribution to civic life but alongside his role as a County Councillor, Torley had a more secret, arguably, more influential role as Scottish leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) more commonly known as the Fenians.

Torley’s association with physical force Irish Republicanism makes his story an uncomfortable one in the context of the West of Scotland’s sectarian past. Glasgow at the end of the 19th century was one of the

key centres of debate for the great political issues of the time, Irish Home Rule, and Torley one of the key players. His premature death and the controversy associated with his republican politics means Torley’s story has gone unrecorded and forgotten.The Irish began to arrive in the

village of Duntocher at the foot of the Old Kilpatrick hills in the 1830s. They would be described today as economic migrants, and settled in Duntocher providing a ready source of cheap labour for the textile industry and later, for the heavy industries. In 1841 St Mary’s Church, Duntocher was founded to serve the immigrant community and within a few years a school had been established. Torley’s family arrived from Newry in the 1840s, settling and opening a small merchant’s business.The puzzle of Torley’s life is how

someone from a poor immigrant community with little education and no family tradition of political activism could rise so quickly to such a prominent position in the Irish Republican movement. Whatever the explanation, Torley was articulate, educated and a confident public speaker from an early age. Local stories report

would value the process of dialogue among exponents of differing views and regard the process as necessary if the common good is to be discerned and pursued. A step towards such a stance was taken by Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, and we should not lose sight of it.All citizens, therefore,

should be mindful of the right and also the duty to use their free vote to further the common good. The Church praises and esteems the work of those who for the good of all devote themselves to the service of the State and take on the burden of this office. If the citizens’ responsible co-operation is to produce the good results which may be expected in the normal course of political life, there must be a statute of positive law providing for a suitable division of the functions and bodies of authority and an efficient and independent system for the protection of rights.(75)Aidan O’Neill began his

talk by saying that he was going to share thoughts and questions on issues to which he did not have answers. His address provoked many questions, and the brief discussion that followed suggested the possibilities of the kind of engagement he sought to encourage.

Aidan O’Neill QC is a leading human rights lawyer and author.

Local history

FLORENCE BOYLE

The forgotten rebelOld Kilpatrick resident Florence Boyle uncovers the story of a remarkable and largely forgotten figure of 19th century Scottish politics, who is buried in her village.

Glasgow at the end of the 19th century was one of the key centres of debate for the great political issues of the time, Irish Home Rule,

and Torley one of the key players.


Torley holding court at the village cross or in the pub, debating the issues of the day and reading the newspaper to his illiterate neighbours. In 1874, while still in his

twenties, Torley represented Scotland on the seven-member Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1878 The Glasgow Herald reported Torley’s chairmanship of a packed meeting in the City Halls, Glasgow, welcoming, on his release from prison, the legendary land rights campaigner, Irish republican and ally of the Scottish crofters, Matt Davitt. During the next decade Torley

continued to represent his local community whilst travelling and campaigning around Britain and Ireland, speaking on behalf of evicted tenants, visiting Irish prisoners in Portland prison and travelling to the United States, fundraising for the IRB cause. In this he was supported by his employer, prominent local Liberal, Edward Stanford, who employed Torley as a manager in his chemical plant. Given the proportion of time Torley spent travelling and campaigning, he appears to have been a somewhat part time employee, but Stanford’s support appears steadfast throughout.Torley was a beneficiary of some

fortuitous demographics and timely publicity. In 1887 The Times printed a series of defamatory allegations concerning Charles Stuart Parnell, charismatic leader of the Irish Home Rule movement. Parnell sued and during the subsequent trial and following Parliamentary enquiry, Torley’s influential IRB

role became public knowledge. This notoriety coupled with his ability to mobilise his recently enfranchised (and sympathetic) electorate delivered Torley electoral success at the following County Council elections.In 1890, seven years before a

Catholic won a council seat in Glasgow, John Torley became the first Catholic County Councillor in the West of Scotland, representing Duntocher. The community threw a party and presented him with an illuminated script which charted his career and alluded to the negative campaigning by his opponents. They wished that the election would mark the starting point of integration with the Scots population. For Torley they prayed for good health and long life, and finally for the greatest honour they could imagine, a seat in a future, independent, Irish Parliament.

Despite his IRB involvement Torley was never connected with criminal activity. The detective dispatched to Duntocher by Dublin Castle, to gather intelligence reported that he was ‘inclined on the whole to suspect John Torley is of good character’.A fiery speaker and passionate

advocate, Torley travelled and campaigned constantly to promote his cause. At home, Torley, along with John Ferguson, Glasgow Councillor for the Calton and a dominating figure in Home Rule politics, tried to hold the constantly bickering factions of the Irish Home Rule movement together. Although on the same side, Torley and Ferguson had very different views on what success should look like for the Home Rule cause and how that success should be achieved. In the face of robust opposition

from the Catholic Church, Ferguson, an Ulster Protestant, was elected Councillor for Calton district in Glasgow in 1883. His prominence in the Home Rule movement was sufficient to persuade the Calton electorate that he was one of them. Support from the predominantly Irish Catholic constituency was secured because of Ferguson’s long and public association with Irish Parliamentary Party founder and leader, Charles Stewart Parnell. On his visits to Glasgow, Parnell stayed at Ferguson’s home in Lenzie. It is not too fanciful to suggest, that given Lenzie’s proximity to Duntocher, Torley met with Parnell to maintain the fractious alliance between the constitutional Home Rulers and the direct action IRB.

In 1890, seven years before a Catholic won a council seat

in Glasgow, John Torley became the first Catholic County Councillor in the

West of Scotland, representing Duntocher.

In the face of robust opposition from the Catholic Church, Ferguson, an Ulster

Protestant, was elected Councillor for Calton district

in Glasgow in 1883.


In 1895 Torley, now married with a young family, sought a publican’s licence. Never very popular with his fellow councillors, (predominantly local farmers and landowners) Torley’s application was refused and he reportedly considered leaving the district, perhaps to make a new life in Limerick, where he had close associations with prominent Republicans. Subsequently the licence was approved and Torley opened his public house in Clydebank.Two years later after another of

his fundraising trips, Torley fell ill. His close friend, Irishman Patrick Hoctor, a fellow republican and prominent Gaelic Athletic Association fi gure, travelled to visit him just in time to witness his deathbed will. On March 29th 1897 Torley died. A year after his death the community gathered to erect a memorial over his grave, funded by public subscription. Among the donors were Scott, the Bowling shipbuilder and Lord Overtoun, Glasgow industrialist and local resident, prompted either by feelings of respect or conscious of the demographics of their workforce.Torley’s contribution is

unremarked in his home community; while lesser fi gures have been memorialised, Torley has not. His contribution to the progressive politics of the late 19th century in the west of Scotland has been forgotten - Torley, the anonymous rebel.

Florence Boyle is a Catholic lay woman who works in Financial Services

Saturday 23rd March 2013, Turnbull Hall, Glasgow University,

9.30am - 2.30pm

The Craighead Institute is delighted to offeran opportunity to hear

Professor Bart McGettrick speaking on

‘Professional Ethics fora Humane Society’

In addition, Professor McGettrick’s talk will be followed by Dr Lisa Curtice speaking on

‘The Ethics of Inclusion’

Cost: £50 per person (inclusive of lunch)

**Early bird offer - book before 20th February 2013and pay only £40**

For further details, and to book a place,please contact Dawn Revie at:

The Craighead Institute on 0141 332 2733,or on [email protected]

26 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RE. www.craighead.org.uk

Turnbull Hall, Glasgow University,

The Craighead Institute is delighted to offer


‘Professional Ethics for



Cost:

**Early bird offer - book before 20th February 2013

For further details, and to book a place,

The Craighead Institute on 0141 332 2733,

26 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RE.

Turnbull Hall, Glasgow University,

The Craighead Institute is delighted to offer


‘Professional Ethics for



£50 per person (inclusive of lunch)

**Early bird offer - book before 20th February 2013

For further details, and to book a place,

The Craighead Institute on 0141 332 2733,

www.craighead.org.uk


Reports that the actor Leonardo Dicaprio was uncomfortable with the racist language used by his screen character in Quentin Tarantino’s violent movie about slavery, Django Unchained, can be seen as a welcome, if unexpected, acknowledgment of the power of words. Words which were routinely

used to deny the humanity of a whole section of the population have gone the way of the system of which they were part, and he struggled to say them.Language is inextricably linked

with what we have come to understand as complex systems of power and oppression. Only when we ask questions about what (and who) defines human beings do we recognise that processes long regarded as normal - such as slavery, the exploitation of workers, the denial of education or votes to women, are violations of human dignity. Within the Christian tradition, the questions are profoundly theological.

Metaphors are the principle way Christians speak about a transcendent God. As Janet Martin Soskice reminds us, the apophatic insight that we say nothing about God, but only point towards God, is the basis for the tentative efforts we make to speak of God. We must speak, for the most part, metaphorically, or not at all.Metaphors function by bringing

together two incompatible terms which give rise to new meaning. The literal meaning falls away and is replaced by a richer meaning which exists in and through interpretation, opening up a new dimension of truth. As Soskice points out, when Teresa of Avila wrote about the life of prayer, she described experiences for which there were no established literal terms. So she spoke of flowing rivers, fountains, journeys across the sea. We have no trouble with such

language, shaped as we are by the richness of metaphors in the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity. Built up over centuries, and repeated over and over again in liturgies, sermons and sacred images, they form the backdrop to our religious sensibilities. Soskice cites the example of Jesus’ reference to living water in his conversation with the woman at the well in John’s Gospel, which draws on this rich tradition. She points out that

living water calls to mind many things - the smitten rock, the riven side, the fountain of life, death by water in the flood and life by baptism. The richness of the image can be renewed and embellished each time it is used: metaphors become part of the way we interpret the world. But an uncritical, literal

understanding of God as essentially male has crept into Christian thinking, reinforced by constant use of male language and the maleness of Jesus. The overwhelming religious language of God is that of the ruling male, reflecting the experience of men within a patriarchal system. The problem is not that male metaphors are used, as men are made in the image of God, but that they are used almost exclusively, literally, and within the patriarchal system. Female metaphors and images from nature, which can also be found in scripture, are seldom used. Much religious and liturgical language renders women invisible and diminishes the possibilities of speaking about God. And as

Lenten reading

MARY CULLEN

The power of wordsMany people make time in Lent for spiritual reading. The editor of Open House suggests that one of the issues they may encounter is the language we use and its impact on the Christian community.

Language is inextricably linked with what we have

come to understand as complex systems of power

and oppression.

Much religious and liturgical language renders women

invisible and diminishes the possibilities of speaking

about God.


Elizabeth Johnson observes, the human man Jesus, as visible image of the invisible God, is used to tie the knot between maleness and divinity very tightly. But where the language of God is

metaphorical, a change in the metaphors we use is possible. The goal is not to make women equal partners in an oppressive system, but to transform the system and open up new ways of speaking of

God. Many women experience a dislocation between their experience of language outwith the church, where they have come to understand its role in shaping and sustaining oppressive and unjust practices, and within the church, where it continues to be a symptom of exclusion and a constant reinforcement of exclusive attitudes. Many people, aware of the way such language shapes our attitudes and reinforces a patriarchal worldview, struggle with some of the words - such as the invitation in the creed to say ‘for us and for all men’.Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza

reminds us that our inability to comprehend and express who God is should prohibit any absolutising of symbols, images, or names for God; we need a proliferation of all

three to express a humanly incomprehensible divine mystery. Women are looking to the many names for God in sacred texts and tradition; to the richness of imagery; to the power of metaphors to reveal new dimensions of truth; and to the deep roots of symbols in our human experience to find a new language. Elizabeth Johnson takes Thomas Aquinas’ name for God, qui est, the one who is, and translates the grammatically masculine into the feminine and names God She Who Is. Schüssler Fiorenza finds God within struggles against dehumanisation and names God as the ‘active power of wellbeing in our midst’. Sallie McFague describes the world as God’s body, and God as mother, lover and friend. Among the biblical, early theological and medieval mystical traditions which use female images of the divine to represent the fullness of God, Julian of Norwich’s reflections on the motherhood of God are perhaps the best known.Lent may be a good time to

explore some of their writing.

Lavinia Byrne, The Hidden Tradition: Women’s spiritual writings rediscovered. London, SPCK, 1991.

Elizabeth A Johnson, She Who Is. New York, Crossroad, 2002.

Elizabeth A Johnson, ‘The Maleness of Christ’. In The Power of Naming, edited by Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. New York, Orbis Books, 1996.

Sallie McFague, Models of God. London, SCM Press, 1987.

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, ‘An Other name for G*d’. In Recognising the Margins, edited by W Jeanrond and A D H Mayes. Dublin, Columba Press, 2006.

Janet Martin Soskice, Metaphor and Religious Language. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1985.

Many women experience a dislocation between their experience of language

outwith the church, where they have come to

understand its role in shaping and sustaining oppressive and unjust

practices, and within the church, where it continues

to be a symptom of exclusion and a constant

reinforcement of exclusive attitudes.

Everyone should develop their own way of praying but I think there is a human need to set time apart

when you’re not doing anything else, however short that time may be. The need is not because God demands it - it is because we begin recognising this need just to be still. The forms of prayer that people find helpful will vary through their lives - the forms that are helpful at one time won’t be at another. There’s got to be flexibility but there are lines of general development. As time goes on prayer becomes less active - we become less active in prayer, it’s letting God pray in us. How you do this is more complex and individual. It’s essential to let God show us his face, as the psalmist says, let God pray in us. This has a good scriptural foundation.God is there all the time. It’s not

as though we say, ‘Hey God’, and God turns his head… God’s presence is constant. God, in Augustine’s words, is nearer to me than I am to myself, whether I’m praying or not praying. As far as we’re concerned, prayer is like focusing - it’s as if there is an interesting person in the room, but they only come into focus when you give attention to them. It’s like these people who contemplate a leaf or a stone - the more they gaze at it, the more wondrous it becomes. The wonder is always there but it’s a question of stilling ourselves. We begin to glimpse the reality that God is in everything and that every bush is burning if we could only have the eyes to see it.

From Gerard W Hughes in Journey to the Light, edited by Linda Jones and Sophie Stanes, DLT, 2003.

For the mountains may go away and the hills may totter, but my faithful love will never leave you.

Isaiah 54:10

LIVING SPIRIT


It is hard to think of anything more topical than a successful couple making a failure of growing old. Although the evidence of it is all around us most of us choose to ignore it. As a society we have fulfilled the biblical promise of living out three score year and ten with the strongest, as the Psalmist adds, making it to eighty. Since this is a mere statistic some are struggling even before sixty while others are doing well after ninety. But by and large the figures don’t lie. Thoughts of centenarians leading normal lives are hallucinatory.Given that reality why don’t

we invest in growing old well? We come into the world totally dependent on others. Why shouldn’t we leave it in the same way? People are

AMOUR (2012)

FILM

As a committed and loyal Roman Catholic, do you have questions about some of the recent

developments in our Church?

If you would like to pray and reflect on these questions and on your place in the Church, you

are warmly invited to come to:

THE LAURISTON HALL28 Lauriston Street, Edinburgh EH3 9DJ

on SATURDAY 6th APRIL 2013,10.30 am to 3.30 pm

It would help with planning if intending participants could phone 0131 666 2236 or email [email protected]

Entrance by donation. Tea and coffee will be provided.Please bring a packed lunch.

As part of her PhD research at the University of Glasgow, Open House contributor Marie Cooke is researching the participation of women in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. And you can help - Marie is seeking the views of women and men, lay and clergy, Catholic or not, living in Scotland or elsewhere.She has set up a website which

explains the purposes and methods of her project and is asking people to complete a questionnaire and respond to four key questions which will provide her with quantitative and qualitative evidence of the lived experience of women and men. The website has links to survey pages which can be completed online or emailed to Marie. Go to http://mariecooke.wix.com/participation of women.Marie is also happy to meet

individuals or groups to conduct face to face interviews and record comments. You can email her at [email protected] or phone 0787 678 7713.

The weatherman had warned

Of snow in the east, from the east-

An old continent’s seasoned gift-

No hint that it would spread

So far west.

But now, at 4a.m.,

I look out on a world

Luminous with snow,

The flakes shaken out

and tumbling head over heels

Gregariously ... unstintingly,

... like grace ...

Seize the moment!

Michael Martin

Research request Snow in the west


amused at babies dribbling on the floor. Why are they disgusted when their parents do the same?This film, like all good

stories, begins with the ending. The challenge is to work out how the dramatis personae got to that point. The main clue is that, contrary to what one might expect from the statistics, the carer is the man and the one needing care is the woman. The title is deliberately misleading. There are all kinds of amour. There is the love that beareth all things. And there is romantic love that is washed away by trials.In these circumstances it

would be wrong to detail the storyline. Enough perhaps to say that it has already won the Golden Globe for best foreign film and has 5 nominations for the Oscars. It won Austrian director Michal Haneke his second Palme d’Or at Cannes. The stars are those icons of French cinema, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva. Now in their 80s they are unrecognisable from their heyday in A Man and A Woman and Hiroshima Mon Amour 50 years ago. More easily identified is Isabelle Huppert who as the daughter would like to take a business-like approach to their predicament.The point of the film is that

growing old, sans teeth, sans everything as the Bard puts

it, is not a predicament. It is entirely predictable. If we were honest there is something disgusting in older people eating and drinking, flying to and cruising in some of the poorest parts of the world as if they were born again adolescents. And over their cups hoping they manage an instant heart attack before they find themselves put on the Liverpool Care Pathway.Even worse are those who

buy a bigger telly and run down their mental faculties until they are carted off to the local nursing home and re-engage with reality in the person of an underpaid and overworked young immigrant with the responsibility for feeding and toileting them. Too late then, as the French say, not being able any longer to give bad example, to try and dispense good advice.For Open House readers

brought up in a belief in if God spares us these could be uncomfortable questions. They are not going to go away. Senescence is a privilege and an opportunity for final wisdom. Time to reopen the monasteries and provide places where we could return peacefully to the poverty, chastity and obedience of childhood.

Norman BarryPen name of well known and long time film reviewer of Open House.

Words and the Word Canon Bill Anderson; Gracewing 2010. £12.99

It is the writtenness (what a wonderful word!) of literature which has attracted and inspired Bill Anderson (retired priest of Aberdeen Diocese) throughout his life and in his work of preaching. This book from a skilled preacher demonstrates his love of literature, his seriousness and playfulness, and the ways in which prose and poetry can be used ‘as a handmaid of Scripture’ to enhance our understanding of the Bible.He quotes extensively from and

acknowledges the work of Professor Nicholas Boyle, who says that ‘what we share [in reading] is not simply the emotional reaction to a fiction. It is the emotional reaction to a truth which the fiction has expressed.... the pain of knowing a truth about our shared condition’. Literature - whether written by Christian authors or not - explores our fallenness, atonement, reconciliation and redemption. That is why we read, not to feel alone. We are part of all humans, we recognise ourselves in the dilemmas of fiction or the insights of poetry.Using a wide range of church and

cultural sources, Anderson argues and demonstrates the need for good preaching, the affirming role of literature, and the ways in which preachers can use secular writing to enhance the gospel message. Much contemporary Catholic

BOOKS


preaching in our own land and time is often inadequate he argues, and we have a vast reservoir to tap, inspiring preaching which is closer to people, which can shake us out of our cosy relationship with ‘holy’ writing.If preaching is to work well, it

must not simply reiterate Scripture, but link with our lives in the world. Writers’ insights make, strengthen and illuminate those links. Even if it is only a line or two from a poem, a verse from a hymn whose meaning is explored (as Anderson does with Lead kindly light), or the predicament of a character in a novel, it will give the listeners another perspective, another nugget to hold on to, a new facility when they come to that Gospel passage again. The first half of the book argues

the case for literature being a practical aid to preaching, suggests approaches, and is packed with quotations and references (there is no index, but this book will brim with bookmarks and notes if it is used properly). But it is not merely a book to wave at your parish priest, for the second half consists of a couple of dozen examples of Anderson’s own preaching, which demonstrate the quality of his practice and the strength of his case, and make excellent reflective spiritual reading. This book is a goad, a map and a compass.When I was a student in Blairs in

the early 1960s, I came across a fragment of The Ballad of Reading Jail and knew I needed to read the rest. There was only one person to ask, and Bill Anderson lent me an Oscar Wilde collection, advising me to be discreet, and to be careful about what else I read. That enlightened, humane and encouraging presence continues in this fine book, sharing his delight in

the written word, quietly subversive without hurting anyone’s feelings.

John Duffy

Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of EverestWade Davis; Vintage 2012

There was a day in 1999 when a German mountaineer, climbing high on Mount Everest, followed an instinct he couldn’t quite explain. Wandering slightly from the rest of his party, and with a question in his mind as to what might have happened there 75 years earlier, he saw something flutter against the snow. It was a piece of clothing and it was attached to the corpse of a man who had clearly fallen from the mountain’s North East ridge. Further exploration of the body and the clothing would itself in time become a matter of contention and discord but in that moment it confirmed the fate of George Mallory who had disappeared, with his companion Sandy Irvine, during the first serious attempt on the summit in 1924. The names of Mallory and Irvine grew into legend following their disappearance in what became a strange kind of heroic mystery: had they in fact made the summit and died on the way down? The possibility only added to the sense of tragedy and pathos. Wade Davis’ Pullitzer winning

account of all that preceded that moment in the life of George Mallory is a mixture of history, travel literature, sociology and psychology and as such it is really

biography of the best possible kind. Davis parallels the experience of Mallory’s generation in the trenches of the First World War with the consequent manifestations of disturbance, trauma and extremes of behaviour that marked out those who survived. Depressingly the paternalism and complacency that mismanaged a generation of men into oblivion turned out to be alive and kicking when it came to managing the exploration of the highest and most remote parts of the earth. But it is the motivations and characters of those who did the climbing that intrigues Davis and makes this book as personal and intimate as it is grand.It isn’t difficult to imagine how

people who had spent some of their younger adult years tramping through mud and blood and numbing their senses against the impact of artillery on the human body might just want to spend the rest of life getting away from it all. Peaceful gardens and deserted beaches were the destinations of some. A simple, quiet home life could just about be managed by more. But for a few, George Mallory among them, the only thing that offered the necessary, sanity-preserving combination of physical endurance and solitude was the mountains: the higher the better. The wartime diary of Howard Somervell, an army doctor who would later accompany Mallory to Everest, reveals something of the need for such escape:…. beseeching they lay, as we rapidly surveyed them to see who was most worthwhile saving. Abdominal cases and others requiring long operations simply had to be left to die. Saving of life by amputation which can be done in a few minutes had to be thought of first. (p 32)


After all this the drive was literally to get up, up and away; and into the silence. One of the questions Davis hints at through his analytical and lyrical prose is ‘what is that about’? After such horrors and grief, why wasn’t a warm bed in a safe house all they would ever want?Reading this fabulous book in

exactly those physical conditions, I was frequently moved to feelings of inadequacy and guilt by Davis’ haunting and descriptive narrative. Not because I’ve never climbed anything higher than Ben Lomond or survived a war but because he made me wonder (as clearly he had been made to wonder by the telling of this story) if the comforts and imagined securities of our own generations mean that we are ignorant of any true experience of ‘aliveness’. What Mallory and his companions had learned with repeated clarity was that a second, a step, a turn of the head could make the difference, not just between life and death but between the existence of a material body and simple, traceless extinction. It was this that was replicated in the mountains but, crucially, far from the noise and the violence, in places of unimagined beauty and solitude.We want and need to believe that

the cruelties of war don’t have to be experienced before we know something of the pure thrill of living in peace but Davis’ telling of this compelling story leaves us with other troubling questions. What if somehow they do? What if we really are such contrary creatures that, as Bonhoeffer knew, sorrow and joy are inter-dependants more than opposites? If so then the only respite is the truth of what Mallory had learned in the years before he fell: ‘ … that life mattered less than the moments of being alive’. (p 573)

Lynn Jolly

Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing and the Families’ Pursuit of JusticeRuth Dudley Edwards, Vintage Books, £8.99

This book is a heartfelt tribute to the families of the victims of the bombing which occurred on the afternoon of Saturday 15th August 1998. Thirty one lives were violently ended; injuries, physical, mental, emotional were suffered by many more, and their anguish will last all their lives. Their losses are irreparable. Memories may fade to some degree, but acceptance of the terrible reality of what happened is the first step in the process of healing.It is conventional to consider

that the perpetrators of this heinous crime must be identified, tried and punished, reparation of loss must take place, and the community must be enabled to believe that no comparable atrocity could occur. These may be necessary, but they are never enough. It is too much to hope for that the guilty will repent and that civilised ways of resolving historic causes of conflict will follow. It is futile to prescribe to the survivors in Omagh how they should come to terms, if they ever can, with this appalling, tragic event; they can be helped but each survivor must find some source of comfort on the path to recovery.Ruth Dudley Edwards

concentrates on the families’ pursuit of justice but she begins by requiring readers to comprehend the reality of that frightful day. It is almost unbearable to read the eye-witness accounts of the bombing but it is a necessary beginning.

The horror was worsened because the perpetrators were readily identified by the survivors but the Police authorities, bound by law, could not find a base of evidence for a successful prosecution; they were impotent. In addition, Politicians realised that progress towards community resolution could be imperilled by a trial, conviction and punishment of the guilty. There was no hope that the perpetrators would repent and confess, so the people of Omagh were left to find their own, lesser but valuable, civil law remedy. It took eleven years but on 8th June 2009 the guilt of the perpetrators was established and damages totalling over £1 million were awarded, not justice but compensation.The lesson of this book is that

the desire for justice, the patient search for a way to achieve that goal, the efforts to recruit public figures and to enrol them in the campaign, the remarkable fund-raising efforts, all of these had the combined effect of giving purpose to the lives of the survivors, the families of the victims.

James McGarry

Reviewers James McGarry is a retired medical consultant, reviewer and author.

Lynn Jolly works with special needs persons in the criminal justice system.

John Duffy is a poet and bibliotherapist.


Image of MaryDear Editor,

I fear the striking image of Mary conjured up by the title of Br Chalmers’ article (Open House 225) will do little ‘to enable her to be herself in our Church’, as Br Sean Sammon hoped. A better approach would be simply to see what the Scriptures have to say. Clearly Mary was Jewish, well connected, related to Elizabeth whose lineage went back to Aaron (brother of Moses), and who was married to Zachary, a priest of the Temple. When Mary visited Elizabeth and remained with her for three months, Zachary was dumb, the consequence of his reaction to a vision. When Mary was greeted by Elizabeth, she responded in the words of the song of Hannah (1Samuel 2) rejoicing at the gift of a son in the answer to prayer. That son, whom she dedicated to the service of the Temple, was the prophet Samuel.Mary can be seen therefore as one

in the long line of great Jewish matriarchs, including Sarah (mother of Isaac), Rachel, Rebecca and Hannah herself. The article also points out that

Marian devotional practice continued after Vatican II as if the Council had never happened. One has to ask whether this applies to other decrees. It is ironic that in the Winter (2012-2013) number of Common Ground, the journal of the Council of Christians and Jews, the editor notes that the remarkable transformation in the attitude of Christians to Judaism and the Jewish people is expressed in the famous document Nostra Aetate, but that unfortunately this good will has not filtered down to the local communities.

Yours sincerely,Thomas A. Fitzpatrick

The Human ConditionDear Editor,

It feel honoured to be engaged in debate with a theologian of Gregory Baum’s standing on an issue as important as the doctrine of Original Sin. However, I fear that in his letter in the last issue of Open House, Fr Baum has misrepresented my position by oversimplifying it. Referring to my article, ‘Moral Evil and Original Sin’, in the October edition of Open House, Fr Baum says this: ‘Joe Fitzpatrick’s article shows persuasively that the Scriptures recognise in us a tendency toward idolatry - from which only God can rescue us… Joe Fitzpatrick suggests that this tendency is the result of choice, while I prefer to think of it as inherited, as built into human existence on earth.’ It is the latter sentence that misrepresents my position. Should Fr Baum re-read my article he would find that I make it very clear that the tendency to idolatry I claim to be recognised in Scripture as the source of sin is not simply the result of choice but is rooted in what I posit as being ‘the basic human situation’ - words I was careful to put in italics in my article. While there may be a voluntary element in our yielding to the tendency to idolatry, the basic human situation is not the result of any choice but, to use Fr Baum’s words, is built into human existence on earth.What I term ‘the basic human

situation’ stems from the fact, revealed in the mythical tale told in Genesis 3, that the couple in the story succeed in eating from the tree of knowledge, thereby becoming like God - ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil’ - but they are deliberately prevented by God

from simply reaching out and eating from the tree of life - ‘Lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever…’ The couple in the story become human by sharing in the divine knowledge but they are denied the very thing their newly acquired humanity most desires and needs, namely union with God. Human beings are creatures manqué, incomplete, broken off, deprived of that which in their hearts they most yearn for; they pine for the fulfilment that only God can provide. That is the basic human situation. It is not an object of choice. Neither would it be appropriate to say that it is inherited - one of the problems besetting the traditional doctrine of Original Sin is that no one has been able to explain exactly how it is inherited. The basic human situation is simply there, a brute fact of human existence. We are made for God but only God can bring about in us the fulfilment and completion we most desire. The tendency to idolatry consists of the fact that we humans try to achieve this fulfilment by and for ourselves, finding substitutes for God in order to fill the void in our hearts. And this tendency, as the Scriptures say, ‘is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.’ (Widsom 14.27) In short, my position is a little

more subtle than Fr Baum suggests. If he would like to find out more about my position I recommend that he reads the section headed ‘Correction of the Tradition’ in pages 206-12 of my book.

Yours faithfully,

Joe Fitzpatrick

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OPEN HOUSE Moments in timeAs we arrive in the village, the rain starts; it is a cold grey day, but all around the hills are white with

snow. We climb uphill past the wee school and over the main road to join the quiet lane up the glen. Here, we take a path through woods of oak and birch trees. The rain has now stopped and the trees gleam with moisture and there are patches of snow on the ground. This is a beautiful place, so near to a main traffic route and a busy tourist attraction, but a peaceful relic of Scotland’s natural forest cover. The path descends past piles of

old slates, discarded by quarrymen of long ago; then we cross the river on a timber footbridge. The fast flowing water is translucent, reflecting the blue-green stones which cover the river bed. Across the river, we see some old quarry-workers cottages, partially hidden by trees. We go underneath the by-pass and come to a stone bridge where the old road crosses the river, and continue along the riverside path with a field on our left. A small flock of fieldfares fly out of the

trees; these are colourful thrushes from Scandinavia which spend the winter here, grey and chestnut with a distinctive call. Ahead lies Luss Parish church; it is

not very old dating from 1875, but there has been a church on this site for over 1,500 years. Over the church-yard wall we see the eleventh century Viking hog-backed grave. This is indeed a place of ancient memories, but I am pleased to see it is not living in the past. The tradition of pilgrimage which died out with the Reformation has been revived in recent years. We cross the river on a bridge built by army sappers in 2006 and enter the glebe owned by the Church of Scotland, which is now crossed by several pilgrimage paths, constructed by international teams of young people. At the entrance stands a magnificent wooden carved Celtic cross, some twenty feet high, dedicated to St Kessog. As we approach, the sun bursts through the cloud and shines through the arms of the cross, symbolic of the resurrection of the faith in this special place.

Tim Rhead

february 2013 issue no 226 - open house scotland › pdfs › oh_2013_02_february_low.pdf ·...

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