THE CHURCH AND POLITICS:
It is not unusual to hear politicians insist that church men and women should confine themselves to spiritual matters and not meddle in politics. Since politics has to do with public life and includes how we can influence the way we are governed, the suggestion that our heartfelt beliefs should not enter into the equation seems to me – and I hope to you – absolutely absurd. However, I believe one of the more disturbing aspects of this tragic war in the Middle East is the way Christianity is being portrayed by some leading American politicians and I think it is noteworthy that Pope Leo is clearly distancing himself from them. And herein lies another interesting political factor, namely the internal politics of the Catholic Church. This week’s Tablet has an interesting article by Austen Ivereigh, which is entitled Secrets of the Conclave. He highlights the tension which continues to surround our understanding and interpretation of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. I make no secret of the fact that I am a child of the vision of that remarkable Council and there is no doubt that Pope Francis, in pointing us to a synodal way of thinking and acting, was encouraging us to live out that vision more fully than we have to date. The television documentary to which I drew attention a couple of weeks ago, The Secret of the Conclave, seemed to me to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit had inspired the Cardinals to elect a successor to Francis, who would bring his own very different but special gifts to this project: a cradle Catholic, born and brought up in the United States but immersed in the South American Church and with vast experience of the Church all over the world.
Archbishop John has begun his time among us calling on all the parishes of the Archdiocese to prepare an audit, so that we can more effectively assess the issues we should be addressing. I am immensely grateful to John Elcock and his small team for preparing a questionnaire for our parish. This is being made available at all the Masses this weekend and will be explained at the end of the Masses. I beg you to show some interest and respond accordingly.
