The fundamental questions in Thomas More's trial... and Britain today

The fundamental questions at stake in Thomas More’s trial continue to present themselves in ever-changing terms as new social conditions emerge. Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: what are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved? These questions take us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse. If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident - herein lies the real challenge for democracy.

words of Pope Benedict XVI in Westminster Hall, 2010

Acknowledgment to Joanna Bogle

Kenyan Popemobiles?

Fr Tim Finigan's tongue-in-cheek proposal reminded me of the religious art and inscriptions often used to decorate matatus (minibus taxis) in my home from home Kenya.

Unlike Fr Tim, I was driving at the time I took the pictures, but then there is a lot more leeway in how road rules are interpreted in Africa. :-)

More leeway in road rules, but on the other hand there would be so little leeway for the irreligious, perverted and irreverent monstrosities commonplace in our "developed" nation that proselytisers for paedophilia (while hogging the media calling the kettle black) and the modernistic kitsch brigade would be laughed out of court or worse (justice is swift, brutal and spontaneous for those who viciously corrupt children or families).

That is not to say that Africa lacks its own religious kitsch, in abudance, and evident in these pictures, but this art at least has the essentials: it is reverent, it has faith, and it is not agitprop. That is more than can be said for much of what is being offered as fare for the papal "pilgrims".

Blair and the causes he supports or does not support

Asked whether Blair, who became a Roman Catholic after he was forced out of 10 Downing Street, had contributed to the costs of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain, his spokesman replied, tersely: "No."

He and his wife Cherie Booth do, however, actively support LGBT causes, including ones which are radically and aggressively against the Catholic church and its moral teachings.

Well, Tony, for all your spin doctoring, ultimately whats in the heart reaches the heart; I think it would be safe to drop the "Roman" from the title "Roman Catholic" and replace it with "Cafeteria" in your case.

Newman on liberalism in the Church

 "[O]ne great mischief I have from the first opposed myself. For thirty, forty, fifty years I have resisted to the best of my powers the spirit of liberalism in religion. Never did Holy Church need champions against it more sorely than now, when, alas! it is an error overspreading, as a snare, the whole earth; and on this great occasion, when it is natural for one who is in my place to look out upon the world, and upon Holy Church as in it, and upon her future, it will not, I hope, be considered out of place, if I renew the protest against it which I have made so often." An extract from Newman's famous "Biglietto Speech", the language is different but the thought could be Benedict XVI

Fr Ray Blake comments in his blog: "Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another, and this is the teaching which is gaining substance and force daily. It is inconsistent with any recognition of any religion, as true. It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy..."  For further quotations from Newman and the rest of  Fr Ray Blake's commentary read here

Pope's visit to England, the affirmation of marriage

England, the destination of Benedict XVI's Sept. 16-19 trip, is the geopolitical epicenter of the culture of death, says Edmund Adamus, but it is also the "Dowry of Mary."

Adamus, director of Pastoral Affairs for the Diocese of Westminster, explained to ZENIT how England's unique Christian heritage and its present vanguard anti-Catholic culture make it a highly significant place for the Pope's upcoming visit.

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