Saturday 23 February 2013

The Bleedin' Obvious


I saw Cardinal O'Brien on the BBC news (where else?) joining in the calls for "modernising" the Church.  it reminded me of an episode of "Fawlty Towers".

Can we get you on Mastermind, Cardinal O'Brien? 
Next contestant Cardinal O'Brien from Edinburgh; chosen subject - the bleedin' obvious.

Cardinal O'Brien thinks that because priests find celibacy difficult, we should abolish it.
Actually, many married people find marriage difficult.  Does that mean that we should abolish it?
It is possible to find friendship difficult.  Should we make it optional?
Learning a foreign language. Very difficult.  Let's not bother.

Of course celibacy is not always easy.  It never was.  How is this new or news?

You can watch part of the interview with STV here.  If you get the advert before the video, the character in the blue costume with the big yellow feet is not the Cardinal.  he comes later!

8 comments:

Genty said...

It will become clearer by the day how many [un]supporters among the hierarchy worldwide Pope Benedict has had. One wonders whether they crossed their fingers behind their backs while taking the oath of loyalty.
That the laity in their millions demonstrated publicly their esteem and admiration for Benedict XVI, therefore his teaching, is of no account because in their muddled world they have not eyes to see.

Unknown said...

Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien on celibacy as heard on BBC Scotland
"It is a free world and I realise that many priests have found it very difficult to cope with celibacy as they lived out their priesthood and felt the need of a companion, of a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own."
After a Friday Lenten fast the last thing I had expected to hear from my own Cardinal Archbishop was this statement, although, God forgive me I was after reflexion, very sadly not surprised!
The timing of the statement prior to his leaving for Rome worried me even more.
It is a free world? How simplistic is that. I am a married practicing Roman Catholic with four grow up children and like many of my peers I at times have found it very difficult to cope with married life not to mention children!
The priesthood seems at times to be in a mess however I shudder to think of married priest with wives and families, it is not hard to see where the next scandals are coming from! We are truly blessed in having a celibate priesthood why replace it with something which ultimately with only be second best. The modernists will never stop trying to destroy the church.
I am even more concerned that we as Roman Catholics from the diocese of. St Andrews and Edinburgh are sending the Cardinal to elect a new Pope.
Cardinal O"Brien we were told had already decided to step down before Pope Benedict made his announcement. Why make such a statement ???

Jacobi said...

Between 1965 and 2008, the number of priests in the UK fell by 30%, while Mass attendance fell by 40%, in spite of an increase in the nominal Catholic population of 10%. (Catholic Stats. Leyshon, and, Return to Traditionalism) .

The problem is therefore not one of declining numbers of priests, but of declining numbers of (practising) Catholics, and by implication an excess of parishes as a result of this decline. If parishes were closed to match Mass attendance the problem priest numbers would disappear – for a while!

The solution is lies in restoring the high status which the priesthood enjoyed pre-Vatican 11 and in re-catechising the Faithful to provide Catholics capable of coping with the assaults of Secularism, both from within and without the Church.

Unknown said...

Jacobi, I could not agree with you more, but who is going to do it . The re-evangilisation without leadership, structure and authority will lead us further into the morass we have descended into. The church without a strong and decisive Pope who can lead with authority, such as Pius X and offer strong direction to the clergy at all levels can only fail in her mission. The weak leadership, and deviations from church teaching reduces the priesthood to a shadow of what it should be and sends millions of souls to hell. Maria ora pro nobis

Damask Rose said...

Jacobi said

"The solution is lies in restoring the high status which the priesthood enjoyed pre-Vatican 11 and in re-catechising the Faithful to provide Catholics capable of coping with the assaults of Secularism, both from within and without the Church."

Yes.

Patrick said

"Jacobi, I could not agree with you more, but who is going to do it?"

We are. We just have to stand our ground. We need to support holy orthodox priests and yes, good priests who will only ever say the Novus Ordo and those who say the TLM. Sometimes a priest just needs some encouragement for him to move into greater orthodoxy. It can't be easy for some priests - what their priestly peers think of them and so on.

Parate Viam Domini said...

Oh dear me! Just when you think things can't get any worse ...... they just get worser!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21563345

Somehow, I'm not surprised!

Genty said...

Reference my previous comment and the Holy Father's final public Angelus, QED.

Tony Heyes said...

Methought he did protest too much.