Where O where are Burke and Hare?

According to a front page story in the Catholic Herald, the body of Padre Pio is to be dug up(exhumed sounds nicer) and put on public display. Not surprisingly, his family aren't keen on the idea. The local Archbishop, allegedly with interest from the Pope, is behind the scheme. The Prefect of the Congregation for the causes of Saints says"Every now and then it is common for exhumations to take place of personalities within the Church to see what condition their body is in and to see if it can be better preserved."

It's hard to know where to start but here goes. Why in Heaven's name in the 21st century are we digging up dead people, whether or not they are "personalities"? Why do we want to see what condition his body is in? And what if it is in a pretty nasty state;what then? Why does he need to go on display? He's dead. If this was proposed at a local fairground or in Ripley's the Council would rightly respond to the overwhelming public outcry at the tastelessness and unpleasentness of the idea. We shouldn't be worried about his body; that will rise glorified on the last day. We should be more interested in his message whilst he was alive and his intercession in Heaven.

This unhealthy pre-occupation with the corpses of saints is medieval and says nothing to a secular world that doesn't listen to the Gospel, so isn't likely to be swayed into conversion by the state of a corpse.

I think there are bigger issues for the Church and the world. I can't see Jesus going round Palestine approving an idea like this. It is not really what the Gospel is about. Sadly it is , sometimes, what the Roman Catholic Church is about.

The Last Post?

I am thinking that this might be my last post as Lancashire Cat. I haven't posted for some weeks and apart from saying this might be my last post, there isn't much else to say.

However, it seems the Bishop is receving plaudits for his proposals for schools. Long overdue proposals but well done to him. Catholic education (well the education might be right) is long overdue for the cracking of an episcopal whip. You might ask who allowed this dire state of affairs to arise or how it was allowed to occur, but let's not spoil the spirit of fraternal admiration I'm trying to work up.
There is, at least, a chance that the schools of the future might actually have to live up to the Catholic tag. There will probably be much fewer of them, but so what? Quality not quantity; a Christian ethos not bums on seats. Maybe some of the new breed of pupils in our changed schools will actually attend Mass and some might even enter the priesthood.

Well I enjoyed that and this won't be my last post. Much more to say. I think that Lancashire Cat, though, needs to look outside of the Diocese and cast a CATholic eye over wider affairs. A new day has begun.