Padre Pio and solar power

A report in the Daily Telegraph says that a 200ft statue of Padre Pio is to be built which will have the ability to trap sunlight and convert it to energy. Well, I have to start somewhere, so I'll start with the statue itself.
200 ft high? Grandiose and tasteless come to mind. Perhaps also something about graven images. Yes, I know the Church has statues and has a good case for that; but 200 feet? ( Hope I don't run out of question marks). When does the messenger become more important than the message; or more to the point than the sender of the message. There is an unhealthy feeling of adoration and cultism around some of the Padre Pio activity. No human being is worthy of such representation, particularly if that human being is allegedly a humble servant of God, dedicated to a life of poverty. Even St Francis doesn't have anything like this and I wonder if he would approve. No, I don't need to wonder. Why is money being raised for this when ......... well is there any point listing more worthy reasons for this 21st century version of Franciscan begging.

So onto solar power. I suppose this is a PC nod to the climate change agenda. Maybe if the statue has a practical function then it might be easy to get permission to build, make it more generally acceptable etc. But, if you want a solar energy provider, don't mix it up with spirituality. I know someone will be saying that the green agenda, saving our planet etc. is a perfect practical, Christian response and maybe it is. But there is also the danger that linking with the pseudo-religion of some environmentalists and their Gaia worship is far from Christian. We do not need to bend the knee to environmentalism if we are living a truly Christian life. We know God created all things, holds all things in being and gave man dominion over his Creation. It's not something new as it is for the climate change lobby. True we could have done a better job but we don't need to be told how to be good stewards. Like so many of the wonderful truths of our faith we just need to work harder at being better in making them reality.

So, if you want another statue of Padre Pio, then keep it life-size; or better still slightly smaller. And if you want a solar power, build a windmill.

The bigger picture.

I was thinking the other day about inner city problems and gang violence. There had been something on the news again. Listening to the item, it struck me that the focus is always inwards; what can we do in the community, gang, individual etc. Whilst there are clear practical and material needs to be met, this approach looks incomplete. Maybe the problem is that these communities and the individual people in them are too enclosed, too detached from the bigger picture, the world beyond. It's well known that individuals who seperate themselves from wider social interaction run the risk of eccentricity or worse still actual mental health problems. So groups and comunities that are not nourished by or feed into the wider community eventually have nothing to grow on and nothing but there own narrow experience to base their lives on. If such communities are materially and economically deprived to begin with then it is hardly surprising that development and growth can be limited and often maladaptive.
So, in addition to input to develop infrastructures and personal input to help individuals, maybe we should be adding the need for"output", a contribution to the wider world, not when things are better but during the process of change.
Maybe churches have a role in encouraging individuals to think beyond themselves as a means of changing things for themselves. Jesus told us we had to die to self and to take up our cross daily. I don't think He meant that as an act of Christian self-improvement. His words are for all and offer life to all, not just those who have done RCIA. His words are spirit and life and we should help others to apply His wisdom in their lives whether or not they are believers. Applied, this word becomes deed and the Gospel lives.

The writing on the wall

Fr Val Farrel on his blog has a post about praying for vocations. He begins, a little frustratedly, by musing as to whether the Christian religion is really finished, not on the basis of falling numbers but on the worried response of Church leaders and the view that the answer is to pray for more priests. He suggests maybe the present situation is God's response, His plan; and it is our human arrogance that makes us seek our own response instead of His will.



I have a lot of sympathy for the points he makes. We are so locked into "traditional", even automatic responses and behaviour that we probably don't think much let alone seek to discern the will of God. Well,we have the promise of Jesus that the Father will give us all that we need so firstly we need to go back to trusting in the word of our Lord. But Jesus also said that those who have ears to hear should listen and that is what we are not good at. The lay faithful are pointed in the direction of saying a "traditional" prayer in response to the vocations need. Why not just listen and try to discern what the Lord is saying.

It might come as a surprise to some that the Holy Spirit does not just speak to and through professional clergy or canonised saints i.e. dead professional clergy, but to and through every faithful Christian according to the promise of Christ and to the prophecies in the Old Testament.



There are clearly going to be much fewer priests for the foreseeable future but that is not a recipe for disaster: it is an opportunity for the Church to walk in faith to be led by the Spirit and to cast off the old ways that are no longer part of God's plan. I'm not calling for Vatican 111 or anything ridiculous, simply suggesting that the laity need the clergy and the clergy need the laity. Remember St Paul's teaching about our being members of the one body.
And we all need the Holy Spirit.

Much will have to change: attitudes, local, parochial and deanery structures need shaking up. But first let us just pray as a group of faith-filled Christians in the Deanery of Blackpool and the Diocese of Lancaster for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and then listen.

Assisted suicide

So the bandwagon builds up speed. A day after her "historic victory" as the impartial BBC presenters put it, Debbie Purdy was saying that she should be allowed to die in England. Within 24 hours what she had wanted had changed to something else she wanted. Additionally there is a Labour backbencher hoping to introduce a Bill into Parliament on this issue. His chances of success would have been slim but today, Harriet Harman, Leader of the House, makes positive noises on the subject. With Government support the Bill would have a much better chance of succeeding and, with a Government in desperate need of popular support, it's unlikely they will fail to jump on this populist bandwagon.

Today the Director of Public Prosecutions indicates that any change to clarify the law on assisting suicide abroad will also apply to assistance at home. And of course there is the Human Rights Act Article 8 which seems likely to be invoked as giving a right to die as part of the right to live. In addition, the Royal College of Nursing(RCN) have moved from opposing assisted suicide to a neutral position following "extensive" consultation. It would pay a visit to their website to see that the next move is likely to be a more pro-active stance.

Reading the comments on an article in today's Daily Telegraph shows a level of support and also an arrogant and contemptuous dismissal of the position of religious thought and morality on the issue. The article argues that it is unfair that rich people can trip across to Switzerland whilst the poor have to stay at home and die miserably. It also use the arguments that were used for abortion: that the present arrangement is a mess and needs to be tidied up. We all know where the limited objectives of the Abortion Act ended up.

So the process has begun and it will have just one conclusion: the increasing introduction of different levels of euthanasia. There is considerable public support, there are key public bodies pushing the agenda, their are weak political parties influenced by party interest, pragmatism and anti-Chrisitian agendas and there is a Christian Church which cannot speak with one voice and cannot be sure of its authority over its own members let alone the great mass of unbelievers.

All we have left is God. So let us continue to pray and to intercede for this country which has deliberately set its face against God and all he stands for.

It is our duty, as today's first Mass reading tells us, to remind the sinner of his sin and it also our duty to plead for the sinner before the throne of God. The victory of euthanasia when it comes will be a hollow one. We have the victory of the Cross and a mighty deliverer in Christ.

Royal College of Nursing

The Royal College of Nursing( RCN), has formally changed its position on assisted suicide from against to neutral. The RCN website states " The RCN is to move to a neutral position on assisted suicide following a discussion at its Council meeting(24 July)" and " RCN Council's position,which followed extensive consultation, means that the RCN moves from opposing assisted suicide to a position where the college neither supports nor opposes a change to the law to allow assisted suicide." The communique refers to the complex legal, ethical issues etc which were raised and the concerns about vulnerable patients and patient care in general, which were raised in the consultation and in the extensive information giving exercise that appears to have taken place before the consultation exercise and the Council discussion.

So, on the face of it an open process, with opportunities to hear pro and con information and then express one's views through a voting process. But, I'm not so sure. It appears that there might have been extensive information giving - and it would be interesting to see the actual content and balance- but the "consultation, though extensive in intention was anything but in response. It seems 175,000 members were contacted but there were only 1200 responses. Of these 49% supported assisted suicide, whilst 40% opposed with the remaining 11% forming a sort of "don't know" group.
Now, according to my dodgy arithmetic, 49% of 1200 is 588 and 40% of 1200 is 480. So the decision of the Council, assuming it was based on the response, was taken on behalf of 588 members from a total of 175,000. The 11% "don't knows" amounts to 132 members.

What would be interesting is to know the views and deliberations of each member of the Council. Where do they stand on the issue? How can you make such a significant change on the basis of such a minority response. We are talking about human lives as well as the relationship of care between nurse and patient. Are the Council members not concerned at the low level response to what appears to have been an extensive information campaign? And what does it say about the nursing profession when so few appear willing to respond on such a vital issue? At least the "don't knows" took the trouble to respond. Maybe it's already a non-isssue for most of them.

I am trying to avoid being sceptical but democracy and openness are not always what they appear:
they can be used help carry through hidden agendas. I have had enough experience of "consultation" during my working life to understand its limitations and also its dubious usefulness.
Is this vote the beginning of a softening up process to move towards a pro position on assisted suicide? I think so but only time will tell. In the meantime there is an imprtant prayer need here.
For Catholics and many other Christians this is a non-negotiable issue.

Abortion advertising

There is news today about a three month consultation on the proposal to allow advertising of pregnancy advice services (though abortion will not be mentioned) and condoms on television, including before the watershed. The word consultation needs to be taken with a pinch or two of salt. I suggested it is a PR word for a done deal.Why a done deal? Because the Government and such services work hand in hand to promote "good sexual health" and to educate young people about safe and responsible sexual activities. In fact they have been working together for a long time and with so much success that we have the highest rate of teenage pregnacy in Europe and alarming levels of sexually transmitted diseases. So succsessful has this information and education strategy been that they now would like to extend it via television into our front rooms.

What seems to have missed their attention is that the strategy has failed. Time for Plan B? Not really, they don't have a Plan B which does not include promotion of their "services" and sale of their products, including abortion both surgical and medical. But like the War and the Germans abortion is something we musn't mention.

The reality is that while we have a popular culture that is built significantly around sex and the promotion of sex as a must have lifestyle issue, it is hardly suprising that young people, at whom large parts of this culture is directed, will be influenced in their "lifestyle" choices. These influences are present in television programmes, including TV soaps aimed at younger people. It is unavoidable in the music business and in promotional music videos and live shows. It is part of much popular literature and used to sell just about anything. Access to sex is also probably now regarded as a Human Right. So even the best "sexually educated" young person is going to find a great deal of counter pressure given the influences around them. And of course we have a significant teenage alcohol problem in this country which adds further pressure and risk. Education is going to have limited impact in the face of the power of popular culture. In fact, the statistical evidence of pregnancy and STD levels would suggest that the not inconsiderable education and health promotion efforts to date have had limited success.

These are the inevitable outcomes of society that over promotes the cult of celebrity and its attendant manifestations in popular culture. Until we begin to stop buying into the deceits of popular culture, education on sexual health and behaviour will continue to fail, wasting time, money and lives. Unfortunately the tactics of the educators too often mimic the style of pop culture to get their message across. Popular culture has nothing to offer in terms of sex eucation

Cult of Death

Those who oppose the Gospel of Life are in the process of trying to extend the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. No doubt encouraged by their success in eliminating millions of lives ( or foetuses as they might say) in the rest of the UK they want, in a spirit of democracy and social justice, to extend the same opportunities to the people of Northern Ireland. Well, we have the evidence of 41 years of lies and betrayal to guide us on this and that tells us that once you open the door slightly to something like this you finish up having it kicked in in your face. So if you want to do something to stem the tide sign the petition on the 10 Downing Street website. I understand the address is: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Anti-Abortion. The petition closes on 11/3/2008. You can also just Google 10 Downing Street and follow from there. Do it!