THE
P RTAL
March 2019
Page 3
P ortal Comment
Is the age of Catholic
persecution over?
Will Burton asks the question
and poses an answer and a suggestion
M atthew Schmitz
wrote a thoughtful
article in the Catholic Herald on 8th February.
It was entitled, “The peril of polite Catholics”, and
concerned the way being polite can add fuel to those
who would attack the Catholic Faith.
A friend of mine was brought up on the east coast
of Scotland. Not a great Catholic area. Indeed, in the
town where my friend lived, the Catholic Church
was small indeed. The town, of no more than 10,000
people, was dominated by four large Church of
Scotland congregations.
Each church in the town was allocated a summer
Sunday for them to march through the streets. My
friend tells me that when the main Church of Scotland
marched, upwards of 3,000 people marched. They
seemed to time their arrival outside the Catholic
Church to coincide with the mass-goers leaving the
building. My friend described the intimidation such a
large body of people marching down the street had on
the tiny Catholic congregation.
When it was the Sunday designated for the Catholic
Church to march, only about thirty Catholics turned
up. At one particular corner in the road, were the
massed ranks of the Church of Scotland congregation.
Insults were shouted, stones thrown. Only the brave
Catholics turned up for mass that day!
Thankfully, those days are long gone now. Even the
chants at the “Old Firm” football matches have been
toned down, or so I believe.
Today, Catholic persecution still exists, but it is,
as Matthew Schmotz has pointed out, rather more
polite. It has been suggested that Catholics in the
USA be barred from the judiciary. Catholics in some
universities are branded as “sexist” and “homophobic”.
Fr Mark Morris, Catholic university Chaplain, was
sacked for holding a service of reparation following
a Gay Pride march. A Catholic priest sacked for
upholding the Catholic Faith!
“No platforming” has become the default position of
so many who oppose the Catholic Faith. Will Catholics
be able to avail themselves of a conscience clause in
the event of abortion on demand? Do Registrars in
England have a conscience clause when it comes to
officiating at same-sex weddings?
The criticism does not always come from non-
Catholics. There are occasions when Catholics voice
the opinion that those taking part in the March for
Life are extremists. Indeed, much of Catholic teaching
is now designated as extremist.
Being against abortion, euthanasia, same-sex
marriage, and contraception, all come under the
banner of extremism. One hopes and prays that the
Church in the UK will have the courage to stand up
for its values. These values are at the heart of what it is
to be human.
Take just one example, same-sex marriage. The
Church in England and Wales is now in the strange
position of conducting marriages that are not only
valid in church terms, but civil terms as well. At the
same time, the state sanctions same-sex marriages
that the church finds abhorrent. Surely, the church
ought to disassociate itself from such marriages?
This could be done so easily, by adopting the French
practice. Everyone who wants their marriage
recognised by the state would have a Registry Office
wedding, followed by a sacramental wedding in
church. Thus, the church would not be engaged in
conducting marriages that have the same weight as
state ones. There would be a clear distinction between
a civil wedding and a church one.
This is only my own personal opinion, but I offer
it as a solution to one of the problems facing the
church today.
My friend Arnold Herron is rather poorly at the
moment. Readers will have missed his articles in T he
P ortal . We hope he recovers soon.