HERE I AM, LORD
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IS THE POPE CATHOLIC?
Fathers Ignatius and
Donald drove back from Bishop’s House after an all-day meeting with the Bishop
and several other priests from the Diocese. The Bishop had called a conference
to discuss dwindling numbers attending church every Sunday.
It was about seven in
the evening and the priests looked forward to a light snack and watching
football on TV. England was playing Italy in an important game which they just
had to win.
As they entered the
kitchen they found their housekeeper, Mrs Davenport, still there with her
friend Edna Winterton. Now Mrs Davenport was not exactly the brightest star in
the firmament, and Edna was even less so.
“Good evening ladies,”
said Father Ignatius, “I would have thought you’d retired to your cottage Mrs D
…”
“It is far from being
a good evening, Father,” she said, “far from it indeed.”
“Something the
matter?” asked Father Donald in his pronounced Glasgow accent with a hint of
levity in his tone, as he usually did, “have we run out of milk again? Or is it
something more dire?”
“This is no laughing
matter, Fathers,” continued the housekeeper, “Edna and I have waited for your
return and would have waited all night if needs be.”
“What is the problem?”
asked Father Ignatius as the two priests sat down at the kitchen table.
“I’ll let Edna tell
you, Fathers,” she replied, “better you hear it from the horse’s mouth … not
that you are a horse, Edna; or resemble one. It’s a figure of speaking.”
Edna smiled feebly and
started to explain. “It’s my niece Father. She’s a lovely girl. Only eighteen
and the apple of her parents’ eyes; and mine too. We love her so, don’t we, Mrs
Davenport?”
“We sure do, Edna;
she’s a lovely girl all right. You’ve never met her, Fathers. She lives in
Birmingham with her parents; or rather she did. The shame of it.”
Father Donald was
getting impatient looking at his watch about the timing of the football game.
He was about to say something when Edna continued. “Well … she is no longer
with her parents.”
The priests feared the
worst. Father Donald changed mode instantaneously and was about to offer
comfort when Edna interrupted again. “She’s gone to University in London … you
know, London down South. A real den of iniquity it is, for sure.”
“That London?” quipped
Father Donald.
“I don’t understand,”
asked Father Ignatius gently.
“Well,” said Edna as
she wiped tears from her eyes, “she mixed with the wrong kind sadly for her.
She said the Catholic Church is boring with all them Latin words in Mass and
she now goes to an Anglican Church in London. Can you imagine, Fathers? One of
our own going to another church? Her parents would be spinning in their graves
at the news, if they were dead that is!”
Father Donald hid a
smile and said nothing. Mrs Davenport joined in. “It is terrible news for sure,
Father Ignatius,” she said, “Edna and I have been reciting the Rosary all
evening waiting for you. We’ve done it six times I think!”
“Seven,” corrected
Edna.
“Yes that’s right,”
said Mrs D, “it is terrible news. Especially since our Lord was Catholic and
all. And Latin was His language was it not?”
“Actually, he was
Jewish,” corrected Father Donald having discovered his impatient streak once
again.
“What do you mean?”
asked the housekeeper.
“The Catholic Church
has ancient and common ties with the Jewish religion,” explained Father
Ignatius gently, “the Old Testament is full of writings from the prophets and
people like Abraham, Moses, Isaiah and so on. They were all Jews. And so were
Jesus and the disciples.”
“But the Pope is
Catholic!” declared Mrs Davenport.
“He was the last time
I checked,” said Father Donald looking at his watch.
“Look ladies … Edna,”
continued Father Ignatius in his usual calm and kind manner, “the Catholic
Church developed years later, but let us not concern ourselves with that now.
You are worried that your niece is going to an Anglican Church, and no doubt
her parents are worrying too. But let us look at another scenario. Would you
rather she did not go to church at all?”
“Heavens and the
Saints forbid,” Edna said, “her parents would …”
“… be turning in their
graves,” mumbled Father Donald.
“The thing is,” Donald
continued more seriously, “young people at that age tend to rebel against their
parents, society, anything. I’m sure you ladies rebelled in some way or other when
you were that age; although I cannot imagine how or what you did!
“The fact is, when you
come down to it, this teenager has chosen to go to an Anglican Church. Nothing
wrong with that, as Ignatius implied. Better than not going to church at all.
At least she still is in the faith. In time, she may return to our Church or
not. We’ll wait and see. I doubt it really matters.
“Christianity
encompasses many denominations. The Catholics don’t have a monopoly on that. There
are many non-Catholics in Heaven, you know. Although some Catholics seem to
think we’d be the only one’s there!
“But that’s beside the
point. What I advise is that you two, and the girl’s parents, should pray about
this. Don’t try to persuade your niece in any way as this might push her away
from Christianity altogether. And that wouldn’t be too clever, will it?”
“No Father,” the two
women mumbled.
“Good,” he continued,
“now … is there anything else, because there’s an important football match due
to start soon!”
“So it is OK for her
to go to another church?” confirmed Edna, as the two priests nodded gently and
left the kitchen.
As they sat in front
of the TV Father Donald said, “What a state we’re in. We have an ignorant
generation breeding another ignorant generation … was Jesus Catholic indeed!”
“We have a lot of
teaching to do,” replied Father Ignatius, “maybe an inter-denominational series
of Bible studies sessions …”
And that’s exactly
what happened. Father Ignatius contacted a number of vicars and ministers he
knew from other denominations, and they set up a series of joint seminars for
their various congregations.
Little did that young
niece know that she was instrumental in encouraging mutual understanding and
unity amongst the various churches of this little Northern town.
EXCERPT FROM "HERE I AM, LORD"
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