It is twelve months since I last enterprised writing this blog. Since then I have had serious doubts about blogs: what purpose do they serve? who reads them? do they merely agitate an already turbulent social media? I think it likely that the new media have not only changed the way we express ourselves and interact but also the matters on which we comment. At the same time, the traditional commentariat – newspapers, radio, and TV – seem to have changed too.
The Catholic Church is in the middle of a perfect storm – with stories of clerical abuse breaking all over the place – and much of the comment is unhelpful. The villains are evil clergy and inadequate clergy, and asking the whole laity to fast and pray is not the most obvious way forward. Like most others, I continue to reflect on these matters but have little useful to say except that I remain glad that I became a Catholic seven years ago. I doubt if I should take that step at this point, in a different pontificate, but, ultimately, I became a Catholic because I believe the Catholic Faith is true. There has always been plenty to put one off and gross moral failure, as lately revealed, is just the latest of the discouragements. We soldier on and I am tremendously grateful to the parish and community, who have never made me feel ashamed to wear the Roman collar.
Latin Gate 