Tuesday 22 June 2010

Papal Visit Organisers Need to Learn from the Pagans




Woodstock 1969












Glastonbury 2009










The pagans can organise a gigantic event seemingly at will. Why can't we do it for the Holy Father? The Last Knight of Noise of the Crusade has quite rightly lamented the organisation of the Papal Visit.

'Damian Thompson has suggested that: “talk of ‘participating’ by watching the Pope on television or online has irritated ordinary Catholics who are also being asked to fork out for the cost of the visit”. That is an understatement. To tell the faithful to participate by television is an insult. We are expected to behave ourselves, to stay indoors unless we have specific permission to be out, as if this were a time of national emergency instead of celebration.'

It isn't easy being an individual passionate about the Catholic Faith in 2010 in England, especially when one gets the distinct impression that those in Office just don't 'feel that way' about it at all. However, the Last Knight goes on to make a suggestion, namely, that we imitate what people definitely did at Woodstock and what people used to do at Glastonbury festival before it went corporate and decidely unrock. Referring to the Gospel reading on the miraculous draught of fishes, the Last Knight says...

'Why should fishing for men be any less dangerous and chaotic than catching fish? Does the Successor of Peter really want to come to this country to see a handful of carefully controlled faithful, selected by Monsignor Summersgill, dutifully clutching their official booklets and safely penned in? Or does he want to come here and do some fishing? If Monsignor Summersgill were asked to take the Pope fishing it would probably involve a barrel full of carp and a shotgun, and certainly no broken nets or sinking boats.

It is clear that the official organisation of this visit is going to let us down. The proposed small and safely controlled contingent of sanitised, ticketed faithful is going to be no match for the secularists’ desire to obscure the rare light which will visit our shores in September. We need to get onto the streets, and make ourselves the story. On Saturday 18 September, just get on the train to London. Go to Hyde Park. It’s Hyde Park for goodness' sake! If they won’t let you in, fill the streets around it and stop the traffic. Make some noise, and drown out the few boring secularists who will bother to turn out. You can watch the Pope on TV any time you like: now is the time to show him you love him. The Catholic faithful of England must make themselves into a miraculous draught for Peter, because the world needs to know that he is God’s Fisher of Men.'

Fantastic. Flood Hyde Park. That's the answer. Health and safety can go spin. We've come to see the Rock and nothing and nobody is going to stand in our way. Let's sleep in Hyde Park overnight and then hitchhike up to Coventry for the Beatification of Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman!

No. Those who are organising this event won't fool the 'Children of the Revolution'.

3 comments:

Patricius said...

If the Pagans can do it indeed! We ourselves did it well enough in 1982 when Pope John Paul came. What wimps we must be!

Physiocrat said...

It would be nice to think that the Pope had something suitable prepared for the Bishops. A ceremonial distribution of their P45s, perhaps. Handing back their insignia of office. Nothing too harsh.

Stand up for real Christians said...

I don't think Woodstock or Glastonbury are 'pagan' events, they are music festivals attended by ordinary people. I've attended Glastonbury (albeit when I was younger) and I am Christian (Catholic) and definately not a pagan.

Typical glib comment from you Laurence.

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