The World Cup of Misused Churches

Yet another World Cup to be settled by Twitter polls. The churches can be Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, whatever (so far they seem to be Anglican cathedrals that were once Catholic). The misuse is to be some significant secular event that took place in a place normally used for worship - so liturgical abuses don't count (we have plenty of those anyway!)

We have nine nominations so far, all from England, so please nominate others worldwide (with location and preferably a link or a photo):

Canterbury - Silent disco

Durham - Globe

Liverpool - Globe

Norwich - Dinosaur

Norwich - Helter-skelter

Peterborough - Dinosaur

Rochester - Crazy golf

St Edmundsbury - Masonic dinner

Westminster - Amal puppet

I won't start until after Easter, but let's have nominations in now.

Oh... and this is not the place to discuss the theft of Catholic cathedrals...

Mogg turns to the dark side

The scene is breakfast at Mogg Towers. The Right Honourable Jacob Rees-Mogg, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council, one of the UK's most senior Catholics, is eating breakfast, watched as always by his faithful nanny, Nanny Ogg.

Jacob: That's all, I've finished!

Nanny: No you haven't, you naughty boy. Eat up your kippers.

Jacob: I ask the honourable nanny to note that I have never liked kippers.

Nanny: Jacob, you will eat those kippers or go to your bedroom!

Mogg at the breakfast table.

Jacob: Oh, all right, Nanny.

Nanny: There's a good boy. Now, Jacob, I want to have a serious talk with you. Are you still a Catholic?

Jacob: You know I'm a Catholic, Nanny! Didn't Helena and I go to Mass in the private chapel on Sunday? Didn't we take the children, all the way from big Prima down to little Quartus Decimus? Father O'Blimey said he was delighted to see us. And you were really good as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, Nanny!

Fr O'Blimey's sermon on "The best bits of Laudato Si'" fails to grip.

Nanny: Yes, all right. So perhaps you could explain why you are member of a government that is doing so many wicked things?

Jacob: Wicked things, Nanny?

Nanny: Yes. For a start you are trying to remove abortion restrictions in Northern Ireland. Fr O'Blimey says you can be excommunicated for that.

Jacob: Oh heck, that was Bozza's idea. You know Bozza - blond, unkempt, bit of a sex-maniac, but basically a good guy. He's my boss now.

Mogg's choice of anti-virus mask should have warned us.

Nanny: And now I hear that you're changing the divorce laws to make it easier to put asunder those whom God hath joined, or at least whom a spotty man in a grey suit in a registry office hath joined.

Jacob: Still, we did scrap one of Bozza's ideas, which was that randomly-selected people would be contacted by the Home Office and told "Surprise, surprise! We've just given you a divorce! From now on your registered address is the garden shed."

Nanny: It's not good enough, you know. Also the nation's Catholics want to go to Mass - even the bishops want to, and they're the last people you'd think of getting involved! Moreover, the Anglicans are missing the helter-skelters and crazy golf that their own cathedrals normally provide. And all you can do is witter on about needing a haircut!

The inside of the Mogg private chapel, St Mogg's.

Jacob: Can't the Catholics go to their private chapels, as we do? No, I suppose not.

Nanny: It's not good enough, Jacob. You're a naughty boy. What are you?

Jacob: A naughty boy, Nanny. Sorry!

Nanny: We had intended you to be the next Prime Minister but three.
But after this, my patience fails. Go off and govern New South Wales!*

*Hilaire Belloc.

Catholics encouraged to celebrate Ramadan

Imam Al-Nichols, also known to Catholics as Vincent, Cardinal Nichols, explained today that he was celebrating Ramadan at home since "What are Muslims but Catholics with a bit more money?"

Al-Nichols recycles his Father Christmas beard so as to be more ecumenical.

Daily life in the Nichols home is now a very Spartan affair, similar to that of a devout Muslim. A huge plate of bacon and eggs just before dawn, and then it's only fast food during the daytime (jumbo offalburgers, fish and chips, Westminster fried chicken). Then at sunset he is able to recover with a huge tankard of Medina beer ("the drink of the prophet").

"'Ramadan' is the Arabic word for 'Lent'," explains al-Nichols. "Some of my critics have pointed out that Catholics are still celebrating Easter, but how can that possibly be more important?"

Yes, there really is a Medina beer.

Being a "Mecca II" Muslim, al-Nichols is more liberal than most. He reads the Koran every day, but it is a "Message Koran". This omits the bits about slaying the infidel, replacing them by advice to write a stern letter to the Tablet acknowledging that all shades of opinion are equally valid. Also, the Imam-Cardinal does not believe in "ad Meccam" prayer, preferring to show his back to the Holy City.

When it comes to morals, al-Nichols continues to take a liberal attitude. Having in the past shown favour to "gay Masses", he is very keen to see similar events including Muslims, but "this is a long-term project".

When critics point out that Mohammed does not have such an impressive CV as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, al-Nichols has an answer for them. "It's an ecumenical matter," he explains. "Anglicans worship Henry VIII, don't they, and he was an even more bloodthirsty chap! Justin Welby and I are one on this matter."

Westminster Mosque.

It is not clear how many Muslims have been drawn into the Catholic Church by al-Nichols's initiative, or whether there has been any great movement in the other direction. The Catholic bishops are still keeping all the churches closed, and nobody knows what is going on inside at present. However, bearing in mind that al-Nichols is a keen football fan ("soccer" if you are American), we do note that there are 22 dioceses in England and Wales, and 22 men in a football match (plus the Nuncio acting as a referee). We leave readers to draw their own conclusions about the cries of "Over here, John!" "Good shot, Richard!" "You dirty fouler, John!" "You're offside, Malcolm!" "Where's your glasses, Nuncio?" "Dive, Bernard!" and "Goal!" which many have heard on walking past the theoretically-empty cathedral.

Now, about Hinduism...

Chilcot report on the Reformation awaited

This week sees the publication of Sir John Chilcot's long-awaited report on the Reformation in England. In 1553, Queen Mary appointed Chilcot to conduct this enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the 1534 attack on the Catholic Church, but it has taken Sir John 463 years to come to some definite conclusions.

Sir John Chilcot begins to draft his report.

It is likely that the lion's share of the blame for the action that led to the death of thousands and destroyed monasteries will fall to Henry VIII, also known as "Tudy". Although initially a very popular ruler among his subjects, and elected with a huge majority in 1509, Tudy is now universally regarded as a cruel and greedy despot. Tudy was aided by his sidekick "Alastair" Cromwell, with his famous claim that the Pope had weapons of Mass Destruction targeted on the Archbishop of Canterbury, and that they could be deployed within 45 minutes.

Fountains Abbey was destroyed, but no WMDs were ever found.

Of course Henry Tudy has long since departed from public life, and is believed to be living a quiet life in retirement under the name of Brian Blessed. It is unlikely that he will be impeached for war crimes at this late stage.

It is generally agreed that the Catholic Church in England has still not fully recovered from Tudy's War, even after nearly 500 years. A succession of puppet rulers has been put in place - most recently Car-din al-Cormac and Car-din al-Nichols - but they have not succeeded in restoring the ancient glories of Cath-liq.

Al-Nichols stands outside the Grand Mosque.

Vincent Nichols misses his own funeral

Westminster, Thursday, May 7th 2048.

The funeral of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who died last week at the age of 102, took place today at Westminster Cathedral. The Mass was celebrated by his holiness Pope Pius XIII, formerly Cardinal Mark Davies, who is himself a youthful 94 years old.

Westminster Cathedral (it hasn't changed much, has it?)

One unusual feature of the funeral was the absence of the deceased himself. As a spokesman explained, "After a lifetime of moving religious festivals from the correct day to the following Sunday in order that priests and bishops could attend midweek football matches, it seemed appropriate for Vincent Nichols to arrive at his own funeral on the following Sunday."

In fact, the controversial Synod of Whitstable in 2034 was supposed to have fixed the dates of religious festivals once and for all, so that, for example, Ascension Day should take place 40 days after Easter. However, this decision did not apply in England and Wales, where it was habitually moved to the following Sunday, irrespective of whenever the Pope himself thought it should be.

Trying to make the date of Whit(sun) stable.

When asked whether the absence of Vincent Nichols meant that his funeral "lacked something", a spokesman said, "It's the way he'd have wanted it. Whenever anyone called on Vin to take action, rather than merely make speeches, you could never get a response. We'll hardly notice the difference."

Meanwhile, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor is 115, and already lobbying for the next pope.

Christians get ready to observe Ramadan

We are guided today by a brilliant observation from the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales:

Of course! The time has come to combine Ramadan and Lent into one great period of abstinence, to be called Ramalent, or Lentadan, or something. Rentalamb. Whatever. Maybe we can get the Jews on board too, and combine Lent with Yom Kippur as well. We've agreed to eat no bacon on Fridays - see how much common ground we have already? Crumbs! The Middle-East crisis is as good as solved, even without the efforts of Tony Blair!

A new-look Catholic cat.

For Christians, Lent is the time when Christ went into the desert and met the Devil - or, according to Giles Fraser, didn't meet the Devil. If only Matthew, Mark and Luke had been Guardian-readers they'd have known that such a thing was impossible! Mohammed of course did not meet the Devil, or even Giles Fraser, but his followers still recommend Ramadan as a period of fasting, at least until it gets dark, when Muslims can PARTY!

See? Muslims love liturgical dancing, just as Christians do!

Mgr Ronald Knox wrote a fine piece, Reunion all round, about the possible inclusion of Muslims, Jews, Atheists, etc. into the Church of England (where they would hardly be thought of as unusual). One of his best recommendations was that Muezzins should awake people in the morning by intoning simple, non-controversial messages from church towers, such as:

Early to bed, and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!

"Mohammed said 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.' Are you Catholics happy with that one?"

Indeed, other messages are possible. The Anglicans might wish to use the well-known statement of faith, which applies to every issue they discuss (it was first published in Private Eye, I think):

On the one hand...
On the other hand...
In a very real sense...

while the Catholics may simply shout out:

Who am I to judge?

One of Westminster's finest mosques (prop. Imam Nichols).

Anyway, these precise reforms are probably further down the line; although the Tablet, as usual, is in the vanguard, and is already tipping Jihad John as the next bishop of Arundel and Brighton. Meanwhile, we Christians can prepare for Ramadan with a clear conscience, knowing that we are now eligible for 72 virgins in Paradise (offer available to men only) as an alternative to an eternity in Abraham's bosom.

Probe makes historic landing on Cormac

From our astonomical correspondent.

As reported elsewhere, a robot probe has made an historic landing on the heavenly (?) body Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

The probe comes in to land on Cormac.

First reports indicate that although considered "eminent", the Cormac is a featureless wasteland unlikely to support much in the way of intelligent life. Sophisticated tests are being conducted for evidence of orthodoxy and spirituality, but scientists are pessimistic about the outcome.

The Cormac has long been a significant object in the constellation Circulus Magicus, and is of such a great age that many observers had expected it to fade away by this time. Nevertheless, it still exerts a mysterious force on other celestial objects, such as Cardinalis Amnesiae or the "Nichols Star"; however, its rogue satellite Kieranus Arundelis et Brighthelmstonis has now broken away, and is alleged to have been seen in the vicinity of Uxor Alii.

Watching Cormac from the Westminster observatory.

The Cormac has occasionally been sighted in Urbs Roma, where it exerts a mysterious gravitational attraction way beyond what is predicted by the normal laws of physics. This influence is considered undesirable, and may even be a cause of some recent chaotic behaviour observed in the great star Pontifex.

Vinston Nichill to appear on £5 note

The Bank of England has announced that Archbishop Vinston Nichill of Westminster, who led England and Wales to victory against the forces of modernism and secularism during the dark days of 2013, is to appear on the new £5 note.

"I have nothing to offer..."

Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank, announced the plan today. From 2016, Nichill will be portrayed on the £5 note along with a picture of Westminster, the scene of so many of his triumphs.

It is expected that people will soon start to refer to the £5 note as "Nichols," which is, curiously, how Americans refer to their 5-cent coin. It is believed that the two will soon be worth roughly the same.

Mervyn King went on to hint that other church leaders may feature on future banknotes. "Welby, Sacks, ... why even Kieran Conry or Giles Fraser could be chosen!" he quipped.

Vinston Nichill himself received the news humbly: "In the battle for a red hat, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Happy citizens in Warwick Street, the scene of one of Vinston's greatest triumphs.

Directly-elected bishops

On the day when voters are rushing to the polling stations to elect their own police chiefs for the first time, it was announced today that from now on the Catholic Church would ensure that all future bishops were directly elected (as the American Catholic Countil recommends), rather than relying on a murky process involving the Pope, his Nuncio, and malicious gossip spread by well-known Catholic bloggers.

The Anglicans have had directly-elected bishops for some time.

Although for the time being all bishops will necessarily be male - a great disappointment to Prof. Tina Beattie, who had set her heart on a cosy diocese as a way of relaunching her career - the Catholic church is obliged by law to allow non-Catholics to stand for election.

We spoke to three people who are planning to throw their mitres into the ring, one from each of the largest political parties.

Boris Johnson, in cycling mitre.

Manifesto: Cripes! What Westminster needs is a go-ahead bishop who will build cycle paths in the Cathedral, in order to speed up the circulation of the jolly old customers. Then, in the longer term, we shall reduce congestion by moving Westminster Cathedral to a whizzo new island that we're building in the middle of the North Sea.

Religious opinions: Our new liturgy, beginning "What ho, God!" is guaranteed to get the Almighty's attention and give Him a friendly nudge towards smiting our enemies. Under my leadership, the Geiger counter of Catholomania will go zoink! off the scale, so put that in your pipe and smoke it, Romney!

Richard Dawkins, modelling the BBC-approved mitre.

Manifesto: The Catholic Church needs to rebrand itself as the Dawkins Foundation for Religion and Faith. At present it is too busy focusing on peripheral issues like God and morality, when it needs to be getting out there and preaching the Good News from my books. Science has solved all the problems of the Universe, and so we don't need any more scientists. Er, no, I'll have another go at that one...

Religious opinions: There's probably no God, but then again there may be, and I'm not being indecisive here. So I'm pretty much in touch with mainstream Liberal Catholic opinion on that one.

John Prescott, being measured for a bespoke XXXXXL mitre.

Manifesto: I may not be a pious Cathartic myself, but my friend Tony Blair certainly is, and he thinks it is important that New Labour should be at the heart of the Church. I see the job of a Bishop as one of derogation - so I shall sit in my pew mediocritating, while someone else does the work.

Religious opinions: The Bible is far too complicated for the average bishop in the street to understand, but "Give us this day our daily pies," or whatever the exact wording is, seems to be something I can relate to.