Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Catholics celebrating the Reformation

At first sight, Catholics may be inclined to view the Reformation as a BAD THING. Was it really as much fun as we first thought? Did those monks who were kicked out of their monasteries enjoy the experience immensely? Did St Thomas More really find the whole business of imprisonment, trial and execution a real bundle of laughs? He got out one good line, though, if A Man for all Seasons is accurate: "Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world …. But for Wales!"

Thomas More

Thomas More: "I died laughing!"

Do we remember Henry VIII as a benefactor of mankind, burning the odd chap here, decapitating another one here (well, several thousand, in fact), just so that he could get rid of Queen Katherine, who only bore him a daughter, and replace her with Queen Anne, who, er, only bore him a daughter?

Of course, those who survived discovered that there was even more fun to come. Edward VI. Cranmer and his prayer book. More massacres, all in the name of a new liturgy. We didn't see the like again until Vatican II. Then a swing back to the Catholics (Queen Mary), and more slaughter. Followed by a swing to the Anglicans (Queen Elizabeth), and yet more slaughter. Those Tudors really knew how to enjoy themselves! Weren't those 39 articles well worth killing for?

A jolly good read.

Actually, what used to be the most anti-Catholic of the articles, "The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England," isn't at all controversial these days. Ask the Tablet. Ask ACTA. Ask Vincent Nichols.

O.K. So the English Reformation was a GOOD THING. Either we are ecumenical and say "Well, they had a jolly good time, but it really didn't make much difference," or we're not, and we say "Bravo! One in the eye for Pope Whoever-it-was! Only Anglicans can be saved!"

Jesus saves

Extra Ecclesiam Angliae nulla salus.

Of course the Reformation really started in Germany with Martin Luther, who also had a wife called Katherina but - unlike Henry VIII - decided to keep her. He was a clever chap, who wrote 95 theses. Presumably he got 95 D.Phil.s or Ph.D.s, too. "Call me Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr.... Luther," he'd say. Having been excommunicated, he didn't really have much choice in his worship: either accept the authority of the Catholic Church, or start his own. Or - this being Germany - he could have found a way to preach heresy while remaining a Catholic priest in good standing. Ask Cardinal Marx how that's done.

Cardinal Marx and Pope Francis

Explaining Marxism to the Pope.

So, when Paul Röttig in the Tablet tells us that we should all celebrate the Reformation - massacres and all - then let's party! Is Timothy Radcliffe free?

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13 comments:

  1. FrereRabit7 July 2015 at 17:09

    Dr. Paul F. Röttig is author of "Grace and Competence", in which he outlines the interesting theory that the Church will be improved through sending the Holy Spirit on a professional training course to improve His management techniques.

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  2. Anonymous7 July 2015 at 18:15

    There used to be a popular saying, which was trotted out when anyone was invited to support something which would have ruinous consequences for them: Do turkeys vote for Christmas? Dr Röttig would presumably say, Yes, of course! (Incidentally, I note that Card. Marx is involved in this celebratory shindig...why am I not surprised?)

    Dr Röttig says, "Martin Luther did not want to found a new Church." Well, neither did Henry VIII. It's just that both of them thought they should be the head and arbiter of the existing Church, being far better fitted for the post than any Pope, and couldn't see any difficulty with that. So they both meant well, and that's all right, then.

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  3. Unknown7 July 2015 at 19:19

    So good to know that nobody these days would dare publish 95 heresies .. oh, except the loony ACTA Action Plan & etc of course !!! What coulf possibly go wrong, except the odd decapitation ???

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  4. mrswupple7 July 2015 at 22:07

    Martin Luther was mad. He had hallucinations. Nowadays a nice ant-psychotic depot injection would have stopped those articles at number 3

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  5. JARay7 July 2015 at 23:13

    Er..umm. Doesn't Basil Loftus excell in preaching heresy and remaining a priest in good standing??

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  6. Gatepost productions8 July 2015 at 08:26

    I always learn something from this blog.

    Today I learnt that Martin Luther invented DIY (I had thought he was in Batman), and Wales was excommunicated.

    However, I have read this post through several times and can't see where Sepp Blatter fits in anywhere; is ACTA a part of FIFA?

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    Replies
    1. Philippa Martyr9 July 2015 at 01:56

      No, silly. Martin Luther was the baddie in Superman. He had a mysterious cache of kryptonite that he used against the Pope, thus reducing his powers to normal human limits. I saw the fillum.

      Delete
    2. Gatepost productions9 July 2015 at 20:15

      Blimey! I didn't know that. There's something else I learned

      Delete
  7. Frederick Jones8 July 2015 at 18:52

    I thought the Reformation began in the 1960s.

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    1. Anonymous10 July 2015 at 17:48

      No, according to Philip Larkin, it was sex that did that.

      Delete
  8. LeonG10 July 2015 at 20:58

    I thought there were only two articles - the Definite & the Indefinite.

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  9. David Murphy2 August 2015 at 15:00

    Just out of interest, why do you want Cardinal Seán O'Malley to explain Marxism to the Pope? I thought Cardinal Reinhard Marx would have been a better choice. Admittedly they both have beards and glasses, but so does he:

    http://shorthairstyleslong.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hairstyles-for-men-with-beards-and-glasses.jpg

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    Replies
    1. Eccles26 November 2015 at 18:36

      Thanks, I have now changed the photo.

      So now we can let the Reformation celebrations begin!

      Delete