Of course, the usual politically correct Catholic bureaucrat was ready to leap to her condemnation: "Sarah Teather, Country Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service and former Liberal Democrat MP, shared the Prime Minister’s statement on Facebook and wrote: “While on a trip to promote arms sales to a country [Saudi Arabia] that engages in torture, Theresa May criticises the National Trust’s Easter egg hunt for dropping references to Christianity. What a disincarnate vision of the faith she seems to have: all about English tradition and labels, but no respect for human lives.”
The business of a head of state is to deal with foreign governments, including less-than-savoury foreign governments. Besides, if the Prime Minister hadn't been in Saudi Arabia, they would have complained about something else to deflect attention.
And a Roman Catholic MP, Conor McGinn, also complained about it, tweeting that "Jesus wouldn't care". It's amazing how these liberal Catholics have a hotline to Jesus himself.
It's not a trivial matter. Or rather, it would be a trivial matter if it wasn't a constant drip-drip-drip of secularisation and denial of the Christian nature of Christian festivals and heritage.
It reminds me that I've been irritated every morning for at least two weeks now about a billboard advertisement for a brand of rum which refers to a "four day weekend" on the horizon-- as though Holy Week was an opportunity for a booze-up. I meant to send them a complaint. This has reminded me.
Yes, well done to Theresa May for this. An enjoyably no-messin' response which will be unpopular in all the right quarters over here! Apparently she has given up crisps for Lent, which if true is worth noting.
ReplyDeleteSarah Teather's remark surprised me: I thought she was a serious Catholic. She participates in a scheme that offers a year's internship in Parliament for young Catholics hoping to enter public life and voted against the same-sex marriage bill, which was a pretty bold stand for a Liberal Democrat to make. Perhaps she has let her politics trump her faith with this comment? Her assertion that we are rather too cosy with (apart from merely tolerant of) Saudi Arabia, in its current mood at least, is not unjustified.
You're right that it isn't a trivial matter. Words matter. In any case, can't these people hear how cheap and colourless the secularised version sounds?
I admire her for her stand on same-sex marriage, but she seems to be yet another open borders fanatic-- not much respect for that. Besides, the Saudi Arabia thing is an irrelevance in my view-- a completely different matter.
DeleteI'm happy to say that the Christian societies in my university have heavily advertised a Stations of the Cross and "true meaning of Easter" poster.
I'd never heard of her before, by the way.
DeleteTwo government schools in Sydney that have had a tradition of Easter bonnet parades have decided to drop the Easter this year, one calling it a ' crazy hats parade'. One parent spoke out yesterday [ evidently the hats are made at home], saying that they'd write EASTER in big letters ' all over the damn things'. Another government school in the same state will continue to acknowledge Easter, but only after they asked the Sikh community first. Why Sikhs,I don't know. I would have suggested maybe because they can't wear bonnets, but I don't like being satirical about others beliefs. One NewSouthWales state politician (you'll be glad to know his name is Kelly) was good enough to publicly remark that we can't be an inclusive society if we don't share traditions of our own
ReplyDeleteMaybe because Sikhs are easy-going about these things, if this video is anything to go by...at least this gentleman at 2:30...
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa6iKYydFmU&t=5s
Nice to see Kellys are still causing trouble in Australia.