What an interesting interview Canon Kearney, PP of Clonallon Parish, gave to the Sunday Sequence programme broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster on 8th. April 2007. The issue covered was the right of churches to broadcast Church services on the CB band following the granting of licences by OFCOM.
After OFCOM banned church broadcasts in 1999 some Churches continued to offer this service to parishioners in breach of the law of the land. While this was, in my opinion, the correct course of action as it meant that the sick and elderly could still feel a part of the Catholic community, when Canon Kearney was asked what Clonallon parish had done after the ban of 1999 I thought his answer was very illuminating.
He pointed out that the broadcasts had not stopped after the ban was introduced and justified it by saying that in this case that it was "easier to ask for forgiveness than permission".
And maybe there is a message to all Catholics that struggle in this modern age to deal with the strict laws imposed on them by the Church - laws like sex outside of marriage, the ban on the use of contraception, divorce, homosexuality etc. Rather than feeling compelled to lead lives by the Catholic doctrine maybe each person should leads their lives exactly as they see fit and then seek forgiveness later. It does make life much easier than trying to lead life by the rules in the first place. After all it is their own Church that is leading the way in this regard.
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3 comments:
"each person should leads their lives exactly as they see fit"
So everyone does what they like? Rubbish. I have all the moral justification I need for killing the person who I see throwing litter in the street, just because I believe I do?
Look at the state of society; "Relativism" just doesn't work. face it, some things are "right" and some things are "wrong". Now if you have a problem with an organised religion telling it as it is, then it's just that.., your problem.
My point frasure is exactly that. In this case the Church decided to ignore the rules because it did not suit them .
I agree that everyone, including the Church, needs to adhere to rules. However I don't accept this as a valid criticism of organised religions in general.
For all the human frailties of the Church, I firmly believe that relativism has done more harm to society at large.
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