Yesterday I saw in the news that Richard
Dawkins, one of the world’s leading academic proponents of atheism had said in
an interview broadcast worldwide on Aljazeerah TV that: being raised Catholic is worse than child abuse, and further that
the mental torment inflicted by the
religion’s teachings is worse in the long-term than any sexual abuse[i]
Just in case you think that Dawkins
is isolated and that his thoughts are not those of others, on Friday I was told
that my name came up in conversation at a workplace function in Broome. The
general consensus, as reported to me, was that Fr Matt was a good bloke, but that
Catholic stuff is all a bit weird. The Catholics at that workplace agreed that
the priest was not a bad bloke, but did nothing to answer the charge that all
that Catholic stuff was a bit weird. Instead they all went a bit quiet, accepted
the accusations, and missed the opportunity to stand up for their faith.
Today, if you and I are under any
misapprehension that out beliefs are held by a majority of people and are not
under attack, even by fellow Catholics, we are clearly wrong. In many ways we
are back to where we began.
The nativity scene we have in
front of us is very familiar, but before the euphoria of Christmas night, let
us take a moment to consider the main players. We have the location, an shed or
cave in a backwater town of a remote and troublesome Roman province. Shepherds
are there, the lowest on the social rung: they slept outside with their
animals. If they were in Broome they would be in the open on Kennedy Hill or
the other side of Demco. Then we have two people who are truly extraordinary,
who rise above the madding crowd and they are just as relevant today as they
were two thousand years ago.
God has promised never to abandon
his people. Mary believed that promise and was able to recognise God’s
messenger in the Angel Gabriel. This enabled her to reach out to Elizabeth and
in turn be affirmed in her faith. Joseph was likewise guided by God. He accepted
Mary his young and pregnant fiancée, knowing the public ridicule and
disapproval it would precipitate. Our two main players bucked the cynicism of
the day because they believed that God was active in the world.
At Christmas we are given the
chance to affirm our faith, a faith that if lived to the full is not socially
acceptable to many in our world who prefer the soft and secular option.
Elizabeth may you say of us the
same that you said of Mary: Blessed is
she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
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