For the past week I have been on holiday
in the great city of Chicago. With world class museums, sports and theatre it
is without a doubt one of the finest cities on this planet, I very much hope I
will have the chance to return at some point in the future.
Whilst being away I went to see the
touring Broadway show 'The Book of Mormon'. For those of you unfamiliar with
the production it is a worldwide smash hit which takes a satirical swipe at the
'disneyfication' of Africa and, as the name suggests, the Mormon religion.
The show, which was written by the
creators of the cartoon series South Park, initially received reactions and
criticism something akin to Monty Python's Life of Brian but as times move on
and in no small part due to the fact that adherents to the Mormon faith largely
saw the funny side a major critical and commercial success followed.
There is no doubt that The Book of
Mormon is not a show for the easily offended, the themes are adult and the
language explicit. But whilst I was humming along to the catchy tunes and
giggling to well written but nevertheless very definitely toilet humour an
important point struck me.
As with all musical theatre the show has
an anthemic song, in this case based on the faith and resulting idiosyncrasies
of the young lead. 'I Believe' starts off as a passionate enunciation of Mormon
doctrine but becomes increasingly silly as some of the more unusual aspects are
mentioned.
I paid particular attention when I heard
the line 'I believe that in 1978 God changed His mind about black people' that
I wanted to know more.
Some background reading told me that
until 1978 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stopped most black
men from ‘being ordained to the church’s lay priesthood’, which resulted in
black members not being able to play a full role within the church itself.
In broad terms since its creation in the
mid 1800’s the church and adherents to Mormonism had held a view about black
people largely in accordance with that of the wider community and it was only
when the civil rights movement became so prominent in the 1950’s and 60’s that
attitudes changed and a few short years after the church accepted blacks to
full status.
It shook me that as recently as in my
lifetime a church was discriminating against people because of such a basic
attribute of who they are.
I am absolutely sure you are starting to
see where I am going with this observation.
Last week the front page story of this
newspaper reported on battle lines being drawn up for the upcoming Synod of
Bishops focusing on the family. A letter has been sent by 461 priests in
England and Wales affirming ‘fidelity to the traditional doctrines regarding
marriage and the true meaning of human sexuality’.
Not for one second would I claim to be a
theologian or have the biblical knowledge of any of those 461 priests who
signed that letter but I, like many, many other Catholics can see how society
is changing to become more accepting of people with different backgrounds and
who make different lifestyle choices and I am more than comfortable with that.
I come from a generation which sees
divorce as sad but sometimes as sadly inevitable, a generation where we believe
it is infinitely better to have a child needing care being raised in an
unconventional foster family rather than staying in a children’s home, and
where we realise that our gay friends make just as much a contribution to
society as we do.
I have no idea what the outcome of the
upcoming Synod of Bishops will be but I do know that the views and opinions of
Catholics and non-catholics alike have changed irreversibly over the years to
ones of being increasingly accepting of different lifestyles. I’m very proud
that that change has happened in my lifetime.
During the recent Channel 4 programme
‘The Battle for Number 10’ Ed Miliband was asked what did he most applaud Mr
Cameron for during his time as Prime Minister? Ed responded that there were two
things, Mr Cameron’s support for international aid and his support for the
introduction of gay marriage.
To my mind Mr Miliband was right to
identify both. I have written before in the pages of this newspaper about the
need for overseas aid, and it is indeed a real achievement for this government,
but this is the first time I have commented publicly on the second issue.
I am very humbled to be a Catholic and I
try to follow church teaching but I cannot help but feel if it were my son or
daughter that told me they were gay above all else I would want them to have
every right that I have had. I am sure like countless other parents my love for
my children, and who they are or may grow up to be, would trump church dogma
every single time.
My views are not special or unusual,
they are commonly held with most people that I know.
Whether we are prepared to accept it or
not parliament for the most part reflects wider society. Changes to social
legislation such as the introduction of gay marriage would never have happened
unless there was widespread public support for it.
I cannot imagine a Conservative lead
government making such a change twenty years ago. The reason they have now is
because society has changed. It has become more tolerant, more accepting. In
that sense we live in a much better world and have a much brighter future.
Pope Francis can see that change
happening and just like a political leader realises for the church to remain
current it must adapt, the alternative is for its role to greatly diminish in
our society.
Just like in party politics change in
the church is very much a balancing act. The church has to reflect society but
should not forego its fundamental values to achieve popularity, even if
maintaining those values may inevitably lead to a much tougher future.
But, even without a great theological
knowledge, let us be clear, in the church just as in politics there is massive
room for interpretation. Scripture and teachings have been revised countless
times over the decades each time with minor changes to wording or inference. I
am fairly certain that the cumulative effect of those changes has led to a
church organic in nature and which has gone through a number of iterations of
it’s teaching on society.
It seems to me at least that this time
around our Bishops will have a very difficult task in balancing historical
teaching and current society, the conservative right of the church and the
liberal left.
To do nothing will leave the church on
the wrong side of history. We should very much pray for them.
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