Spinning

Well, what did we make of it all? The Rectory is settling down again after a few days of constant television, following with interest and great scrutiny the visit of  Benedict, He Who Must Be Obeyed. Our heads are still spinning with it all! It was superb television, although rather unbelievable at times. I'm not sure where the BBC got their presenters and commentators, but they will all get a holy medal, no doubt, for their services to Roman Catholicism and another for their servility. It was like listening to them fawning over the Queen Mother all over again! This was serious spin!

However, it has to be said that we, in The Rectory, enjoyed every last minute of it all! We did cringe a bit at times, but generally this had a feel-good factor which will encourage our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters and perhaps give them new heart after a particularly torrid time following the sexual abuse revelations. It probably, too, encouraged most other Christians, in Scotland anyway, if we are careful to emphasise what unites us rather than what divides us.

The Papal Visit, or the Humanisation of Benny as it may be subtitled, was an extremely valuable event, and will no doubt ignite serious and worthwhile debate within our society. I'm not sure how helpful it was to equate aggressive secularism with neo-Nazi-ism, but at least we will maybe now join the debate rather than have Dawkins, Hawkins et al shoved down our throat as the new,  and only worthy emerging religion of our time. There is an agenda here, and perhaps the modern Christian Church has been slow to respond to it, but it won't go away and it needs to be taken seriously.

So, thanks Benedict, for reminding me why I'm an Episcopalian, but helping us all to look again at the most serious issues of our age and encouraging us all to dialogue! Enjoy your rest! I don't know where you get the energy from!