Via Humanitatis
Exurgent mortui et ad me Veniunt
This is just a quick farewell to John Paul II. I wasn’t particularly saddened when he passed away, he had a good innings after all, but the last couple of months must have been tortuous for him. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not in any way religious but the frail old man from Poland stood out amongst an otherwise uninspiring lot. Leading the Catholic Church in these uncertain times was no mean task and he faced the challenge head on, even after surviving the assassination attempt and then later being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. A charismatic and somewhat intriguing figure [especially his language ability], to say that he was a contradiction is an understatement. His strong vocal opposition to communism, western imperialism and the excesses of capitalism certainly struck a note with people from many faiths and non-believers alike. He also made great efforts to reach some kind of reconciliation with old protagonists such as the Orthodox Church, Muslims and Jews. Yet his conservative stance against the use of contraception, in particular the use of condoms, undoubtedly helped condemn millions of people to death via AIDS, most notably in Africa. I know that critics have also tried to pin the debacle concerning priests in the US on him but in reality that little time bomb was already too well institutionalised before he became shepherd. However his death has again highlighted the rot lying at the heart of the Christianity; how do you continue preaching a hard-line conservative stance on sex, contraception, and homosexuality [amongst other issues] and yet still attract young people to the faith at a time when the lay population is [apparently] becoming increasingly sophisticated, because that’s the fundamental problem facing the Church today, congregations are haemorrhaging at an unsustainable rate. I’m not an expert on matters theological but dispensing with old-school dogma [fuba veneris] rejecting outright the use of contraception would be a groundbreaking start. In an age when the planet’s finite resources are already struggling to sustain an increasing population, if anyone can see the wood from the trees, God can surely!
Anyway, on to matters new. I have just recovered from another heavy cold that somehow cunningly disguised itself as tonsillitis in the early stages and then threatened to morph into pleurisy in the latter stages. However these battered lungs came through yet again.
My folks are travelling down from Scotland at the end of the month. My dad who is 70ish [I think] still insists on driving everywhere. He is truly mad! I think it will be the first time that they have been back to Plymouth since the start of the redevelopment of the city centre. If they had seen what it looked like a few months ago, I’m sure the scene would have reminded them of the devastation left after the blitz in WWII, the imagery was that similar. Apparently the chief architect behind the redevelopment wants the remains of St Andrews Church to be moved as part of the overall plan for Bretonside. I’m feel quite attached to the church in its current location but I also admit that I would warm to the idea of it being moved if it improves public access to the site. Where it is now, it might just as well be situated on Drake’s Island. However, on a related matter, I have absolutely no time for the monstrosity formally referred to as the Staples building. In fact I think we should invite the Lufwaffe over again to bomb it to pieces [and the nobhead in Plymouth City Council who gave the original architect planning permission to build it]. They can also bomb the Pavilions, the Mayflower Centre, Great Western House and the Civic Centre whilst they’re at it.
There, I’ve got that off my chest and I feel much better. Good tidings all.
This is just a quick farewell to John Paul II. I wasn’t particularly saddened when he passed away, he had a good innings after all, but the last couple of months must have been tortuous for him. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not in any way religious but the frail old man from Poland stood out amongst an otherwise uninspiring lot. Leading the Catholic Church in these uncertain times was no mean task and he faced the challenge head on, even after surviving the assassination attempt and then later being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. A charismatic and somewhat intriguing figure [especially his language ability], to say that he was a contradiction is an understatement. His strong vocal opposition to communism, western imperialism and the excesses of capitalism certainly struck a note with people from many faiths and non-believers alike. He also made great efforts to reach some kind of reconciliation with old protagonists such as the Orthodox Church, Muslims and Jews. Yet his conservative stance against the use of contraception, in particular the use of condoms, undoubtedly helped condemn millions of people to death via AIDS, most notably in Africa. I know that critics have also tried to pin the debacle concerning priests in the US on him but in reality that little time bomb was already too well institutionalised before he became shepherd. However his death has again highlighted the rot lying at the heart of the Christianity; how do you continue preaching a hard-line conservative stance on sex, contraception, and homosexuality [amongst other issues] and yet still attract young people to the faith at a time when the lay population is [apparently] becoming increasingly sophisticated, because that’s the fundamental problem facing the Church today, congregations are haemorrhaging at an unsustainable rate. I’m not an expert on matters theological but dispensing with old-school dogma [fuba veneris] rejecting outright the use of contraception would be a groundbreaking start. In an age when the planet’s finite resources are already struggling to sustain an increasing population, if anyone can see the wood from the trees, God can surely!
Anyway, on to matters new. I have just recovered from another heavy cold that somehow cunningly disguised itself as tonsillitis in the early stages and then threatened to morph into pleurisy in the latter stages. However these battered lungs came through yet again.
My folks are travelling down from Scotland at the end of the month. My dad who is 70ish [I think] still insists on driving everywhere. He is truly mad! I think it will be the first time that they have been back to Plymouth since the start of the redevelopment of the city centre. If they had seen what it looked like a few months ago, I’m sure the scene would have reminded them of the devastation left after the blitz in WWII, the imagery was that similar. Apparently the chief architect behind the redevelopment wants the remains of St Andrews Church to be moved as part of the overall plan for Bretonside. I’m feel quite attached to the church in its current location but I also admit that I would warm to the idea of it being moved if it improves public access to the site. Where it is now, it might just as well be situated on Drake’s Island. However, on a related matter, I have absolutely no time for the monstrosity formally referred to as the Staples building. In fact I think we should invite the Lufwaffe over again to bomb it to pieces [and the nobhead in Plymouth City Council who gave the original architect planning permission to build it]. They can also bomb the Pavilions, the Mayflower Centre, Great Western House and the Civic Centre whilst they’re at it.
There, I’ve got that off my chest and I feel much better. Good tidings all.