the only man to enter Parliament with honorable intentions

[angevin2]

The Gunpowder Plot arose in the following way: the King had recently invented a new table called Avoirduroi, which said:

I New Presbyter = I OLD PRIEST.
o Bishop = o King.James was always repeating 'No Bishop, No King', to himself, and one day a certain loyal citizen called Sir Guyfawkes, a very active and conscientious man, overheard him, and

Comments

[queeniefox]

since I am pro-not-persecuting-Catholics (or, you know, anyone, because yay religious tolerance) and also pro-not-blowing-people-up.

Ha, my own views entirely. To me, bonfire night is very much about the start of proper winter, (I wasn't allowed to do anything Halloween related as a child) and associated with lots of cosy childhood memories. I try to ignore the origin!

[handworn]

Well, I don't think tolerance extends to tolerating those trying to kill you or overthrow your government. That's tolerance to a ridiculous degree, tolerance literally to a fault. As for anti-Catholicism, let us not refrain from mistrusting power-- which the Catholic church has large amounts of-- out of a fear of being called anti- anything. I'd rather be called those things if that's the price of freedom.

[angevin2]

Two things:

1. The religious tolerance bit in the post was in reference to the kinds of policies that led people to want to blow up king and parliament in the first place -- policies which tended to assume that all Catholics, by virtue of not belonging to the national church, were into that sort of thing. Obviously, as noted, I don't actually endorse terrorism, then or now, and indeed I feel rather ridiculous saying so.

2. I am Catholic myself, and I have my own problems with my church. I am not afraid of being called anti-anything.

[handworn]

I am Catholic myself, and I have my own problems with my church

Rather the way I feel being an American, I imagine, in these power-abusing days.