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Posted on 04/02/2008 5:51:55 AM PDT by NYer
The leader of Britain's Catholics claimed yesterday that "Judaeo-Christian values" were the only thing binding British society together, on the eve of a lecture series on the place of faith in British public life.
Speaking to the Guardian, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor hit out at representatives of an "aggressive secularism" that he believes is gaining ground in the UK, defended the Catholic Church's combative intervention last week in the debate over "hybrid" embryos, and argued that Christian leaders should hold a privileged position over the representatives of other faiths when it came to their input into public policy.
The cardinal's comments are likely to bring him into conflict with his first speaker, Tony Blair, who is expected to use his lecture tomorrow to launch his inter-faith foundation. It will be the first public statement on faith by the former prime minister since he stepped down in July and converted to Catholicism.
The Catholic leader's arguments contrast with the statement in February by his Church of England counterpart, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, that the introduction of some aspect of sharia law in this country was "unavoidable". The cardinal has said promotion of multiculturalism has destroyed the unity that once held Britain together. Williams will also give one of the lectures.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Can the Eloi & Morlocks be far behind?
Sort of ironic, since the mushy modernist Cardinal has himself probably been responsible for a lot of the falling away of Catholics in England. However, he seems to have had some kind of a galvanizing moment recently (since the election of BXVI!) and has suddenly started sounding almost - well, Catholic.
It’s a very creepy thought, but I’m sure in the back of some tiny mind, there are thoughts of producing a “race” just for labor or for organ farming purposes. There’s a brilliant and depressing novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the British writer of “Remains of the Day,” about such things. The book is called “Never Let Me Go.” I recommend it highly.
It looks interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.
It will not be a race, it will be a species.
The ethical questions are terrifying! Surely a Pandora’s box!
How is the Cardinal a ‘mushy modernist’? He’s always come across to me as a standard issue catholic. He hates contraception and covers up for paedophiles in the church.....
Sadly, that’s true. He’s unfortunately provided the model for a whole generation of such “Catholics” in the UK, although the good news is that he’s retiring and his rumored replacements are much more Catholic. There are some excellent, very orthodox clergy in the UK, and they are gaining the upper hand as the groovy generation dies out.
To tell the truth, I’m surprised that Cormac Murphy O’Connor is coming out and saying some marginally Catholic things now, since he’s retiring and certainly had many opportunities over the years to make these statements, which he did not seize, shall we say.
I think you’ll like it. It’s not a polemic; just a beautifully written, absolutely chilling book that you won’t forget soon.
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