Sunday, March 7, 2010

Anti-Catholicism and British politics

Damian Thompson had a very interesting op-ed in yesterday's Telegraph titled "Gay church blessings and a crisis of faith". The whole piece can be found here.

Much of the article makes sense to me. I certainly agree that Labour's overarching guiding light is " an ideology of human rights rooted in European secularism". There is no doubt too that we are often our own worst enemy and the comment "..many of the leaders and most of the bureaucracy of the Anglican and Catholic Churches in Britain are rooting for Labour in the culture wars" is spot on.

The article also picks up on the fact that Catholics in the cabinet have been systematically removed since Paw Broon took over. What the article doesn't do, perhaps for obvious reasons, is point out that Scottish Presbyterians are, to a man, anti-Catholic bigots. Ask any Scottish Catholic who lives in, say Bridgeton, or Ibrox, or Govan how welcome he feels in his own country. Ask any Catholic who lives in a small town like Kilwinning or on Lewis or Harris or North Uist how free he feels to practice his faith. Ask any Glasgow Catholic subjected Orange marches all summer long how that feels.

Can it be mere coincidence that since the "son of the manse" has taken over as Dear Leader, all practicing Catholics have been removed from Government?

Oh give me a home,
Where there's no Pope of Rome
Where there's nothing but Protestants stay.
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And flute bands play The Sash every day.

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