"Are we living in a Roman Catholic country?" That
was the question posed by a leading columnist in the Daily
Mail on April 10.
The writer, while offering sympathy to British Roman Catholics
on the death of Pope John Paul II - a sentiment which most
decent people would echo - found it difficult to understand
why the BBC should have gone to such lengths to cover the
death and the funeral of the leader of a minority religion
in the United Kingdom.
That sentiment would find a ready response in Northern Ireland,
where many people were amazed at the extent of the coverage
of the Pope's death.
It was an event that certainly deserved to be fully reported.
But compared to the passing of previous Popes, the amount
of time devoted on Talkback and other BBC programmes was huge
to say the least.
Many Protestants in Northern Ireland must certainly have
listened with great interest to the interviews with leading
Roman Catholics, and ordinary lay people on Talkback and on
most other programmes during the week.
The tone of the interviewers was reverential and understanding
and there was little in the way of criticism of the Papacy
and the Vatican's role in world affairs, and in the ultra-conservative
nature of the Roman Catholic Church in recent times.
When one female contributor did make critical reference to
the Church's attitude towards some matters, including the
role of women, there was a spate of angry phone calls and
text messages from irate Roman Catholic callers.
During the huge volume of publicity during the week of the
Pope's death and funeral, there were interesting theories,
including the one made by the Daily Mail columnist, namely
whether the UK is on its way to becoming a Roman Catholic
nation.
These theories included reference to the outpouring of public
grief after the death of Princess Diana, and several people
referred to the lighting of candles, the throwing of flowers
on to the funeral car, and the public manifestation of grief
on the part of so many people, in sharp contrast to the traditional
stiff upper lip displayed by Britons.
One caller suggested that this was a sign of Britain's move
towards "a Continental" society with the Roman Catholic
church dominant once again.
The media, especially the BBC certainly did its best to convey
the impression that the UK, if not yet officially designated
a Roman Catholic nation, is certainly heading that way.
Fair comment? Hardly, if one considers the available statistics.
The most generous estimate of the total Roman Catholic population
of the United Kingdom was given as six million. Some people
would argue that the more realistic figure is four million,
but even if one concedes the higher estimate, that is still
very much a minority in a nation of 59 million people.
And it is also estimated that some 26 million people in England
have been baptised in the Church of England.
Later in the week, when other voices were being heard, especially
on television programmes like Newsnight, the point was made
that only 50 per cent of English Roman Catholics are regular
attenders at mass.
There was also an interesting exchange of views between Roman
Catholic writers and journalists, with one leading Roman Catholic
woman writer arguing that the many outstanding qualities of
Pope John Paul II could not disguise the fact that the Church
was struggling in many areas.
Ignoring scornful remarks from a fellow Roman Catholic on
the same programme, the journalist concerned argues that the
fact could not be ignored that the Church was struggling with
issues like contraception and the role of women in the Church.
She went on to make the salient point that Roman Catholicism
is struggling in Latin America, its traditional stronghold,
and is losing out big time to Protestant Evangelicals on that
continent.
On another programme, a dissident from all the pro-Catholic
sentiments, put forward the argument that the Vatican's continued
opposition to condoms encourages the spread of Aids in Africa.
Perhaps the main reason why the Roman Catholic Church enjoys
such a high profile in the UK is that the leaders of the Protestant
Churches tend to be silent or low-key in regard to many matters.
That's why there has been encouraging signs that the new
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has been speaking
out on key issues.
People may not necessarily agree with his views, but there
will be satisfaction, especially on the part of Protestants,
that the views of the Church of England are being heard.
Most Protestants are opposed to abortion, and in Northern
Ireland this has been accepted, as the Orange Order has spoken
out against any attempt to dilute the law on this important
issue.
When the UK joined the Common Market, there were assurances
that this would not interfere with the Protestant religion
in the nation, and no attempt to coerce the British people
into becoming members of the Roman Catholic Church.
Well, religious freedom is still assured. But there have
been hints that moves can be made fairly soon to overthrow
the Act of Succession which insists that the monarch must
be a Protestant.
One interesting suggestion advanced by a writer in a national
newspaper was that the huge publicity on the Pope's death
and funeral was a clarion call to the "Christian people"
of Europe to unite in the face of what the writer described
as the growing militance of Islam.
Hopefully, this is farfetched. The last thing that Europe
needs is a religious movement which would have alarming similarities
with the dreaded inquisition.
Protestants must awaken to the new threats to religious freedom
and thinking which are stirring in Europe, and stand firm
in the principles of the Reformation.
The Reformed churches must certainly speak out on social
issues, and defend the freedoms and liberties won at such
cost down the centuries, especially by Protestant martyrs.
But the main objective of Reformed Christian churches is
to preach the gospel and to win souls for Christ. Nothing
would do more to provide the UK with a stable and honourable
society than a long-awaited Christian revival. Believers must
continue to work and pray for this revival similar to that
of the Wesleys in the 18th century, the Ulster Revival of
1859, and the Welsh Revival of 1904, to take place once again.
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