Poll

ZENIT are reporting the Tablet's reporting of a survey undertaken in the UK ahead of the visit by Pope Benedict XVI.

From a Catholic point of view, there are some encouraging aspects to the poll. The results do, for example, suggest that the vitriolic antipathy of such as the Protest the Pope coalition is not reflected among ordinary members of the population, and that the media attention it might gain is disproportionate to the level of real support that such views have.

That something like one in five of the general population as a whole look as if they will follow the Papal visit is also an encouraging statistic.

One of the most interesting results is the response to a question about the Christian culture that forms a part of the history of the United Kingdom, though it does need to be treated with some caution.  Some 76% of the general population responded to say that they thought the United Kingdom should retain its Christian culture. It is worth looking at the seventh slide of the Tablet's reporting, to see the wording of this question and the related question about the Catholic Church's strong moral views. The question is one about Christian culture, and not about Christian beliefs - so one should not draw too strong a conclusion in favour of an influence of Christian beliefs in public life from this response. The significance perhaps lies more in the defining of UK culture as Christian over and against other, possibly religious or possibly secular, cultures. But even with his caution attached to it, the response is interesting in the view of the secularisation of our culture as it is manifested in the media. But the most interesting question on this slide is that about the value of the Catholic Church's strong moral beliefs. That nearly half the general population are indicated as finding this at least a "tend to agree" suggests an acceptance of the place of the Church in public life when she teaches on moral questions, though this is clearly not to say that those "tending to agree" thereby all agree with what is taught. I think the implications of this response are interesting.

A final thought on the question about support for the Papal visit, on slide 2 of the Tablet's reporting. With nearly two thirds of the general population neither opposing nor supporting the Papal visit, one recognises that the vitriol and misrepresentation of such as Protest the Pope coalition is not shared by the people of the UK as a whole. This is encouraging. However, it also suggests that many of those 63% may feel that they do not have what one might call a "stake" in the Papal visit (only 20% or so intend following the visit via the media). From the Catholic point of view, this is less encouraging and might give us cause for thought in the coming two weeks.

PS: School term starts on Monday, but when I was at school one morning this week I had my first conversation with a colleague about the Papal visit. I am sure more conversations will follow.

Lourdes 2: in the footsteps of Bernadette

On the Thursday of our stay in Lourdes, the planned activity was to walk the "Path of Bernadette" from Lourdes to the village of Bartres. The idea had been to walk up, visit Bartres with a picnic, and then return to Lourdes.

As it turned out, that particular day was untypically warm, even for August. The Haut-Pyrenees enjoyed record high temperatures, with the thermometer reaching 39 Celsius. Walking any distance was not recommended!

Plan B involved driving up to Bartres instead, and, after visiting the parish Church of St John the Baptist, spending quite a bit of time under the trees in the sheepfold, reading and eating our picnic.

Later in the week, we visited the other places associated with Bernadette's life in Lourdes. Pages on the website of the shrine about each of these places can be accessed from the interactive map here. We enjoyed a particularly good visit to the Hospice, where Bernadette made her first Communion. Our timing meant that, for each of our visits, we avoided large crowds and so were able to make peaceful visits.

This page summarises the 16 apparitions of the Virgin Mary to St Bernadette. Bernadette responds, in the case of each apparition, to an invitation from the "Lady" to visit her at the grotto. It is, I think, the last of the apparitions that appeals to me most: "I saw only the Blessed Virgin, and she was more beautiful than ever!"

God: Hawking did not create the Universe

The headline occupies the lower centre of the front page of today's Times, in large print:

Hawking: God did not create Universe

and then in smaller print:

Britain's most eminent scientist rejects divine intervention

Now, at first reflection, one is tempted to substitute Stephen Hawking for Tony Blair in The Catholic Whistle's story of arrivals at the pearly gates, not intending thereby to be unpleasant to Stephen Hawking in any personal way, but rather to point out something of the view that he represents.  There is more substance to suggesting that Stephen Hawking is laying claim to God's seat than to the idea that Tony Blair occupies that chair!

The definiteness of some of the media reporting of Stephen Hawking's view is not necessarily accurate to the extract from his forthcoming book that appears in the Eureka supplement with today's Times. There are some interesting appearances of the word "if" in that extract. A comment on the notion of multiple universes (this is, if I recall correctly, derided by Stanley Jaki as the most un-scientific notion imaginable - science as science is not able to assert a notion such as this that is by its own definition beyond the possibility of empirical observation), is followed at the beginning of the next paragraph with "But if it is true ..." It is in paragraphs qualified by this "if it is true ..." that Stephen Hawking writes what is the subject of much of today's media coverage:

But just as Darwin and Wallace explained how the apparently miraculous design of living forms could appear without intervention by a supreme being, the multiverse concept can explain the fine-tuning of physical law without the need for a benevolent creator who made the Universe for our benefit....Spontaneous creation is the reason why the Universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the Universe going.

The last paragraph of the extract in Eureka is somewhat alike to the last paragraph of Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time. Compare this, from A Brief History ..

However, if we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, by able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God.

to this from the extract in Eureka:

M-theory is the unified theory Einstein was hoping to find. The fact that we human beings .... have been able to come this close to an understanding of the laws governing us and our Universe is a great triumph. But perhaps the true miracle is that abstract considerations of logic lead to a unique theory that predicts and describes a vast Universe full of the amazing variety that we see. If the theory is confirmed by observation, it will be the successful conclusion of a search going back more than 3 000 years.

We will have found the grand design.

One of the lessons of science, particularly in the most recent stages of its history, is that the ultimate understanding for one generation is simply the launching point for the explorations of the next generation. Even at this level, the claim for M-theory that it might be the final step towards man's understanding of the Universe, whole and entire, is breathtakingly arrogant. And it is amusing to see the reference to "confirmed by observation" of a theory part of which is to suggest completely unobservable parallel universes.

But the key point on which the argument turns is that of "spontaneous creation", the idea that the Universe is in some way self-creating. This isn't actually that new an idea, and doesn't appear to me to be particularly linked to a new M-theory of everything. From the point of view of the scientists first proposing it, the idea of the anthropic principle (that our Universe is in some way very finely tuned to provide the conditions for reasoning observers to come to live in it) implicitly contained  an idea of a self-explaining universe, and it is but a small step to move from there to a self-creating Universe. [Some Christian apologists take up this idea of the anthropic principle and see it as supporting an idea of humankind's special place at the highest point in the order of the Universe. I think it can be understood in this way, and this is in some way a part of the insight contained in this principle. But we should recognise that, in understanding it in this way, Christian apologists are adding a sense of extrinsic meaningfulness, of directed purpose, that the original scientist proponents of the principle would not share.]

I had originally intended giving this post the title "I am, you are, but is Stephen Hawking?", meaning thereby to draw attention to the idea of being, the idea of existing rather than not existing, and the understanding of the idea of creation philosophically understood as having to do with the bringing into and sustaining of being as such. The history of the development of the physical/material aspect of being that is rightly the study of the physical sciences isn't able to touch on this question of creation, except through the mediation of a philosophy of being. The term "creation" as it is used by Stephen Hawking is therefore quite empty of meaning ... and, in reality, he isn't able to draw any real conclusion, one way or another, about the existence of a God who is the creator of the Universe. And that is even if his M-theory is true ....

Further comment: at Musings of a Pertinacious Papist and The Telegraph.

Who is my neighbour?

In the context of the campaign by French president Sarkozy against Roma migrants in France - at least that is the way one source in France was describing it, though it isn't perhaps a completely fair characterisation of the action that he has ordered against Roma encampments and people - there are one or two interesting pieces of news with regard to the action of the Catholic Church in support of migrants and travelling people.

A resignation

Though the timing suggests that it might be, the acceptance by Pope Benedict XVI of the resignation of the President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelling Peoples, Mgr Agostino Marchetto, has in fact no connection to events in France. Mgr Marchetto has sought to resign as he reached 70 years of age, the age at which Apostolic Nuncio's offer their resignation.  He will continue in his post until a successor is appointed. Mgr Marchetto is known in Italy for his strong stance in favour of travelling people. According to the report of his resignation in La Croix, he had on two occasions (in February and July 2009) found himself "dropped" by the official Vatican spokesman after responding publicly to political developments in Italy that adversely affected traveller people. In recent days, he has been in step with several French bishops, and has asserted that, in his remarks to French visitors in Rome that they should learn how to know and accept differences between peoples, Pope Benedict did indeed want to say something to the French people:

« Le Saint-Père a voulu dire quelque chose à la France », confirme aujourd’hui Mgr Marchetto, ajoutant : « L’Église n’est ni de droite, ni de gauche. Elle ne souhaite pas entrer dans des discussions politiques, mais simplement proposer son regard sur ces personnes souffrantes. » ["The Holy Father wanted to say something to France", confirmed Mgr Marchetto today, adding: "The Church is neither of the right, or of the left. She does not wish to enter into political discussions, but simply to propose her concern for people who suffer".]

Mgr Marchetto perhaps touched on the core of the question when he insisted that it is not legitimate to "generalise and take a whole group of people and kick them out".

 
The Archbishop of Toulouse speaking in Lourdes
 
The pilgrimage of the Archiocese of Toulouse to Lourdes took place last week, and, on Friday last, the Archbishop, Mgr Robert Le Gall, spoke strongly against the actions of President Sarkozy's government. Other French bishops have also spoken out against the destruction of Roma encampments and the so-called voluntary return of Roma to their countries of origin, but what was special about Mgr Le Gall's contribution was his quotation of a pastoral letter written by one of his predecessors as Archbishop of Toulouse, a letter written in 1942 protesting against the deportation of Jews by the Germans:

"Jews are men and women... They are part of the human race. They are our brothers like so many others. A Christian cannot forget this" In August 2010, in France, encampments of Roma are dismantled and so-called voluntary expulsions from French territory are given great publicity. Before these activities and the repeated declarations of many members of the Government, we cannot remain silent ...

This has provoked outrage from some Jewish commentators, who object strongly to the comparison of the expulsions of the Roma to the deportations of the Jews. Mgr Le Gall has clarified in response that his intention had not been to draw a parallel between the deportation of the Jews and that of the Roma today but:

inviter les chrétiens et les hommes de bonne volonté à avoir la même attitude d’accueil, de respect et de fraternité envers les Roms que celle que son prédécesseur demandait aux catholiques du diocèse de Toulouse en août 1942. [to invite Christians and men of good will to have the same attitude of welcome, of respect, and of fraternity towards the Roma as that which his predecessor asked of the Catholics of the diocese of Tolouse in 1942.]

But, whilst one might not want to draw parallels between the two sets of events themselves, there certainly seem to be some underlying principles that are similar between the two sets of events: the use of force, a forced transfer from one territory to another (though not, of course, to forced labour and death - at this point the parallel clearly breaks down), a generalisation that blames a whole group for the criminal activities of only a part of the group and uses this as a justification for a persecution of the whole group, the group being based on a more or less racial basis.
 
The experience of travelling people in France
 
Every year, there is a pilgrimage of travelling people ("gens de voyage") to Lourdes. The pilgrimage this year was overshadowed by the actions of the French government against the Roma.

À l’occasion du 54e Pèlerinage catholique des Gitans et gens du voyage, à Lourdes, et de la convention annuelle évangélique de Chaumont, les gens du voyage sont venus dire leur souffrance et leur colère face à la stigmatisation dont ils sont l’objet depuis plusieurs semaines.....les pèlerins de Lourdes se sentent de plus en plus stigmatisés. « C’est beaucoup plus dur cette année. Quand on rentre dans les magasins, les gens sont plus distants que d’habitude. Ils nous dévisagent des pieds à la tête, alors qu’ils nous connaissent. Les vigiles nous surveillent de près. C’est blessant, on se sent rejetés »,  [On the occasion of the 54th Catholic pilgrimage of Gitanes and travelling people, in Lourdes, and of the annual evangelical convention at Chaumont, the travelling people came to express their suffering and their anger at the stigmatisation of which they have been the object for several weeks.... The pilgrims to Lourdes feel more and more stigmatised. "It is much harder this year. When we go into the shops, people are more distant than usual. They look us up and down, even though they know us. Security watches us closely. It is wounding, we feel rejected".]

Lourdes 1: or, where have I been for the last week?

Zero and I have just returned from a 7 night stay in Lourdes, a stay intended as both a pilgirmage and a holiday. Our first day, spent in Pau, was somewhat damp to begin with and then got brighter.

In visiting the main Church in the town centre we found leaflets advertising perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Church of St Therese, and duly walked the kilometre or two to reach the said Church. Perpetual adoration was begun in November 2009 at the request of the Bishop of the diocese (Bayonne, Lescar and Orlon - Mgr Aillet), to pray particularly for priestly vocations.

When we arrived, there was no-one present before the Lord (oops! - and this despite what appeared to be an efficient system of regularly committed adorers and substitutes). We stayed for thirty minutes, and someone arrived to take over as we left. I signed the book they had for "occasional adorers", adding the word "Angleterre" after our names.

My own photograph of the exterior of the Church is below; there are some photographs of the interior of the Church here.

This is my photograph of the Adoration Chapel, accessible from the entrance area of the Church, on the right.

The leaflet for the perpetual adoration contains the following quotation from Cardinal Tauran, who is, I believe, the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.

Un monde sans adoration, serait un monde a la seule mesure de l'homme ... Un monde sans adoration n'est pas seulement irreligieux; c'est un monde inhumain.  [A world without adoration, that would be a world whose only measure is man ... A world without adoration is not only irreligious; it is a world that is inhuman.]

After our time of adoration, we betook ourselves to C&A. The branch in Pau is housed in a modern shopping precinct and lacked the historic grandeur of the last C&A branch we visited - in Prague, on Wenceslaus Square. The balcony of the building that now houses C&A in Prague was the balcony on which Vaclav Havel and Dubcek appeared at a key moment in the "velvet revolution".

Now, which constituted the real pilgrimage - the walk out to St Therese and back or the visit to C&A - is a moot point!

Pakistan: the demand of solidarity

As events related to the heavy rain and floods continue to unfold in Pakistan, I was reminded at Mass yesterday of the demands of solidarity with those suffering in a part of the world distant from us.

This is the latest BBC news report. This account from Aid to the Church in Need gives an idea of how areas that have not been directly affected by flooding have nevertheless been drawn into the events surrounding it. For a country whose suffering in recent times has had several causes, the addition of natural disaster is poignant. It makes a demand for solidarity that transcends the causes of the suffering.

The solidarity is needed at two levels. One level is that of the organs of the international community, the United Nations and governments of its member states. The second level is that of individuals and organisations of civil society, such as charities.

At an individual level, we are called to both prayer and practical help.

I expect that I will not be alone in having a work colleague with family in north west Pakistan, the area first affected by the rains and floods. The need for solidarity has a personal element, too.

... and the reporter retreated to his car!

The parish priest of one of my nearby parishes is a great devotee of St Therese of Lisieux. He first visited Lisieux on a pilgrimage-retreat as a seminarian 38 years ago, and hasn't missed a year since. This year was his 10th year as the spiritual leader of the retreat-pilgrimage.

In this week's parish newsletter, Father writes something of this year's pilgrimage-retreat, which took place recently. He finishes the newsletter with the following paragraph:

On the Monday when we were preparing to leave outside Westminster Cathedral for Lisieux, a BBC interviewer suddenly approached us and tried to get our comments on the Pope's visit - centering on the cost! He was obviously looking for criticism, so I just said "We love the Pope" - and the reporter retreated to his car!