The terrorist attack on Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi sticks in the mind for its sheer wanton cruelty. To strike such a quintessentially civilian target is, perhaps, what we have come to expect; to carry out the assault on a Saturday when a children’s cookery competition was also happening seems an act of particular savagery.
But, with all respect to the 67 innocents who were murdered, this tragedy actually tells us something about Kenya – and indeed about Africa as a whole – that is often overlooked. Equipped with 80 shops and restaurants and a multi-screen cinema, Westgate mall was a world-class facility that might have been found in any capital in the richest parts of the globe.
And yet it was built in Nairobi, a city that, until quite rece
05 October 2013, The Tablet
‘Africa is now more peaceful than at any time since the colonial powers left’
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User Comments (6)
As for Pope 'chosen by God', clearly a full elucidation of the process shouldn't need to be repeated whenever it is referred to, suffice to say I agree with what is outlined here:
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/the-next-pope-will-be-gods-choice-.-.-.-right
Dear Martin,
On what basis do you suppose that I support those in ongoing adultery to full reception of Holy Communion....?
Ed
As to the "prodigal" in this article, I might suggest this. Mercy and compassion ARE important to the emerging generation(s).
Authority itself carries a lot less weight than it used to. The loss of authority is in part because of the "tone" taken by those in positions of authority. The perception, correct or not, is that bishops are severely out of touch, and don't really CARE about the laity. This is a matter of power and control. The church simply HAS to move away from that kind of authority, to a "partnering" approach.
To build the trust needed for that kind of partnering, it's going to need to develop credibility. That STARTS with holding it's bishops accountable. Until it can, there will be little trust, for the perception will be of a double standard. Fix that problem, and the door opens to trust.
Once there, the approach to authority has to be more pastoral, more of a "partnering." That "partnering" will require meeting people where they actually are in life, withholding judgment, and entering a true dialog with them.
This is a long haul project. But it's as urgent as the very future of the church itself. What parent always agrees with their children? The church is bleeding out it's young. If it wants them back, it's going to have to do what Jesus taught, namely, to go meet them where they are, to talk with them, to understand, and at all times, greet them with mercy and compassion.
THEN the real work can begin. Demanding obedience won't work.
“Everything is Grace." Indeed it is! Every time I wake with the intention of attending Morning Prayer and Mass, and actually follow through, I know I’m graced. Every time I pray in the cold, stark abbey church, I know that Grace alone has brought me there. Every time I cup my hands to receive the Body of Christ, I know I am an unworthy recipient of God’s fullness, Grace upon Grace.
The wayward son forgets his scheme to get back into the Father’s graces when he sees Grace offered without a word needing to be said. It was good to be reminded that Grace which brings love and healing is ever-present and all we have to do is open our hands.
In the context of my sinful, marginalized life and imperfect religious practice, I’m not sure what a “state of Grace” is anymore. I know what paras 1415 and 2120 of the catechism say about the required disposition when approaching Holy Communion but don’t see how these apply to me. If I observed these injuctions, I'd starve and die. If I believed everything that my righteous brothers and sisters tell me about myself, I’d be wallowing in a mire of self-hatred and loathing but such a situation is incompatible with what Grace tells me – that I am truly loved and the apple of my Father’s eye.
Re-reading the story of the Prodigal Son, I have to wonder when the last time was that the righteous son accepted any sort of heartfelt, Grace-filled contact with his father. He might need just to turn and embrace the Father's love so freely offered.
St Paul in 1Corinthians 11 seems rather more preoccupied by women’s hats, or lack thereof, than the sick approaching the Healer.
"It was clear to see the sin of the second son apparent in some of those “traditionalists” who objected to the heartfelt and merciful approach that was being sought". This is either a deliberate misrepresentation or a failure to understand what was going on.
It is not simply the case that the question of who can be admitted to communion is a matter of “mercy”.
Communion depends on being in communion with the Church, and being in a state of grace.
The first is the reason why non-Catholics cannot receive communion (how can you receive a communion when you do not believe that it is the Body of Christ and you do not believe in the authority of the Church) and the second is the essential prerequisite for Catholics to communicate. This is not due to the Church having some kind of desire to control, not to show mercy or so on but because communion is the true Body of Christ and, as St Paul says, he who eats or drinks it unworthily eats and drinks death unto himself.
How would it, therefore, be merciful to admit all and sundry to communion when all that would be achieved thereby would be a worsening in, rather than an improvement in, their spiritual situation?
As for this idea: “the very faith that tells us the Pope is chosen by God” is the most utter nonsense. The Conclave prays for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, yes, but the Church does not and never has taught that the Pope is chosen directly by God.