Driving up from Cong in Mayo I decided to detour into Knock. It’s been twenty five years since my last visit. Indeed Knock was responsible for one of my first impromptu marketing initiatives, when along with a friend, we tried to hitch from Sligo to Galway. After standing at the road leaving Ballisodare with no obvious prospect of a lift; I suggested that we amend our sign and put Knock on it. My rationale was that rather than looking like two students on the ‘razz’ for a weekend in Galway; we would look like two pious, youthful pilgrims en-route to Knock. My ruse worked as the next car that passed was driven by a middle aged couple whose first remarks were complimentary of our pilgrimage to Knock. We decided to give thanks for our providence and nipped into see Knock and of course to pray that divine providence via Marian intervention would work again and that we would get a lift direct from Knock to Galway. (This incidentally happened without much effort)
Back then Knock was truly awful – it was full of huckster shops selling plastic statutes of Jesus for your dashboard and flashing pictures of the Virgin Mary.
The infamous Fr Moran was lobbying for his airport and Christy Moore was lampooning him in song. Twenty five years later, the huckster shops now compete under roofs rather than canvass and the whole place is labelled with the marketing misnomer of the Irish Craft Village. Plastic statues of Jesus, flashing portraits of Mary and a raft of deformed looking saints still make up most of the ware alongside chintzy cheap headstones, holy water bottles- two for a Euro and a bizarre music shop replete with offerings from Dana, Cliff Richard, Daniel O Donnell and Christy Moore. Yet behind this veneer of tackiness and tat, Knock to my surprise was doing a roaring trade. Mass was packed and literally hundreds of pilgrims and tourists mingled in prayer and curiosity.
Despite the regular attempts by an increasingly secular press to bury religion – here in Knock the faithful are still keeping the faith. All of which is remarkable against a back drop of a continual on slaught against Catholicism by press and politicians; the failure of Church authorities to recognise the seriousness of their faults ( perhaps crimes) and the inability of the hierarchy to communicate directly and plainly with the laity.
The proposed visit by the Pope to Britain is opposed by a coalition of interests so wide that their only raison d’être is their underlying anti catholic sentiment. Naturally those in groups who have been abused by clergy and religious have a right to feel aggrieved and indeed to protest given the outrageous handling of their allegations by Church authorities. Having suffered physical abuse these victims suffered the further indignity of being ignored or sidelined by a system incapable of recognising its own culpability. Yet their legitimate agony is a risk of being hijacked and misused by others who just simply don’t believe in God; don’t like Catholics; or who are serial protestors that are just as likely to be found protesting against the G7 or fox- hunting. Worst of all are the ill-liberal literati –who think themselves superior to those who still attend Churches or pray.
Even today the depth of anti –Catholic feeling runs deep amongst some strands of UK society. The Orange Order’s pretence to ‘protecting, religious and civil liberty’ is shown to be hollow given their unsurprising opposition to the Pope’s UK visit. A parliamentary system that allows Protestant Bishops to sit by right in the Upper Chamber of the legislature is an anachronism. A prohibition against the UK Head of State ever marrying a Catholic- let alone being one is purely offensive to the millions of Catholics living in Britain. Even with three general election victories behind him, Tony Blair did not dare antagonise his Loonies on the Left or his Islington literati set by becoming catholic while in office.
Revelations this week about Fr James Chesney involvement (‘non involvement’ was n’t considered in the media trial) in the Claudy bombing was enthusiastically jumped upon by the Irish media- only too willing to kick a dog when it’s down. If Chesney was involved and there was evidence to arrest him – then he should have been charged, tried and convicted. Against Chesney let’s not airbrush the voices or courage of Tom Fee, Edward & Cathal Daly; Fathers Toner, Faul, Murray and Reynolds or the murdered Fr Mullen when boarding the anti- catholic bandwagon.
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