For the benefit of my overseas readers, I should point out hat the middle of July is the peak of what is called in parts of Britain the marching season. This means that Protestant groups celebrate vehemently the defeat of the forces of King James II in 1689 by William II, with the appearance of marching bands usually accompanied by flutes. Students of Paradise Lost will of course be aware that Satan led his minions out of Heaven ‘In perfect phalanx to the Dorian mood, Of flutes’ but they would be well advised to forget about that. Much more interesting is that this ultimate Protestant victory was also celebrated at the time by the Pope, who ordered a Te Deum for the purpose. This is a historical fact which it would be also unwise to mention, but less importantly , since each side ‘staunchly’- a key word in this area- refuses to believe it exists. The fact that such a march takes place in the almost entirely Catholic Irish county of Donegal is celebrated with even more enthusiasm by both sides, for different reasons,.
The Orange March is a colourful spectacle, reminding one of Chesterton’s bon mot that the adverts in Piccadilly Circus would be truly wonderful if one could not read. For ‘read’, substitute’ hear’ in this case. I have always had reservations about it since a Protestant with whom I was watching such a march observed, ’You see, this is our Christmas . ‘ It is interesting that Teilhard de Chardin at no point mentions this in his description of how we move to Omega Point.
Many of these marches take place in Glasgow and its environs ; apparently one took place at midnight on the day of a recent Pope’s death. It must be obvious to anyone that this is a social phenomenon with distinctly anti-Catholic connotations. Just last week, as such a march was moving past a Catholic church, when one of the many amateur theologians who follow such marches assaulted a priest who was standing at a church door which faces on to the road on which the march was taking place. I am told that a marching member of the Orange Order which organises these marches ‘broke ranks’ to approach the priest and shook his hand. The assault was carried out by what is known locally as ‘a follower’, and not a member of the Order.
I mention this because of the alacrity with which the Catholic Church locally has insisted on meetings with politicians to prevent such an event reoccurring. This has to be compared with the lack of alacrity with which the Catholic Church has approached the suggestion of Pope Francis that it is time the Church got down to looking at the shortage of people validly ordained to provide the Eucharist . The Scots novelist and journalist Neil Munro noted along ago the propensity of Glasgow people to celebrate a public holiday by ‘drugging themselves with drams’. It is well known that this process would appear to be an essential part of the ‘follower’ celebration of the Incarnation, nowadays, of course, with the addition of chemical substances of various kinds, or indeed of all kinds.
One of the good things about an Orange March is the fact that it can be heard coming for some time before its arrival , sometimes for several miles away if the participants , especially the man with the big drum is religious-minded enough. London Road where the assault took place is narrow at that point and the ‘followers’ are perforce funnelled on to a narrow pavement.
To sum up, was it really the time and place for a Catholic priest to come out and stand on the pavement ? Yes, I know about democratic rights , and the irony in the circumstances, but was it the time and place ?
Even more interestingly, the priest was referred to as a Fenian bastard and a paedophile. He is certainly not the latter. He is highly unlikely to be `a member of a rambunctious 19th century Irish political movement which once tried to invade the United States , and is yet another example of the mystery by which illegitimacy , although doubtless mistakenly applied here, is considered an insult. I am told that in Australia the word ‘bastard’ is, if anything, a term of mild endearment.
In a Catholic newspaper, the Fenian bastard comment was sympathised with, but the ‘paedophile’ comment was ignored. Ah yes.
If the paedophile scenario is ignored , it will just go away . People will forget it, and the secular priesthood can carry on, `shaking the thing away as a dog does fleas.
Unfortunately for some, the loss of two generations of Catholics and the consequent emptying churches , makes it clear that it has not and will not go away . The hungry sheep look up , and are not merely baffled by the lack of the Eucharist but also why It is still more or less exclusively in the hands of a defunct provider. Why?