Any mortuary attendant will tell you that his workplace is not a quiet one. Nor, of course, an entirely dead one, very much not so at the microbiological level. Eructations of stomach gas and the creakings of shifting muscle groups have an eerie music of their own. The attendant learns this after his first night on duty., of course. These phenomena also occur at awakes, but only the most besotted relative would attempt to interpret them as signs of premature death certification.

Nevertheless, Pope Francis shows no signs of admitting that the Roman Rite is defunct, seizing on any sign of activity, however irrelevant, as a chance that it may still be alive. This is particularly wearing for all of us, since it was obvious in January 2020 that he had put a pillow over its mouth by very publicly continuing to restrict the provision of the Eucharist to celibates.

Once again I remind you that there are two meanings for the word ‘rite’. Christmas turkey is a rite, birthday cakes are a rite, even Orange Walks are a rite. But here I am talking about Rites, A Rite is one of the 24 sections of the Catholic Church, the Roman one being by far the biggest.

The Roman Rite, therefore, has bee3n the most widespread means of providing the Eucharist , through history and geography. Until now, of course. Locally, about 80 % don’t attend Mass, and therefore don’t receive the Eucharist. Since this is what the Church is for, it’s all very odd, isn’t it ?

So when Pope Francis reiterated that only celibate priests can provide the Eucharist to those served by the Roman Rite, and there are dwindling numbers of priests, he was saying that they were not to get the Eucharist Let us be frank, Covid-19 possibly saved his bacon for a while. It is quite baffling that his insistence on this is nowhere to be found in the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper.

What is it with the celibacy thing ?

1.Some say it is cultic, i.e. the pagan belief that ‘priests’ should shun sex to show respect to their gods. As a humble layman, I thought the Incarnation trumped all that.

2.Most people know it is only a Papal ban, originally designed to prevent the children of ordained celebrants, or ‘masspriests’ selling off Church land.

3. Is it a hangover from people like Augustine of Hippo, whose irritation at having to pay for his child’s welfare has rung down through the ages and blamed sex for this? Or those Desert Fathers who didn’t know what a wet dream was ?

4. Is it a fear of contact with that section of the community which menstruates? I have heard of a young man, pillar of the parish, MC at big services, but told not to appear on the altar after marriage? This is a very old fear indeed, since menstruating women were well known for apparently turning the primitive community’s milk sour.

5. Is it just physicality itself ? Readers of this blog will be familiar with the experience of the Thirties Catholic writer, Dr Halliday Sutherland, who in Forties Ireland , heard of people who had left the Church for years having heard that nuns and priests had bowel movements.

6. Is it because St Peter was asked to leave the Last Supper before the inauguration of the Eucharist because he was married?

7. Is it because the idea of man and woman being one flesh is a bit beneath them?

8. Is it because the expression ‘married priests’, with all the connotations of children’s jammy fingers among nthe chasubles and a bossy mother in law controlling the Union of Catholic Mothers is off-putting? The idea of a celibate priest supported by a priest is dead on its feet, as is the elimination of distractions from his work. What do priests today do in the afternoon?

9.Is it a calculated insult to the other 23 sections- or Rites- of the Church-where parishioners can be ordained to provide the Eucharist, married or not?

10. Is it a quasi-masonic band of compulsorily celibate brothers ,determined to make others suffer because they can’t have sex, officially, of course?

None of these does Pope Francis particular credit- or any credit- or whatever reason he had. I grant you that he is surrounded by people like Cardinal Sarah, who would have us hear Masas facing East, whatever the configuration of the building (think about it!) Or Cardinal Burke. Or, of course Emeritus Pope Doppelganger, wandering about the Vatican like a child in trick or treat mode.

We must conclude that the Pope is old and tat it is getting to him. This blog knows the feeling, I assure you, and the unwanted grip on the elbows to get us up stairs.

Pope Francis has done his best. It was probably too much to accept a complete clear out of the Curia, although he did tell them in style what we thought of them.

We put our faith in the next Pope. I have known many Jesuits- many,many Jesuits. I’ll still bet on another one- young, dynamic, focussed on what really matters.