Poor old Bishop Toal is again in the news. A Fr Despard wrote a book about
the Church in Scotland which didn’t go down too well.Bishop Toal came to
his parish to suspend him, scenes described as “close to a riot” ensuing.
Fr Despard was ordered to leave the chapel house, would not do so and
legal action was taken against him. Last month in court Bishop Toal
said that Fr Despard’s successor found that “there was some door
that once you got it open some sort of liquid or powder would come
down on the person opening it.” (It was curry powder).
Fr Despard is alleged to have photographed his successor while
he was eating his breakfast. Yes, while actually eating breakfast !
It is vital that I halt to point out to foreign readers that
I am not making this up, and that it is not culled from the
script of an Atheist Society annual pantomime.

Anyway. A week or so ago, Bishop Toal, at a Neocatechumenical
service (no, nor me) spoke to the 700 people present, 160 of
them foreign pilgrims. The Scottish Catholic Observer website
says quite simply “He spoke to those present about vocations”.

You really have to wonder. This might have had some impact on
the 160 foreign pilgrims, although the statistics show that
the concept of vocation to the secular priesthood is no
longer a buyer’s market anywhere.

How at least two generations of disaffected Scottish Catholics
now respond to an appeal for vocations to the Church in
Scotland is,I should think, fairly predictable, given the
kind of bizarre situation outlined above. Not to mention
whatever Fr Despard wrote about.

The elder generation must feel simply betrayed, helpless,
conflicted. The younger generation, sophisticated,
well-travelled, existing on social networks,lives in a
different world, responding with polite amusement and
disgust, kept in touch only peripherally with Christ
and the Eucharist perhaps only through the wild card of
Pope Francis, to whose idealism they can respond.

If there’s a league table of hierarchies in Rome, the
Scottish one must be near the relegation zone. Apparently
Cardinal O’Brien is the only cardinal in recorded history
ever to decline to vote in a Conclave. It would be nice
to see some signs of self-rehabilitation. Are the
Scottish bishops afraid of the Curia ? I’m sure
they’re not interested in worldly issues like
promotion, but is another Scottish cardinal at all likely ?
For maybe a century or two?

But there is an Extraordinary Synod in Rome in October,
to deal with the problem of re-married divorced Catholics
and the Eucharist. While we do appreciate their difficulties,
I assure you,the failure of a celibate parish-supported
secular clergy to provide the Eucharist for the Flock world
wide must also be dealt with.

The Pope has asked this year(see previous posts) that
this issue come to him through the Bishops. To Feed The Flock
will ask the Scottish hierarchy to take what steps it
can to further the extension of ordination at the Synod,
and at the same time rehabilitate itself spectacularly.