Where is the sudden brilliant idea which will help to transform the lives of one billion Catholics? It’s actually not sudden and fairly obvious, but it is definitely not going to come from the bishops of the Roman Rite .

A famous line from an early 19th century English poem by Newbolt , often misunderstood by young Glaswegians, is :”There’s a breathless hush in the close tonight”. The theme of the poem is “Play the game!”. There is certainly a breathless hush from many of us as we wait to see the attendance at Mass when we are allowed to go, but also to see if the bishops will play the game and face up to the fact that their position is untenable.

Allow me to remind you that this blog is not based on anti-clericalism of the kind flaunted by French novelists and Irish pseudo-intellectuals stuffing their ears to muffle their consciences. This blog is run by over-eighties, staunch middle of the road ordinary Roman Catholics from way back., like their ancestors before them. All the way. Forza Vatican 2 !

As I entered St Peter’s in Rome in April 1950 with a large crowd, in the course of which my pocket was picked and I lost rather a good pen, my entrance was temporarily blocked by a burly member of the gendarmerie shouting “Basta!”. Again, this was possibly misunderstood by several fellow-Glaswegians , but the message was valid, then and now. Enough is enough.

There is no sign from the top down that bishops of the Roman Rite wish to understand that nobody in 2021 is really interested in how they are carrying out their duty of implementing the Incarnation. It is as simple as that .

The Last Supper established the Eucharist and the forgiveness of sins , the purposes of the Incarnation. For them, the Eucharist, in the context of the secular priesthood, can only be provided by celibate priests supported by a parish. There are 50,000 empty parishes- and that was in 2012. The secular priesthood is practically defunct, and no longer really trusted as an institution. Even Pope Francis ,when in 2020 presented with the opportunity of allowing validly ordained parishioners through the Amazon Synod, panicked and re-emphasised the necessity of celibacy, although this church regulation was established in 1192 to safeguard Church property. In this year of Covid, there is no sign of General Absolution, never mind the abolition of the ludicrous insistence on sins being forgiven twice.

Your Right and Very Reverend lordships, it’s done. It’s finished.

How did they get this way? How did they become isolated from their flocks? Well, take your pick. Is it through having lived in a weird and incredibly insulated world from the age of 13 in many cases, a world free from earning a living, free from family responsibility and free from the many stresses of daily work ? But not , it must be said, free from the almost maniacal respect given them by those who do not know- or want to know-the limitations placed on the appointment of bishops.

Can bishops of the Roman Rite, like 99% of their flocks, but excluding readers of this blog, really not know that there are 23 other parts of the Church? Or do they prefer not to think about it, preferring for whatever reason to go down with the ship? Why have they not appealed to the Pope to open up new sections of the Church, to bring the Body and Blood of Christ to the people?

Scottish and Irish pride , frequently inexplicable, is an appallingly corrosive form of mental cancer. Does it play an important part in holding together the Church in Scotland simply to avoid yielding to anti-Catholic sentiments? Who knows ?

Soon they may have to ponder the following: “There were few countries in the 16th century religious reformation in which the eclipse of the Catholic Church seemed so quickly accomplished and so totally effective as in Scotland”. The quotation is from the “Western Catholic Calendar”

It is time for new “rites”. And it’s right for the times.

Let’s go. .