I’ve been reading a brave book – Can I stay in the Catholic Church by Brian Lennon SJ. It’s of interest to me because Brian and I worked closely together over many years in Portadown, particularly during the Drumcree parading disputes. Brave? Well he fearlessly addresses the history of abuse and the institutional avoidance which failed to respond to it. And the failure of the church to embrace the insights of Vatican II in a way which would have weakened the culture of clericalism. Most of all it is brave because those who have embraced celibacy have given all .. so the ‘can I stay?’ question is particularly painful.
Meanwhile I have downloaded Richard Holloway’s autobiography Leaving Alexandria – a memoir of faith and doubt onto my Kindle and am preparing to plunge in. Just for practice, I read his article abut being a God-botherer Having spent a fair bit of my life surrounded by people who were overdosing on religious certainty, I have a lot of sympathy