Angles 'n' Attitudes

Remember, remember,
The fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot.
There's truly no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Ever should be forgot.

What was that all about? It was about a planned act of terrorism that should now be forgotten. Guy Fawkes Day is still 'celebrated' in England by fireworks and the burning of an effigy of the villain. Dangerously zealous partisans are still with us and have tightened the borders of North America. Their fanaticism should not be allowed to create epidemic suspicion and fear.

Here's the background story. In 1527 King Henry VIII and the then Pope began their fateful feud. It was over the annulment of a marriage, not a divorce. Annulments were and are possible under proper conditions. Henry had, irregularly but with special permission, in 1509 married his deceased brother's espoused wife, Princess Catherine of Aragon. As the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, she was considered to be a 'catch' for the Tudor dynasty.

During the next 18 years, although there had been illegitimate male issue, Henry still needed a lawful son in order to avoid repetition of the wars of succession that had plagued England's recent past. It was not thought that a woman could rule the country. Henry's theological training, planned to prepare him to be his brother's (Catholic) Archbishop of Canterbury, convinced him that the lack of a Prince of Wales was a judgment upon him for his irregular marriage. He sought an annulment. For purely political reasons the Pope denied it.

What followed has been much argued and divisive The king's supporters argued from the independence that early emperors and bishops had asserted against the bishops of Rome. The papal claim to universal jurisdiction and the right to interfere in secular affairs did not predate the 12th Century. It was never recognised universally, as the Orthodox churches of the East attest to this day.

Moreover, by the 'Vincentian canon' of the 5th Century scholar St Vincent of Lerins, the Catholic faith (as opposed to heresy) had been defined as "that which has always and everywhere been believed by all". The Latin words were "semper, ubique et ab omnibus". The authority of the Roman popes had never been so acknowledged.

Now, fast forward to Pope Pius V who in 1570 excommunicated 'the bastard' Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, and released her subjects from their duty of civil obedience. She had tried to reconcile Catholics and Calvinists in their contrary designs for the Church of England. She refused, she said, "to make windows into men's souls". About the controversial definition (since 1215) of the doctrine of the transubstantiation of the Eucharistic bread (and wine) she said conservatively,
His were the lips that spake it,
His were the hands that brake it
And what His word doth make it,
That I believe and take it.

Pope Pius's action, now agreed to have been unwise, aggravated the centuries-old resentment of Rome's religio-political interference in England's internal affairs and led to further violent action and reaction.

Elizabeth was succeeded by James I whose Catholic mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, she had executed. He was prepared to allow wider religious freedom as long as his own Divine Right and the Apostolic Right of Bishops were not challenged. The papal 'fatwa' was still in place and radical Protestants rejected episcopal authority.

Political and religion loyalties continued to clash. A new session of Parliament was scheduled to open at Westminster in November, 1605. Five Roman Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby smuggled enough gunpowder into the cellars of the Palace of Westminster to blow up the King and Parliament during the Speech from the Throne.

Their Jesuit confessor, knowing the plan, decided not to break the seal of the

confessional by divulging it. Some sympathisers were, however, warned not to attend the opening. In that way word got to the authorities. The cellars were searched and on 5 November one of the terrorists, Guy Fawkes, was caught there. The plans for 5 / 11 did not result as tragically as did those of 9 / 11 four centuries later.

As with modern conspirators, the penalties were severe. Catesby, Fawkes and three other plotters were tortured and hanged in mediaeval fashion. The Jesuit priests involved died bravely as "martyrs" but not so honourably as did their French brothers in Huronia a generation later.

The Vatican has long since abjured violent crusades and conspiracies. Cardinal Walter Kasper, its chief ecumenical officer, has recently celebrated the growing understanding among separated Christians in a book, Harvesting the Fruits: Basic Aspects of Ecumenical Dialogue. He does, however, admit that there are still roadblocks caused by differences about those qualified to be ordained and the authentic interpretation of Scripture.

The recent concordat tendered to Anglicans was in response to a request from some members of that Communion.

Meanwhile, ultra-conservative Roman Catholics hope to reverse the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962 - 65). Their determination is evident not only in the dissident Society of St Pius X but also in other pressure groups that advocate a return to "the Old Church". But the motto "Semper eadem" ("Always the same") is not that of "Behold, I am making all things new".

Not the least of the problems is the still unreformed Roman Curia and what theologian Gregory Baum recently called Pope Benedict XVI's "wavering" between oldstyle Vatican aggressiveness and ecumenical dialogue.

But between his innate conservatism and unresolved tensions within the Church he is trying to keep "the Barque of Peter" on a straight course. His may be the world leadership role that demands most vision, integrity and diplomacy other than those of Messrs Obama.of the U.S.A.and Ban Kimoon of the United Nations

Three things are overdue. One is reform within the Roman Curia. The second is the disestablishment of the Church of England and abolition of the necessity for the monarch to adhere to it. Thirdly, let Guy Fawkes now be forgotten.