For me, the open air mass was a fascinating window into the Catholic Church. One sees Muslims regularly being ‘holy’ on the television, in prostration during prayer or at pilgrimage in Makkah. But it’s not often you see ordinary Catholics engaged in prayer or observing rituals as we did in Bellahouston Park. In its ritualism, it was very similar to what I’m used to as a Muslim. Men dressed in long robes, wearing hats and speaking in foreign languages. Just the beards were missing.
Baroness Warsi accused the previous Labour government of treating religion as something that foreigners do, but it’s not often that you see white folks engaging in the sacred in public. Maybe that is something to do with our culture of secularism, aggressive or otherwise, that means you don’t do God outside your home or church.
A recurring theme of the Papal visit has been the apparent tension between faith and our secular society. What is frustrating is how the meaning of secularism is constantly confused. What it doesn’t mean is that people of faith cannot contribute to public debate. Ideas and opinions are valid and up for public acceptance or rejection on merit, no matter what their genesis is.
Having established the right of faiths to be at the table, I have to disagree with the views often expressed when there. There is a preoccupation with sexual issues - contraception, abortion and “the gays”. These arguments aren’t new and have been raging since biblical times. When people of faith lead on them though, they appear harsh and hardhearted.
I often have this out with Muslims, that the very same rights that let us practice our faith must be upheld for homosexuals to live as they wish. What's good for the goose and all that. Muslims should not be guilting people about a moral code they do not accept. I cite the example of how in Islam the consumption of alcohol is forbidden. This wasn’t revealed on Day One though, and came much later once followers’ hearts were attuned to God and they would willingly accept such strictures. The focus of faith should then be on winning hearts through mercy and messages of hope. All the major faiths are struggling for language on this, despite the fact that many, many people are looking for spirituality in an age of materialism. Again, this is not a new dichotomy in the thousands of years or religious history.
The long game matters to the Catholic church and any organisation that can invoke successes from hundreds of years ago as the pope did with the set up of Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrew's Universities is looking at things over the serious long term. What was disappointing though was the lack of a new idea. In Glasgow, there was no mention of the financial crisis, climate change, global wars or poverty. What is today's version of setting up the ancient universities that we'll be talking about in 500 years time?
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