Re: Sodomy and surplus-value

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Phil:
>The country in the world in which the Catholic Church has the strongest
>stamp of pre-capitalism is Ireland.  Yet the Church never opposed the
>legislation in the early 90s legalising male homosexuaoity and bringing in
>an age of consent several years *lower* than non-Catholic, supposedly
>secular Britain.

Financial Times (London), April 29, 2000, Saturday London Edition 1

Party poopers say this mass isn't proper: As Ireland prospers, the Church
is fast losing its grip on the population and its rites.

By KIERAN COOKE

Michael, the uncle of a friend of mine, was a great fan of the horses. When
he died recently - his demise blamed on a prodigious intake of fried foods
and cigarettes, combined with a chronic lack of almost any form of physical
activity - his family in the small town in the south of Ireland decided to
give him what it felt was a fitting send-off.

Halfway through the funeral mass a selection of Michael's most treasured
possessions was taken to the altar. The priest stood to receive a picture
of Michael's favourite racehorse. A carton of cigarettes was placed on the
coffin lid.

The only exercise Michael indulged in during his latter years was pressing
the buttons on his mobile phone to contact his bookmaker. That phone, along
with the remote control from the TV, was placed on the altar steps.

The town bookie praised Michael's honesty in the betting business. During a
speech given by his brother, a commentary was played of the race Michael
was watching when he died. At any moment, it seemed likely a group of
racehorses would come galloping up the aisle.

But the hierarchy of Ireland's Roman Catholic Church has had enough of such
spectacles. Earlier this month, Sean Brady, the Archbishop of Armagh,
issued a strongly worded directive reminding people that the funeral mass
is essentially a profession of belief in the after-life.

Brady, one of the most senior figures in the Church in Ireland, said the
proper order of the mass should be observed - people should not be allowed
to invent what he called a do-it-yourself liturgy. The mass should not be
turned into a theatrical entertainment.

At one time people would have rallied to obey the hierarchy's strictures.
For generations Roman Catholicism has been at the centre of Irish life, its
place enshrined in the constitution. Yet the days have gone when the word
of the Church was far more important than any man- made law or political
edict.

Ireland's bishops and priests have been placed on the defensive by several
scandals: there have been widely reported cases of clergy having affairs
with parishioners, of numbers of homosexual priests and, most damaging of
all, cases of child abuse in Ireland's once revered Catholic schools. The
country's recent economic success means many live far more frenetically
than in the past. It seems people now have less time for spiritual matters.

There has been a strong reaction to the hierarchy's latest comments. The
airwaves and letters pages of newspapers have been full of criticism,
accusing the clergy of wanting, once again, to control and restrict people.

One man defended the growing fashion for dressing the deceased up in the
colours of his favourite football team - and even singing the team song in
Church. One woman said she did not see much of her husband over the years
as he spent large amounts of time at the golf club. Therefore, she felt it
fitting that his golf clubs be placed on top of his coffin and buried along
with him.

Brady and others in the Church object to such practices. They say elaborate
funeral ceremonies often put unnecessary emotional stress on the immediate
family of the deceased. Extended speeches and eulogies for the dead should
take place elsewhere - at the graveside or in the pub.

There are those who support the Church in this increasingly hot debate.
Some complain that praise is often heaped on those who do not deserve it.
At one funeral mass a woman, clearly exasperated at proceedings, stood up
to interrupt the speeches praising the deceased. "I don't know who you're
talking about, but it's not the man who lived next door to me," she shouted.

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is having to redefine its role. The
country is still one of the most church-going countries in Europe but
attendances at mass have fallen dramatically in recent years. Less than 10
years ago, more than 80 per cent of the population attended mass at least
once a week. A recent survey found that figure had dropped to a little over
50 per cent.

Not so long ago Ireland acted as the labour ward of the Catholic Church,
producing hundreds of priests for home and missions abroad. But the numbers
entering the priesthood have declined sharply: one diocese in the west of
the country even uses a site on the world wide web - and radio jingles - to
try to encourage more young men to enter the priesthood.

The battle of the funeral mass - on one side the bishops who say the
liturgy should be fully observed, on the other those who want to do things
their way - is being keenly watched.

The congregation at Michael's funeral was having none of the Church's
directives. The service ended with an obviously not very sober friend,
dressed in a vivid red and white jockey's shirt, reading a long poem
describing the glories of the race track.

Then Michael's phone, TV remote control and cigarettes were placed in the
coffin and, like a victorious racehorse being led to the winning enclosure,
he was cheered down the aisle.

Louis Proyect
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