THE
P RTAL
June 2017
Joanna Bogle is all for
Christianity in the public square
W
hy was I running along a busy South London street
Honour your
freedom
Page 4
handing out small bits of paper? Come to that, why were
the children throwing flowers in the street? Because a great May
Procession was making its way along Southwark Street, down
Borough Street and then into Union Street back towards the church. I
was handing out cards explaining what the procession was about, and the
Sunday School children were scattering flower petals at the head of the procession.
“Are you allowed to do that?” some one asked me
when I described it all later on. “Do what?” “Y’know...
have a procession, and sing, and all that”. Yes, of course
we are allowed to do this. We are the local parish
church, and we are having a May Procession. We carry
- or at least, four strong chaps from the parish carry – a
great statue of Mary on a sort of platform, all decorated
with flowers and with Mary in a sort of bower, and it
is preceded by the Sunday School children, strewing
flowers from ribboned boxes. Father Chris leads the
procession, and there is a great papal flag so that all
of us can follow even if we are towards the end of the
procession, which is quite long as this is a biggish event
with numbers flourishing year on year.
na
wri tes
part of London’s story, a genuine local folk-event, a non-
commercial freebie for all. And that’s how it should be.
The point I really want to make is this: I am getting
very tired of Christians asserting that we are not
allowed to make any public gesture about our faith.
We are certainly allowed to do so and we should
do it more often. It is part of our common life, and
is a cherished freedom. It is a freedom hard-won,
battled out through centuries of mistrust and anger
and tension as differences between Christians arose,
and then serenely accepted in happier times. It is a
freedom defended by sacrifice in war and protected
by recognition of its value. Above all – and this is an
important point – it is a freedom we may lose if we fail
to make use of it, to honour it, to show its value.
A couple of us hand out small leaflets which ask
“What’s going on?” and give the simple answer that it
Unless you want to stop the traffic or something,
is May and we are honouring Mary, Christ’s mother,
and that we are the Catholic parish, and giving the there is no need for elaborate arrangements, and we
are free to pray in the streets in this way. We are also
website for more info.
free to sing Christmas carols at a railway station –
Reactions? Most people take the card and say “Thank and we do, annually, although we have to book our
you”. One group of girls said, “We went to Catholic slot early because lots of other groups like to do it too,
school – we know all about this!” One couple said and we are free to advertise our parish events, putting
they’d just come from Mass at another church. A lot of leaflets around and having reports in local newsletters.
people take photos with their mobile phones – in fact,
People are free to disagree with us, to oppose
what you mostly see, as you are walking along with
the procession, is just a series of phones with people the Christian message, to turn their backs on us, to
behind them, a weird experience. Any opposition? A announce that they don’t like our processions or the
couple of foreign tourists brushed away the card with fact that the families taking part include children, but
a dismissive gesture. One lady shouted that we were they do not have the right to stop us, any more than
being blasphemous, and among the otherwise very they have the right to use violence against us or to
friendly queue waiting outside a restaurant, one man burn down our church.
said, “They shouldn’t force children to do this”.
It has certainly been known, in European history,
The overwhelming reaction, however, is positive: we that public affirmations of the Christian faith have
are, if nothing else, a spectacle for people to enjoy, a been banned. Within the lifetime of many of us, this
cheery sight and sound, something to photograph, a
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