The Catholic Church in an otherwise unremarkable Tyrolean village has been witnessing, regularly and on a substantial scale, to the Passion story (i.e. of the last days of Jesus' earthly life) for the better part of four centuries ~ having started in the 1630s, way back between the death of Shakespeare and the Great Fire of London. What was the origin of this ongoing act of corporate witness?
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The people of Oberndorf found their church organ was not working on Palm Sunday, so they moved their Holy Week events into the open air as an act of wider witness and have kept the tradition ever since
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The people of Oberammergau vowed that if God would halt the deaths from the Plague, they would reenact the Passion Play every tenth year forever in thanks (and they still do)
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The people of Biberswald were so thankful to God for the election of a Pope from their village, that they did their own bit to maintain its place on the cultural map ~ way beyond his lifetime
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There had been an Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a poor beggar as he arrived in the village, and She was carrying a crown of thorns, so the villagers decided that an ongoing public reenactment of Jesus' suffering for all should be organised to raise money for poor-relief
Q.2.
At one time or another, Catholics have probably demonstrated singly or en-masse at all manner of places and occasions. Knowing what you probably do of their precepts, principles and priorities, which of the following would you expect to be the LEAST likely target for such a peaceable expression of their convictions?
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Outside the offices &/or press-plant of a newspaper that had published cartoons critical of Catholic policies, e.g. that the Church and its associated charities do not distribute condoms in AIDS-affected regions of Africa
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Outside an abortion clinic
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Outside a cinema where a deeply objectionable film was being shown (e.g. one strongly suggesting that Jesus was homosexual, or whatever)
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Around the perimeter &/or gates of a military camp where nuclear or chemical weapons were known to be stored, handled and deployed
Q.3.
What does CAFOD stand for, at the most literal level?
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CAtholic Fund for Opus Dei (= the Work of God)
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Catholic Agency For Overseas Development
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CAtholic Foundation for Oblationary Duties
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Church Action Forum to Obvert Disasters
Q.4.
Catholicism as a whole has, down the centuries, sought to improve the general moral tone by keeping out of circulation any books or other materials it considers might deprave people exposed to them. ONE of the following is NOT a true statement about Catholicism and censorship: which one?
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Catholic influence was strongly evident in establishing the Hays Code, which in turn informed and controlled what could be shown in films in the heyday of Hollywood. Anything shocking, suggestive or otherwise immoral was off-limits (though ways were found of suggesting ~ without explicitly showing ~ such fairly staple plot-drivers as murder and conflicted 'triangular' love-relationships)
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There was for centuries an official Index of prohibited works, including major (or not infrequently, all) books by clearly significant authors and thinkers. This was formally discontinued 50 years ago, in 1966
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Coincidentally (perhaps?) with the institution of the Oberammergau Passion Play, Galileo Galilei was tried and placed under house arrest in 1634 ~ for having challenged the Catholic Church over its belief that the Earth was the centre of the universe, based on empirical measurements using his own telescope
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There is an approved Catholic internet server which screens out all objectionable material (e.g. pornography). The location of this server is itself a secret, but believed to be somewhere in rural Italy, and its staff look after and update it remotely
Q.5.
It would possibly not surprise you to learn that the chart-busting singer Madonna (whatever her subsequent exploits) was born and raised a Catholic. As a Catholic 'yourself' (at least temporarily, for example's sake) ~ but not necessarily a fan of Madonna or her music or other output ~ what would you probably regard as the most outrageous aspect of her fame?
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She grew up as one of 6 children (a healthily fecund Catholic family ... ) in what is now the 'rust-belt' of Detroit and was confirmed in 1966. The loss of her beloved mother to breast cancer came as a hard blow to her but she did well in school, while joining the cheerleader troupe and at other times gleefully dressing in ways to challenge convention. Her performance career only really took off once she had dropped out of local dance school and gone to New York ~ with (so she says) just $35 in her pocket
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The amount of money she has since made from her various performances and exploits is troubling, even from the viewpoint of the Catholic Church ~ which itself holds considerable funds and property (though the latter, in the form of church premises, could never be traded-in for all sorts of reasons)
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She published a number of picture-books with blatantly uncompromising titles, and which could only have served (apart from fomenting controversy and earning her more money) to titillate and outrage public decency
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Her birthname 'Madonna' refers directly to the Virgin Mary (you can easily ~ though carefully, please ... ! ~ find sacred pictures and sculptures under that title). To self-publicise in any way or scale so out of keeping with spirit of this very special name, represents at very least a shocking disregard for the sacred traditions of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. (Just imagine the outcry if anyone had tried similarly around the identity of one of the great Muslim women, such as the Prophet's young wife Aisha ... )
Q.6.
It might be suggested by some people that (compared to 'wishy-washy liberal' Christianity) the Catholic Church takes a clear and generally uncompromising stand on its principles ~ not the same thing as being unsympathetic ~ and that as such, it and its adherents are in some ways visibly distinctive ... somewhere along a scale that would then include the ritual dress of hijabs, turbans, yarmulkim etc. among other religions. What is the distinctive item that virtually all Catholics have about their person?
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A crucifix
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A set of rosary beads
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A Bible, watermarked (using holy water, of course) with their name and the sign of the Cross at the time of their Baptism
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(None of the above)
Q.7.
It is sadly a matter of public record that within recent times as well as further ago, a number of Catholic priests have been found guilty of sexual and related abusive offences against children. Leaving aside (as far as possible) the inevitable visceral and emotional overtones of such cases; with neither fear nor favour to the Catholic Church (nor indeed any others active &/or complicit in such abuse); and treating the arguments as such entirely on their own merits, which would you say probably appears the WEAKEST or least helpful response on the part of the Church?
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'God hates the sin, but not the sinner; no true penitent can ever be beyond His redeeming love and mercy; where our own have fallen short, we must do all we can to make amends'
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'It is the Church's duty to do nothing but good by all who turn to it; so for the benefit of all concerned including ourselves, we pledge to overhaul our protection procedures with deep and immediate effect'
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'It is our duty to apologise and put matters right wherever, and as far as can be achieved in this world; and to admonish and dismiss those who have besmirched our cause and name in such ways'
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'However deep the impulses, and however strong the temptation, priests ~ on whom the Sacrament of Holy Orders has been conferred under God ~ must remain steadfast in their calling. Any prospect of the Vatican ever reconsidering the compatibility of priestly service with marriage (for reasons of 'healthier, monogamous sexual release' or anything else) remains out of the question'
Q.8.
It may (to non-Catholics and some others) seem to be a lot to ask Catholics to maintain and abide by their principles, while so much of the pressure in modern society seems to be in opposing directions: pledging collectively in church is one thing, standing up alone amid fraught circumstances is another. In which of these situations would the believer's fortitude probably come under the severest strain?
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Actively to shun 'unworthy / unhelpful' behaviours such as teasing / gossip, casual sexism &/or use of pornography, even when others confidently assume you are happy to go along with this
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To take a principled stand against injustice in one's workplace (victimisation, coercion, slavery, harassment etc.) even when others are colluding or turning a 'blind eye'
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As a teenager, to conform to peer pressure and indulge in potentially destructive (and certainly inappropriate, selfish and therefore 'sinful') individual behaviour relating to sex and/or drugs
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To honour a sincere promise even when circumstances have changed
Q.9.
For many years the British Establishment has had a somewhat stand-offish relationship with Catholics in general: in 1581, for example, Oxford University specified that all members of its constituent colleges should subscribe to the 39 Articles of the Church of England (including a vow to eschew 'Popish practices'), which measure was not rescinded untilHowever, the University currently (2016) has a Catholic Chancellor, Lord Patten of Barnes, who has had a splendidly distinguished public life. Which of the following biographical snippets is the only NON-genuine one?
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As an MP he sat in the (Margaret) Thatcher Cabinet and was Conservative Party Chairman
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When ousted as an MP he became the last Governor General of the British colony of Hong Kong, through to and including its handover back to Chinese control in 1997
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He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the time of the Good Friday Agreement
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He served as Chairman of the Trust (Board of Governors) of the BBC
Q.10.
Concerned Catholics might well wish to come forward and make themselves discreetly available to support other people going through difficult times. With this sincerely charitable impulse in mind, why might they NOT feel comfortable acting on it in the context of becoming Samaritans (i.e. answering phone calls &/or meeting distressed people face-to-face)? ONE of the following clusters of factors is clearly more important than the others: which ONE?
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A Catholic might yearn to help others, but have problems over dealing with their own 'fallout' from cases when they next went to Confessional
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The ingrained Catholic view of Confession being integral to moving forward after a major 'life mistake', could on occasion make it hard for them to empathise with perplexed people who also seem to have a less developed sense of guilt or conscience; meanwhile as Samaritans they are not allowed to 'preach' any particular set of spiritual values, which is outside their remit in this case and could also be misread (by the enquirer) as smug and condescending
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A Catholic (of either gender) might feel ill-at-ease suggesting, let alone offering, even the most gentle counselling on such personal issues as sexuality, contraception and abortion
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Catholics are supposed to reach out to 'sinners' and the needy, but not on an anonymous basis through any other organisation
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