A quick note now to share with readers a resource recommended by Chris Morley--for those interested in what's happening in the Catholic church in England these days:
BBC is now airing a three-part series entitled "Catholics" that takes a close look at what it means to be Catholic in Britain today. The series is by award-winning filmmaker Richard Alwyn. The first part of the series aired last week with a look at those considering Catholic priesthood. The series will move on to take a close look at Catholic children and then Catholic women in Britain.
The initial installment of the series is still available online at the BBC Four website, and the other two parts of the series will be available there as well, as they air. Because this is a British television series and the website is configured for viewers within the British Isles, if you're watching from outside Britain, you'll have to download some free software to watch the series--if I'm understanding Chris's instructions correctly. That software should be here, with further technical instructions for watching from overseas here.
I haven't yet watched any of the series, so I'm pointing to the programs on the strength of Chris's recommendation of them, which I certainly welcome. The situation of the Catholic church in Britain definitely deserves watching for those of us embroiled in "Catholic" battles about gay rights in the U.S., since, as the British Catholic journal The Tablet is reporting right now, the Catholic hierarchy of England and Scotland have their own internal battle over these issues going on now as well.
The Catholic bishops of Scotland have been, in general, strongly resistant to the notion of civil unions for same-sex couples, while their brother bishops in England have been in general much more open to this notion. The attitude of the Scottish bishops is more typically "American," and, indeed, there are relatively strong historic cultural ties between Scottish (and Ulster Scot) Christian communities and their conservative American counterparts, which are not so apparent in the connections between English and American religious communities.
I certainly intend to have a look at these programs, and would encourage interested readers to do the same. And to share your insights after you've done so, if you wish.
And as I recommend these resources, I don't want to forget to remind readers of two of the best, most informative, and thought-provoking religious-themed blogs around, both English-situated and both Catholic-oriented: Phil Ewing's Blue-Eyed Ennis and Terry Weldon's Queering the Church. See Terry, for instance, on the sanity of Archbishop Vincent Nichols' approach to civil unions for same-sex couples last week, as opposed to the position taken by the U.S. (and Scottish) bishops.
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