Pastoral Letter
Dear Friends,
Remember, remember the fifth of November; gunpowder, treason and plot. The key figure in the infamous 5th November 1605 plot was Guy Fawkes, who was born in York in 1570, a Protestant. His mother remarried a Recusant (The name given to Catholics at the time) who were dreadfully persecuted during the Elizabethan era, building up deep resentments amongst them. Having converted to Catholicism at some point unknown, Fawkes enlisted as an adult in the Spanish army, which was occupying the Netherlands (then in Spanish hands), allowing him freedom to practise his religion openly.
When King James 1st came to the throne, Fawkes' assessment, along with that of several would-be conspirators, was that given the opportunity, Catholics in England would rise up and depose the new King. This was quite false, and out of step with the new optimism amongst Catholics that King James was a tolerant and liberal ruler. Nevertheless, Fawkes and his follow conspirators were determined to proceed and secretly stashed a huge quantity of gunpowder in a cellar under the Houses of Parliament, with a view to exploding it on the occasion of the state opening. But on 26th October, Monteagle, had been handed an anonymous letter, which advised him to stay away from the opening of Parliament. The letter was shown to the King, who ordered caution and searching of the buildings of Parliament with discretion.
The conspirators met the night before the opening of Parliament (3rd Nov) in London and the next day, the King's men observed an unusual amount of firewood near the offending cellar. When the owner of the house revealed who the tenant was, alarm bells sounded and a party conducted by Sir Thomas Knevett returned about midnight on Nov 4th where a "John Johnson" (Guy Fawkes) was arrested. Far from denying what he was doing, Fawkes said openly that he wanted to destroy the King and Parliament. They searched his pocket and found fuses and kindling. A search was made for others, but the conspirators fled out of London. One by one they were caught and they were executed in the following January.
The plot resulted in further dreadful persecution of Catholics in this country. Such persecutions continued in the following years, deepening the chasm between Protestants and Catholics. In recent years we have seen similar religious bigotry and hatred in Northern Ireland. But now the focus is shifting towards religious conflict with Muslims. Inevitably, the events of 9/11/01, and subsequent terrorist atrocities, have heightened the level of religious bigotry, and, following the pain and suffering in Iraq, we seem to be hurtling towards a new era of religious conflict.
So much suffering and pain in the name of religion! Yet it is not necessary. Jesus taught peace and reconciliation Ðhe told us to turn the other cheek. True Muslims also believe in peace and reconciliation.
I worry that religious conflict is seriously undermining whatever sympathy the current generation might have had towards religion. So what is the answer? Well, perhaps it is important to divorce "religion" and "faith". Jesus himself condemned narrow and bigoted religious intolerance in the Pharisees, and we should denounce religious intolerance too. Strange as it may seem to some, for me being a Christian is not to be "religious"but to love and follow Christ, and that means "loving my neighbour as myself".
I believe that Christians should seek to make a difference to the world, not be seeking to persecute other faiths, but by prayer, by showing love and concern, and by living out Christ's teaching in our lives. Then, maybe this world will eventually become a better and safer place to live in.
May God bless you all.