A Catholic bishop apologises
Ooh, look! – Adelaide Catholic bishop Philip Wilson has apologised for the excommunication of Mary Mackillop. He even said that the excommunication was invalid. Of course, given that it happened nearly 140 years ago in 1871, I’m not sure that Mackillop herself cares much now… Though perhaps she should count herself lucky – Galileo didn’t get an apology till FOUR hundred years later!
But it seems to me that the significant issues here are that a) the church does occasionally admit to being wrong, even over such important matters as excommunication, but b) it takes an inordinately long time for them to do so. Ok, so the Sisters of St Joseph – the order Mackillop founded – are appreciative of the apology, but it really doesn’t matter a whole lot to most people now. The time when the apology should have been made was back in the 1870s, when everyone who had accepted the excommunication’s validity had the chance to revise their opinion of Mackillop, and Mackillop herself could feel the injustice restored (not to mention her faith in the church).
Of course, given that she was beatified 14 years ago, it’s clear that the church no longer sees her independent thinking as evil, but perhaps it’s time they acknowledged that faith in – and obedience to – the church is not the same thing as faith in – and obedience to – God, and stopped setting themselves up as such an immutable authority.
Given my previous blog entry on Fr Kennedy, one can’t help wondering if – in a hundred years time – they might actually have to admit they were wrong to sack him, too!