Cathedral in the Eye
Westminster Cathedral has attracted the notice of Private Eye. In the current edition, there is a piece on page 12 "Music and Musicians" reporting on a new work by John Tavener, commissioned by the Prince of Wales that is to be performed in the Cathedral. According to the article:
It is based on the Koran and sets the 99 names of Allah to music, to be intoned over an hour and a half with choir, full orchestra and Tibetan gongs.Lunchtime O'Boulez comments
To a liberal minded Christian this may all seem unexceptionable, even worthy. But it's treading dangerous ground, not least because no one seems to have done much research into what Muslims will think about giving the names of Allah full choral treatment in a Catholic cathedral. "It will be a respectful, reverent event and we're not anticipating problems," said a spokesman. So that's alright then.He has a point. It is not so long ago that the Cathedral piazza (a public highway) saw another form of Islamic expression:
It may be that singing the names of Allah in the Cathedral is intended as a conciliatory gesture but I do hope that Lunchtime O'Boulez is wrong and that somebody has checked how this will go down with the Muslims. Webislam seem happy enough at any rate.
Of course, from a Catholic point of view, there are questions to be raised about the appropriateness of the initiative. I wonder what the Bishop of Cordoba would say. He has resisted requests from the Junta Islámica de España to use the Cathedral (a former mosque) for prayer, saying that it would generate confusion and lead to religious indifference. (Article in Typically Spanish)
41 comments:
If people of a certain other religion want to use the Spanish Cathedral, perhaps it should be conditional upon permitting the Patriarch of Constantinople to use Hagia Sophia?
Private Eye also keep a wary eye on the desecration sorry reordering of historic Catholic churches.
As to what is going on at Westminster Catherdral, I trust the relevant people in Rome will be informed so that it can help form their decision as to who the next Archbishop of Westminster will be when our dear Cardinal retires.
"Another form of expression" Father?
You mean Islam is... *shudder*... a peacful sect despite their Koran?
This is very sad. Particularly given that over the last few weeks so much attention has been given to Fatima, both from the 90th anniversary celebrations and the great graces born from the McCann family tragedy. Amongst other things, we always hope that the witness of Fatima will enlighten the Muslim faithful to the sole Truth Who is Christ, given their devotion to the mother of Our Lord, and this daughter of Muhammad.
Such stunts from the Archdiocese simply seem to commend the validity of the muslim religion to Catholics. Can they possibly realise this?
I still recall the ingenious words of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran when insisting that Catholics must proclaim their convictions which went something like this, "The Muslim faithful have 99 names for God. They are missing only one: Father! This is our treasure!"
Whether by spurious claims regarding 'anonymous Christians' or however they justify their treachery, how many times are we told in the NT that those who deny that Jesus is God have the spirit of anti-Christ. And more importantly, the Magisterium confirms this NT teaching in every way possible. Fiona
Next step will be to turn the Cathedral into a Mosque - hey why not, they did it in Istanbul!
Sadly the lunatics are in charge of the asylum.
As for Bonnie Prince Charlie, the guy lost the plot years ago - must be all that organic food! No, he's not Catholic, possibly not even Christian, just goes along with all faiths and fads - hey the view's the same from the top of the mountain!
And I thought we only had liturgical dance, incense bearers, new-age music, earthenware chalices and gay masses to worry about.
Let's hope his successor is not a current bishop in E and W. With all respect to them, there is a club mentality which needs to be changed for the good of the Church and the bishops themselves - and that can only happen from outside the club. The chosen man will need all our prayers.
I suspect that Cormac will stay on and has been assured as such.
Given the age of the Pope, I can't believe that Rome will give the UK 3 red birettas.
Who will replace him in any event? The cupboard is bare and each new episcopal appointment is greeted with dread by the faithful. Goodness knows which one of Cormac's mates will get Middlesbrough?
Does anybody care?
It may be good ecumenism to say we all worship the same God, but this is not true. Allah is a very different God from the God of Christians. To praise another God then in a Christian Chruch is totally against the First Commandment. "Thou shalt love the Lord they God, and him only shall you serve" But maybe God understands it is all just a good will gesture, because we are like that in the Catholic Church in England we give good will gestures, belittle our own faith, and kiss the feet of those who despise us. The result being that they despise us even more. I do wish our leaders were real men.
Nothing surprises me anymore about what the Cardinal allows in the cathedral.
Dominie
It is a disgrace that this work will be sung in Westminster Cathedral. I am also shocked that Tavener composed such a thing... although i don't know how much of a comitted Christian he is.
This is horrifying, though. You're quite right to show the protest photos Father. It is fresh in my memory, and ought to be so in the mind of His Emminence and those who organise such events on his behalf in the Cathedral.
It is primarily a place for the worship of God, and I feel that music played there should reflect that. Like the performance of Gerontius there last night, which I'm sure was quite appropriate.
Is this some kind of a sick joke?
St Edmund Campion pray for us! (just reading his Brag..)
This is the sort of question where it is almost impossible to say anything without treading on toes.
I suppose that firstly, the piece is not an act of worship but a secular concert piece inspired by the Koran - possibly analogous to Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms. As a glimpse of the sprituality of a culture alien to us, albeit filtered through Tavener's musical language, it should be at least interesting.
However, the involvement of HRH the Prince of Wales, who wishes to be "defender of faiths" and the cathedral setting hint at some sort of intended gesture.
I share your hope that our Cathedral authorities, mindful of the sensitivities, have had both the political acumen and the courtesy to have already discussed this with their Muslim contacts.
On the home front, I now fear that much as happened following the recent announcement that Turkish Sufi Dervishes had been invited to dance before the Holy Father in one of the Vatican palaces later this year, one can now expect vehement denouncements of the great apostasy, drowning out more nuanced concerns that may be voiced.
Our cathedral is frequently used for entirely secular concerts, with paid admission, and organ recitals often prominently feature works by Bach and Buxtehude based on Protestant liturgies. No one seems to mind much. As GBS said in a different context, we've established the principle, we're now just haggling about the price.
In some sects of Islam part of the "consecation" of a mosque, or claiming of a building or city is to speak the names of God. Will the Cathedral now become a Mosque?
The banging of these gongs, is the sound in itself not sacred and therefore a prayer.
This seems to be a rather naive gesture on the part of the Prince of Wales, sad the Cathedral has been drawn into his making a liberal westernised pap of Catholiscism, Islam with a bit of Buddhism chucked in.
But let us be positive, there will that wonderful performance of The Dream of Gerontius in the Regence Park Mosque.
Someone should break into Cardinal Vaughn's tomb and put ear-plugs into his mortal remains. I assure you the Cardinal founder is rolling over in his grave, along with Cardinals Bourne and Heenan, St. John Southwell AND Venerable Bishop Challoner, though Hume probably doesn't see the problem. I might as well dig my own grave so that I can roll over in it, since that is precisely where Cormac Murphy O'Climber is trying to get all of us.
Read a copy of a slim little volume called "Westminster Retrospect" about Sir Richard Terry, his career as a convert and first music director of the Cathderal, and the rediscovery of the corpus of Tudor catholic music, and consider how the present administration, and that's all it is - certainly not a pastorate - is more than willing to desecrate that hallowed building with the names of the misconceived god of a heretic sect; then tell me that you're not in the hands of the Enemy. This is the smoke of Satan.
AAAARRGGHHH!!
Not again!!! It was only a few months ago that Jeffrey Archer's 'The Gospel according to Judas' was launched in the Cathedral Hall. What sort of messages are being sent out to the catechetically illiterate faithful? During the infamous "At Your Word Lord" initiative to spiritually 'renew'the diocese one parish priest responed to the programme's advice to "visit a local Hindu Temple, Sikh Gurdwara or Mosque. You may ask someone from one of these fiths to share their faith and practices with you" by doing just that. He took his parishioners to the local Mosque, some of whom commented afterwards "our beliefs are really quite similar." No real catechesis or adult formation in this parish.
When I read it, I wondered what the 99 Names of God actually are. If they are things like "the Compassionate", "the Merciful", we can celebrate the fact that we can Christianise something we have never felt able to share with our Muslim brothers before because of our inability to understand that they actually have enjoyed a reflection of the Truth in their otherwise deficient theology of the Triune nature of God.
If the Prince oif Wales want, and he is an Anglican, why they don't use Westminster Abbey?
Isn't the use of churches and cathedrals for non-liturgical musical performances a violation of Canon Law? - or was that before we understood that they're not temples of His Presence, but "worship spaces" for us?
The Spanish Cathedral was once a mosque but before it was a mosque it was a Catholic church.
What is going on at Westminister Cathedral? I can't stand gnostic comments?
Westminster Central Hall is a better venue for this event than either the Cathedral or Westminster Abbey. Better still, what about the Royal Albert Hall?
Why are titles from the book of "a religion invented by an impostor and framed for beasts rather than humans" (St Alphonsus) being employed in the House of God? Islam is the most successful denial of the Trinity and Christ's divinity in the history of the world, and we set its names for God to music and proclaim them in our cathedral?
I'm more concerned about God's reaction than the Muslims'.
Apparently this is "the latest in a growing series of compositions influenced by the 'universalist' philosophy of the Swiss mystic and poet Fritjhof Schuon."
From the BBC description.
Read about the philosophy behind the music.
Islamic legal authority al-Nawawi:
"Infidels who are subjects of our Sovereign by virtue of surrender, must be forbidden to build churches or synogogues in a town we have founded, or whose inhabitants have embraced Islam of their own accord. As for places taken by attack, the infidels must refrain not only from building new churches and synagogues there, but also from using for their purposes such buildings as exist there. When, however, the country submitted by capitulation, the following cases must be distinguished:
"1. If the capitulation treaty states that the land will be ours, but that the infidels will remain there by virtue of hereditary possession, and that they retain their churches or synagogues there, they will then be able to continue to use them; but if nothing has been decided on the subject of these buildings, they are forbidden to use them for their purpose.
"2. If the capitulation treaty states that the infidels will remain owners of the land, they can not only continue to use their churches and synagogues, but also build new ones."
Strangely, there appears to be no provision for situations where Christian authorities in unoccupied lands voluntarily cede their churches for Islamic praise.
Fr. Tim,
Catholics should never be so naïve as to underestimate the force of Islamic supersessionism. The Moslem belief that Islam is the third and definitive revelation, which renders the two previous revelations (Judaism and Christianity) obsolete, is much more deeply engrained in Islamic consciousness than our Christian perception that the Jews accidentally “missed the Messiah” but will eventually come to accept Him. I work with a lot of Moslem colleagues and this particular aspect of Islamic belief is something that I find particularly striking (and, I have to say, unnerving) because of the attitudes and assumptions it generates.
At root, Islam admits of no compromise. “Inter-faith dialogue” is not something that Islam would acknowledge – it is just seen as a sign of weakness on the part of the infidels. So when Popes takes their shoes off to enter a mosque – or when one of them actually kisses the Koran in public – Moslems see this not as a gesture of goodwill, but as tacit confirmation of Islamic supersessionism. The same goes for a recitation of the 99 praises of Allah in a Catholic cathedral.
We are living in a highly dangerous era in which secularists are bashing Catholicism but at the same time conniving with Islam because it helps to relativize the claims of Christianity. Islam regards itself as inimical to Christianity anyway so Catholics must not be aiding and abetting the secularists.
In my view, Catholic cathedrals should never be used for non-liturgical public music performances, period. But if those in charge of cathedrals insist on using them as auditoriums, then they need to be very discerning.
English Catholics are owed a profound apology for the disgraceful and deeply blasphemous demonstration in the cathedral piazza not so long ago. But it won’t be forthcoming – after all, Catholics are only followers of the “second and still provisional” divine revelation, so what (in the minds of the adherents of the “third and final” one) is there to be apologetic about?
Wow, the Church has hit a new low of dhimmitude. Does the Cathedral know that music is forbidden in Islam anyways? Wake up! Islam is NOT a religion of Peace!!!
"Muslim brothers".
Is that a joke? What fellowship has light with darkness? This is what it is. Another example of modern Catholic faithlessness.
Can you imagine Solomon's Temple resounding to the chants of the devotees of Astarte? This is a place supposedly set aside for God, sacred to Him, yet the names of a false God, a product of Satan, will be sung there? What is the human voice for?...go back to basics.
In none of the comments do i see the fact that Jesus was Jewish.
according to the Muslims he was Moslem, according to the Christians he was Christian, the Jews believe that a person must worship in the faith they were born into and do not seek converts unless they go through a long period of soul searching, the idea of allowing the Moslems to use cathedrals to intone the name of Allah just once or 99 times is asking the Fox to act as the protector of the Hen house, as for Charles and his views , I wonder what the queen thinks of his views.The best for him to do is to keep his mouth closed , the fact is when he opens it people realise his intelligents level
9lucys -
In none of the comments do i see the fact that Jesus was Jewish.
according to the Muslims he was Moslem, according to the Christians he was Christian...
Actually, the last time I looked, the Catholic Church said that Jesus was a Jew. It is the followers of Jesus who became known as Christians. A small point, but I think it's important.
Did this Cardinal ask the congregation their permission? NO, because they knew already that the answer would be a negative. We live out here with these people and know what's really happening. We are like lambs being lead to the slaughter. Remember the Armenians/Greeks/Chaldo-Syriac/Assyrians!
The muslims look on us as weaklings and this is just another instance which cements it.
FYI, Charles is already a muslim per many sources. Wake up!
Folks, PRIVATE EYE, is a satire and humor magazine. You're taking this joke seriously because it sounds like something the Prince would do. PE is the same mag that had a column supposedly written by a drunken Denise Thatcher and which announced that the Queen wanted her daughter to marry Edi Amin (Amin by the way thought the offer was serious).
Err, yes... but it also offers trenchant comment on issues of the day. Sadly, they are actually going to sing the 99 names of Allah in Westminster Cathedral. It ought to be a joke, I know.
Fr. Tim,
Just as an addendum to my previous comments, it’s vital for Catholics who enthuse about inter-faith gestures vis-à-vis Islam to realize that there is a very widespread feeling among Moslems that the “Islamic hour” is finally dawning and Judeo-Christianity will be overthrown. Catholics need to adjust their approach accordingly.
From the start of the colonial era until about 40 years ago, the West reigned supreme militarily and technologically while Islam was prostrate and humiliated. Now many Moslems perceive that the tables are finally turning. Asia is on the rise economically and demographically. Islam is now galvanized and is challenging the decadent and ageing West. Moslems are now colonizing the Western nations and not vice versa, aided and abetted by plunging Western birthrates.
Moslems also have a tendency to think that Western decadence is somehow a consequence of Christianity, rather than being the result of a rebellion against Christian belief. Think of all of your Catholic disdain for the spinelessness and doctrinal chaos of Anglicanism, and you have in a nutshell exactly how Moslems perceive Christianity – a spent force, to which Islam is the only viable alternative.
I think the lesson to be drawn from this big-picture backdrop is that Catholicism is entering another Lepanto-style phase of confrontation with newly-assertive Islam, at the same time as we are coming under increasing pressure from secularism. Christian communities in the Middle East are already being severely persecuted. How will these tensions manifest themselves in the West? In all likelihood, in the form of more Islamic terrorism, which secularists will use as a further pretext to rubbish religious belief, and as another excuse to clamp down on Catholicism.
In the same way that the Counter-Reformation used lots of straight-talking to counteract Protestantism, dealing with resurgent Islam will require a lot more Regensburg-style, courageous, politically incorrect straight-talking by the Catholic Church – rigorous intellectual expounding of the rationality of God; of the fact that an uncaused supreme being inevitably has a triune nature; of the divinity of Christ and the fact of His death and Resurrection, etc. etc.
Not appeasement and smiles for the cameras.
What would be the best way of making a protest, Father? We can't stand by and let this happen.
I think it's a VERY VERY VERY BAD IDEA INDEED!!! It's very subtle. They have picked the Cathedral for two reason:
One because it is the heart of Catholicism in this country and two because of the Byzantine Architecture.
Sneaky and clever. I detect a serpent in our midst.
God help us!!!
Litany of the Holy Name.
RE: What would be the best way of making a protest, Father? We can't stand by and let this happen.
I agree, we were only talking about this after Mass yesterday after reading an article in one of the Catholic Papers and seeing quotations from your blog Fr! We were thinking that many Muslims might actually not be in favour of this event anyway and so maybe we could arrange an interfaith protest!
In all seriousness though I think we should do something.
Perhaps to say the Rosary and the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus outside the Cathedral?
Courteous and reasonable letters to the Cathedral Administrator and/or Cardinal Murphy O'Connor would indicate the degree of opposition to the event.
When you're cardinal archbishop of Westminster, Father, maybe you could make amends by commissioning a choral setting for Dominus Jesu!
Maybe no one will turn up. Maybe instead they will all go to the concert at Christ Church Spitalfields - the Gabrieli Consort 'Ave Regina Coelorum /Hail Queen of Heaven'. As the blurb goes 'Throughout all ages, the much-loved figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary has inspired composers to write some of their most
heartfelt, warm and joyous music ...' It's at 7.30 on the 19th. How shaming that an Anglican church is putting on such a concert at the same time that the Cathedral is doing its syncretist thing!
Oh my. I knew that Tavener had converted to some branch of Eastern Orthodoxy; what I didn't know was that he subsequently left and explored Islam and Hinduism. The Wikipedia article on him is very sobering. Tavener is quoted as saying, "It strikes me now that all religions are as senile as one another."
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