Winning blasts material onus of Sacraments

By Simon Caldwell
CARDINAL Thomas Winning has issued a ringing endorsement of one of Cardinal Basil Hume's dying wishes that the Church rediscover its understanding of the sacraments.
In a speech on religious education given last week to Scotland's Catholic Primary Headteachers' Association, the Archbishop of Glasgow spoke of a "sacramental crisis" which he linked to the decline of Christianity in his nation.
He said: "For me, success in a Catholic primary school is having good reason to believe that the children in our charge are going to have a growing relationship with God, with Jesus Christ, which in time can blossom into a genuine commitment to the faith — a faith capable of witnessing to others and being passed on to future generations.
"But there are signs of shadow... perhaps the main one is this: teachers are having to start from a lower base of presumed knowledge and experience than ever before.
"No longer can you take it for granted that children will know how to bless themselves and say the Our Father. I know that often children coming to Catholic schools have not even been baptised." His speech echoed the content of a posthumously-published book — reported exclusively in last week's Catholic Herald — in which Cardinal Hume wrote of the "crying need" to underline "the presence of Christ in the Eucharist", especially in RE programmes. The late Archbishop of Westminster, who believed reverence for the Blessed Sacrament had declined after the Second Vatican Council, had also contributed to a new catechetical tool for children called Exploring the Mass.
In his speech, Cardinal Winning first indirectly criticised the hedonism, materialism, consumerism and moral relativism of modern society, then added: "The tendency for secular values to infiltrate people's religious life is nowhere more clearly seen than in the sacramental initiation of children."
He said: "Baptism is delayed so that a proper party can be held. The sacrament plays second fiddle to the guest list. First Communion and confirmation ceremonies turn into occasions of outlandish spending; of secular partying.
"The sacraments themselves, rather than being the raison d'etre for the celebra
tion become an occasion for socialising.
"I've lost count of the times I've heard children recount how they gathered so much money for their First Communion; or how they were looking forward to confirmation so that they could get a Playstation or a Gameboy or a new football strip.
"The same tendency is found in marriage, where the couple-to-be sort out the hotel, the honeymoon, the taxis and the flowers before they even lift the phone to the priest. Or, what is much worse, where they don't even bother to celebrate the sacrament of marriage, but simply take up living together."
Cardinal Winning said the Church would always be a "sign of contradiction" and urged Catholic teachers to be unafraid to let people know they pray, go to Mass and practise Church teachings in their private lives.
The Cardinal also said it was vital that children were not only taught how to pray but also be able to reflect on Scripture and the Gospel. He said they should be offered modern saints as role models. "The fruits of our labours are not in our own hands,"he added. "Our task is to sow the seed of faith."