ALICE THOMAS ELLIS
'WENT TO A literary prize giving affair the other evening. As I stood downing a lager I noticed a person in clerical dress floating round, but did not accost him since these days it is impossible to tell from what they're wearing whether they believe in God or in the inherent sanctity of the roast potato.
Then, as we went to sit down for dinner, I saw the waiters frenziedly removing the utensils from the place next to mine: on covert investigation I was interested to see that it was the cleric who was being repositioned. All became clear when he was asked to say Grace, rose to his feet and besought "He, She, It-or whoever may be up there" (this is absolute truth, I am telling you) to bless what we were about to receive. They had obviously moved him for his own protection.
Kipling, a wise and tragic man, wrote a story in which he speculated, using the example of what had befallen Christianity (and matters have grown infinitely worse since Kipling wrote his prophetic piece), on what would happen should he discover a new religion.
"Preachers would found a fresh conduct of life upon it, swearing that it was new and that they had lifted the fear of death from all mankind. Every Orientalist in Europe would patronise it discursively with Sanskrit and Pali texts. Terrible women would invent unclean variants othe men's belief for the elevation of their sisters. Churches and religions would war over it... I saw with sorrow that men would mutilate and garble the strong: that rival creeds would turn it upside down till, at last the western world which clings to the dread of death more closely than the hope of life, would set it aside as an interesting superstition and stampede after some faith so long forgotten that it seemed altogether new".
If that doesn't sum up the current state of Christendom I don't know what does. The Church is infested with egomaniacal innovators, syncretists and "terrible women" with their tripe ridden talk of "WomanChurch" the "Goddess" and their mad rituals.
Do not be deceived by the would-be priestesses who whinge that they only want equality a largely meaningless and purely secular concept and wish to offer their "gifts" for the good of humanity, etc, etc.
The aim of the so-called "Roman Catholic" women's groups is to impose their feminist will, their circle dancing, cairn building, invocations to Isis and Athene and general gruesome attitude on the rest of us.
There are actually few of them in this country, although they proliferate elsewhere, but their voice is loud and shrill and too many of those who should be our protection are pusillanimous.
One John Challoner, a member of CWO, says, standing the truth squarely on its head: "Refusing to let women take a full part is an injustice.
Women priests would make the Church appear more human and would be a sign of the whole of the human race being saved. It would be a move in the direction of sanity."
Sanity?
Let the ladies do what they like in the privacy of their own covens, but don't let them pretend they don't want to destroy the Church. t Publis-bed by the Catholic Herald Ltd, Herald House, Lambs Parsage,Runbill Row, London EClY 8TQ, telephone 0171 588 3101. Printed in the UK 17 West Sussex County Times, Horsham, Sliver. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper. Second class postage paid at New York PO.