2025-05-13
Roger Watson, who we must assume from his opening words is a Catholic, takes a hard look at the global problem of immigration, and what the official Catholic response under the leadership the newly minted Pope Leo might be.
It's a vital question, and not adequately answered by the simplistic assumption that all should be automatically welcome regardless of culture, proclivity, religion, or even of sheer numbers.
Still, at least he has a specific leader to assess, whose actions may or may not speak louder than his words.
Unlike us C of E (Church of England / Church of Everybody) protestants, who have a leadership divided between King Charles III (who by convention is restrained from openly engaging in UK politics) and the Archbishop of Canterbury (who sits in the Lords by virtue of his leadership of the Lords Spiritual) and is not constrained by convention. Who can say how the relationship between the King and his servant the Archbishop may affect UK matters spiritual/political? The grooming gangs scandal just goes on and on, with no end in sight, as politicians police councils (and quite possibly even the King, although we cannot know that) simply but determinedly refuse to address it.
Still, the migration problem (or opportunity if you prefer) is not confined to the UK, it has every appearance of having been fostered globally as a matter of policy (stated or unstated), and even previously mighty Germany has now felt compelled to adopt the drastic option of simply closing its borders to the flood of those who would claim asylum. Eugippius reports on how the campaign to blame the "far right" AfD party for stirring the pot of "racial hatred" is faring with the general population.
But whatever the failings of the Germans, they have actually taken a step (no matter how crude) to address the problem by closing their borders, whereas we in the UK are determined to keep them open to all seemingly regardless of any and all untoward effects,
Go figure.
