PRIEST'S RULE OF LIFE.*
Tim conchs ad clerum, to judge from its title, might seem to call for notice rather from the denominational than the general Press. But the Oxford Convention of Priests, at which it was read, was an outcome of the Forward Movement in connexion with which Anglo-Catholic Congresses have been held not only in London, but at Leeds and other provincial centres ; and this Monment is one from which results of more than denominational importance may conceivably arise. For it aims at nothing short of domina- tion. "Catholics," says the Chunk Times, "emphatically refuse to accept a tolerated position as a legitimate party in the Church, a school of thought for which a place must be found. Either the Church of England is wholly and entirely Catholic, or she is nothing at all. Religion cannot be partitioned out." The value of Mr. Long's paper is that of a document. It shows the limited extent to which Catholicism, in this sense of the word, has influenced its adherents. Its hold on the Church is slighter, on the nation slighter still : we may "sleep o' nights."
He lays stress on the Daily Maas—by which he appears to mean the Anglican Communion Service ; on the recitation of the Divine Office—i.e., the Prayer Book Morning and Evening Prayer, to which may be added "one or two of the minor offices," taken presumably from the Roman Breviary ; and the yearly Retreat. These .duties, however, he tells us, are less generally practised than could be wished. "It is stfll too common to regard the Mass as the opportunity of giving Communion to our people rather than as, primarily, the pleading of the Great Sacrifice on behalf of the living and the dead " ; the obligation of the Divine Office is treated by many Priests "far too lightly " ; an "almost complete neglect of the Fasts and Abstinences " is found "in the households of many of the clergy " ; and "it is by no means uncommon to meet Priests who have not been into Retreat for quite a number of years." Mr. Long's earnestness deserves, and should be treated with, respect. But the concep- tion of religion which places the accent on such practices as these is mechanical ; and those who are familiar with the perfunctory observance into which they are apt to degenerate among the Roman Catholic clergy will be the last to desire their naturaliza- tion among our own.
The writer passes on to the question of celibacy ; which, if we may judge from a remarkable letter which appeared in a recent number of the Church Timers (September let), is a burning one among Anglo-Catholics :— " May I call your attention" (says the writer) "to a weakness in the Anglo-Catholic position which has, I think, been overlooked? Namely, that so few Anglo-Catholic women are whole-heartedly converted to a belief in clerical celibacy. I would suggest as a remedy that one outcome of the Anglo-Catholic Congresses of 1922 should be an Anglo-Catholic Order of Merit for Women. This should consist of two classes : 1. Dames of the Order. These should be women who had actually refused to marry a Priest.
2. Companions of the Order. These should be women who would refuse if they had the opportunity. I enclose my card,
• Ths Priest's Rule of Life. By C. Newell Long. London : Society of es, Peter end Paul. [Oda
and should be happy to be enrolled a Companion of the Order.— Eve."
The Editor is, of course, not responsible for the opinions of his correspondents. But in this case the heading, "No Laughing Matter," suggests that he is in sympathy, if not with her inge- nious proposal, at least with her criticism of the facility with which her Anglo-Catholic sisters receive, if they do not invite, the matrimonial advances of the clergy. Suppose, however, the worst—let Eve be frisky and the Editor gullible—Mr. Long's seriousness is beyond dispute. He gives us a list of ten "Societies of Priests" which either "have a Celibate Roll, and offer their members the opportunity of taking a vow of celibacy for a limited period, or for life " ; or pledge their members "to live as bound by the ancient and universal rule that clerks in Sacred Orders may not contract marriage." This principle, he says, "embodies a conviction, which is growing in the mind of many Priests to-day, that the Church of England is bound by the rule of the undivided Church in this matter ; and that, therefore, Priests ought not to avail themselves of the permission granted in Article XXXII."
Alas, however, we live in an evil age
"Many of us older Priests are gravely concerned at the marked change of attitude with regard to the marriage of Priests on the part of those who in other respects accept Catholic prin- ciples. It used to be considered the normal thing for a Priest to accept, at any rate, the ideal of Celibacy ; whereas to-day it seems to be the normal aim of many young _Priests to get married as soon as possible. Three who are responsible for the training of Ordinands and for the counselling of the younger clergy should urge them to face the question of Celibacy ass matter of principle, and should warn them against that easy drifting into marriage which is too prevalent among us now."
Those who think in this way must be curiously ill-informed as to the practical working of the system in Latin Christendom. They would do well to study Mr. H. C. Lea's History cf Sacerdotal Celibacy ; and to reflect on human nature, which does not change when a period is closed or a frontier crossed. The ignorance of European Catholicism which prevails among repre- sentative English Churchmen is at once profound and amazing. It is peculiar to no one form of Anglicanism. The assumption of kindred on the part of the Anglo-Catholic, the prejudice of the Puritan, and the pose of the superior person found among Liberals are as unintelligent as they are irritating. Lambeth and Oxford bound their horizon ; the larger world beyond either is a terra incognita to them all.
It is possible that Mr. Long's admissions point to a certain weakness of fibre in Anglo-Catholicism : people seldom appear to advantage when, in whatever good faith, they profess to be what they are not, and what no one but themselves believes them to be. The suspicion of unreality is fatal to religion ; and it is to the more highly organized—i.e., the ecclesiastical—forms of religion that it most easily attaches itself. Their strength lies not in their own reasonableness, but in the enthusiasm of their adherents. As this declines they dwindle ; they succumb less to attack from without than to failure from within.
Previous page
