...Gerald Grace, that is, or, to give him his full title, Professor Gerald Grace, Director of the Centre for Research in Catholic Education and of the Institute of Education at the University of London.
Professor Grace was wheeled out to speak up for liberty, equality and fraternity on this morning's Ed Stourton show on Radio 4. He was batting for Westminster Diocese in the Cardinal Vaughan affair.
Now Prof Grace has been described as "a world renowned education author and academic," words guaranteed to loosen one's bowels, speaking as one who worked in education for a large part of his life. But, it's Sunday and I have vowed to make any comments or posts as Christian as possible (I try that every day but don't always succeed).
The stance that Prof Grace took was that the Vaughan was imposing stringent entry conditions and that this was against the ethos of a state school (I paraphrase somewhat as I am off to Swansea shortly for reasons that will become clear later).
Bishop Stack came on and backed him up by claiming that such conditions of entry discriminated against refugees from the Sudan. At this point the old thin red mist began to rise again and I had to take a firm grip of myself. Has the Catholic world gone completely barking mad? Has Lewis Carroll come back to earth to write another drug induced fantasy?
"Enough! Enough" I cried! I am in need of respite care away from such idiocies and
un-Christian thought prompting issues.
We shall take ourselves off for the 5pm EF Mass at St Therese de Liseux at Port Talbot (a 150 mile round trip for us) and enjoy a Chinese brunch in Swansea, home of Dylan Thomas among many others.
And after Holy Mass? Well some soothing tea and buns and a great deal of Catholic laughter - but no red wine, I'm driving!
Professor Grace was wheeled out to speak up for liberty, equality and fraternity on this morning's Ed Stourton show on Radio 4. He was batting for Westminster Diocese in the Cardinal Vaughan affair.
Now Prof Grace has been described as "a world renowned education author and academic," words guaranteed to loosen one's bowels, speaking as one who worked in education for a large part of his life. But, it's Sunday and I have vowed to make any comments or posts as Christian as possible (I try that every day but don't always succeed).
The stance that Prof Grace took was that the Vaughan was imposing stringent entry conditions and that this was against the ethos of a state school (I paraphrase somewhat as I am off to Swansea shortly for reasons that will become clear later).
Bishop Stack came on and backed him up by claiming that such conditions of entry discriminated against refugees from the Sudan. At this point the old thin red mist began to rise again and I had to take a firm grip of myself. Has the Catholic world gone completely barking mad? Has Lewis Carroll come back to earth to write another drug induced fantasy?
"Enough! Enough" I cried! I am in need of respite care away from such idiocies and
un-Christian thought prompting issues.
We shall take ourselves off for the 5pm EF Mass at St Therese de Liseux at Port Talbot (a 150 mile round trip for us) and enjoy a Chinese brunch in Swansea, home of Dylan Thomas among many others.
And after Holy Mass? Well some soothing tea and buns and a great deal of Catholic laughter - but no red wine, I'm driving!
