Like Burnham, I was an altar boy. His Catholic upbringing is shaping the way he governs |Julian Coman
With a prime minister raised in a tradition that emphasises our mutual dependency, we may finally have a leader who can address the anomie gripping
With a prime minister raised in a tradition that emphasises our mutual dependency, we may finally have a leader who can address the anomie gripping our country Like Andy Burnham, I was once an enthusiastic altar boy, although I donāt recall competing to be at the front with the communion plate as the prime minister apparently did.
Much of my motivation had little to do with piety. The tips received for serving at weddings were often very generous and I got on well with Father Jerome, an engagingly worldly monk from Ampleforth who shared my passion for Manchester United. Iām five years older than Burnham, but the atmosphere of the small-town northern Catholicism we grew up with will have been much the same.
The second Vatican councilās reforms, responding to the social changes under way since the 1960s, were ādemocratisingā the tone and style of worship, and traditionalists were mourning the sidelining of the old Latin mass. The huge success of Pope John Paul IIās groundbreaking visit to Britain in 1982 ā the first by a reigning pontiff ā had made the faith seem more mainstream and less rarefied.
Politically, most Catholics voted Labour, and the large number of Celtic surnames in parish registers testified to a demographic significantly different from Anglican congregations, which were both more English and more Tory. Julian Coman is a Guardian associate editor Continue reading...
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