Monday, May 8, 2023

When there’s no substance mystique fills the gap

"The less substance there is to any political institution, the more it must play up its own mystique.

“British greatness has become a mere bubble of bombast, one that burst along with Boris Johnson’s ill-fated reign as ‘world king’. There has been too much empty bloviation about British exceptionalism in recent years for it to be taken seriously now.”

-From Fintan O’Toole in The Irish Times on Saturday.

Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols attended the coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey. The ceremony was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

While it is a positive development to see Catholic prelates attend Anglican services, it’s not that long ago since Catholic prelates forbad  Catholics to attend Anglican services, or indeed any non-Catholic service.

It’s worth repeating what Fintan O’Toole wrote: "The less substance there is to any political institution, the more it must play up its own mystique.”

And the mystique doesn’t exclusively apply to all that happened in Westminster Abbey on Saturday.

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