Western Link - Vol 2 No 5 October 2009 - Province 20 Catenians of ...

GRAND PRESIDENT JOE Mc NALLY’S CONFERENCE ADDRESSHarrogate Conference 2009 (slightly abridged)After thanking past G. C members and welcoming the new, he wenton as follows:-In his inaugural address the Grand President is asked to look beyondcontemporary horizons and offer some vision of the future. The foundermembers of the Association, or its members in the aftermath of the WorldWars, would have found it difficult to predict that today we are a thrivingBrotherhood with a membership which transcends the globe as well asboth class and race. Our Association has much to be proud of.The international expansion of the Association has undoubtedly beenaided by substantial changes in travel and communications but thereis no escaping the fact that the enlarged geographical footprint of theAssociation has stretched its administration.It appears that the favourable economic conditions which haverevolutionised international travel and communications will not prevailin the foreseeable future. In the light, therefore, of current financialdifficulties and the ‘green’ imperative, we should not perhaps plan for thefuture based on the status quo but instead look for change. It is the same forthe structure of the Association: as we grow and develop we must ensurethat our governance and administrative structures can embrace changerather than be overwhelmed by it.I stress that I am concerned with the administration and governance of theAssociation, not its ethos. In that regard the foundation of the Associationupon Circles of Brothers cannot be improved upon; it is a foundationwhich we must be anxious to maintain. We must be resolute in improvingour administrative structure whilst simultaneously being determined not tolose the essence of our Brotherhood and that which sustains it.This is undoubtedly a challenge but in responding to it we must notbecome overawed by the apparent complexity of the problems we face. Itis true that many of the technological facets of our life have changed overthe years. However, it appears to me that many of the ‘core’ difficultieswe face remain in essence the same as those faced over 100 years ago bythe Chums. Then the founding of our Association was part of a Catholicresponse within society. It remains so now.In the introduction to his centenary history of the Association, BrotherJames Hagerty describes the foundation of the Association as growingout of: “the lingering anti-Catholic bigotry within contemporary BritishSociety which discriminated against them and prevented them fromjoining organizations open to men of similar economic interests andsocial status”... The Association was therefore born into an environmentwhere, despite the Catholic Relief Act of 1829, the majority of those whowere members of the Roman Catholic Church were still less than equalwithin society - nor were they trusted within it. With the exception of afew noble Catholic families who were within the ‘establishment’, evenin 1908 Roman Catholics generally remained at a disadvantage whenseeking to serve in positions of civil authority or high office, and some ofthese restrictions remain to this day. The hostility of English society to theChurch was apt to exclude Catholics from full participation.The Association, as a partial response to this, was based on simple preceptswhich have stood the test of time. Although its core values were not settledin a day, it became clear that the Association had two important principlesbehind it:First, the foundation of the Association upon Circles of men in bond as‘Brothers’ subject to their civil and moral obligations which should notbe subverted by their membership of the Association or their pledge toit; andSecondly, that the Association was an independent Association of Catholiclaymen. They were professional and were free to have their own interests(including other Catholic activities) but these were outside of the nonpoliticalAssociation.It followed that by adherence to these principles those who joined theAssociation would not be prevented from serving in civic office ormoving within the establishment. No Catenian could be stigmatised by thesuggestion that their promise as a Catenian Brother would compromisethem in the discharge of any office. The Brotherhood of the Associationwas none the less vital for that. In my view, it is not without significancethat this approach promotes strength through unity, rather than division;after all a Circle of equals is created to promote Brotherhood, notdivision.These ideals found firm expression in our ethos and Rules. They explainwhy we have not sought or maintained any institutionalised political orcharitable objectives as an Association. Seen in its proper context, thisis not weakness but strength. Why? For the individual, it ensures thatno Brother joining the Association is beholden to any other because noBrother can pledge his position. Where a Brother seeks to support a worthycause, he does so personally - his Brothers may support him if they wishbut are not obliged to do so simply because of our Brotherhood.There is a wider significance to this. The simplicity of the Association’smodel ensures that it is not in competition ideologically or territorially withany other organisations. We can complement all and detract from none.Undertaking political argument is the function of political activism. Thiswas deliberately kept out of the Association and left to organisationscommitted to that type of enterprise. Our Association remains diverse andrelevant without the need to re-invent itself. We should jealously guardthis position. We know that for some this is not enough. We are all awarethat there are Brothers who say we should become a Catholic Action Groupand as an Association we should become collectively politically involved.This argument generally proceeds on the premise that the prospect ofan increasingly secular society means that we can no longer afford theluxury of being a non-political Association. It implies that changingcircumstances in turn require the Association to change. I am not confidentthat this is so.It may be useful to first of all reflect that at the time of our formationin 1908, secularism was a major concern to the Church and indeed hadbeen for some considerable time. Within ‘Catholic Europe’ as opposed to‘Protestant England’, the French had, about 120 years earlier establisheda secular state. This meant that through the years which followed theChurch was purged of direct control or influence upon secular institutions.Whether the Church and the state could or should ‘co-exist’ was very muchin issue. The perceived disloyalty of practising Catholics by reason oftheir loyalty to their Church was ground for entrenching a position whichexcluded them and their Church from the fabric of society. Our Church(not without difficulty) eventually declared it would accept the politicalstatus quo and would thereafter work within the civil structures to achieveits aims. Co-existence would be dependent on individual Catholics activeparticipation within the structures of the State as a Catholic citizen. In1892 the Pope called on Catholics to take up positions in public life inorder to achieve this. Catholic values and morality would thus be broughtforward by the participation of the practising laity as citizens (or subjects)not merely by ecclesiastical pronouncement. In other words, the Popeemphasised that the duty of a Catholic was to live in day-to-day life as ifhe or she was the only Bible that some people would ever read.It is instructive to reflect on how that papal exhortation was translated andimplemented some sixteen years later by Bishop Casartelli in the formationof the Chums Benevolent Association. Unusually for the time, he guided agroup of Catholic men and deliberately encouraged them to meet as laymenwithout the interference of the clergy. They were, therefore, attached to theChurch through affiliation but independent of clerical control. In short,the Association thus formed was institutionally and strategically placed tooperate in an increasingly secular state. It had episcopal affirmation for itsnoble and honourable aims.As we have seen in the United Kingdom at least, our forbears steppedforth into no less challenging a world than we inhabit today. The moralchallenge of being proudly Catholic was perhaps more difficult ina world set openly against the Church, rather than in a world whichprofesses indifference to it. O’Donnell need not have been concernedthat the Association would be disadvantaged by its formal separation fromclerical control. The Catholicity of the Association was established by therequirement for Membership of being a proud and practising member ofthe Roman Catholic Church. This was and is a fundamental requirementbefore membership and one upon which I, for one, would broker nocompromise. The men who joined the Chums and then the Catenians didnot do so to become Catholic, they were Catholic already. The Associationwas a brotherhood of professional men who were Catholic, not a bodyof Professional Catholics. It was from this start that the Association wasformed and flourished. Now, as then, the …Association’s vitality and itsstrength are to be found in its Circles – contd..nowhere else. They were not found wanting. Thus it is that the lesson ofour history would seem to tell us that we have suffered no disadvantage as12 October 2009 Western Link