Pope Francis and his opposition

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By now everyone knows that a resistance movement is active in reaction to the reforms of Pope Francis.  Refusniks are in favour of services in Latin, are opposed to ecumenism, freedom of religion and closer relations with Judaism.  The leader of the group is Jean-Michel Faure, consecrated as bishop by British bishop, Richard Williamson, a holocaust denier,  who announced that he “expects a divine intervention, such as a Noah’s flood”.  Others expect a new world war that will punish the liberal backsliders.  Their hero is Pope Pius x, 1903-1914, who believed he was following the words of Jesus himself. There are about a million people who revere Pius.

We have seen all this before, and the way to deal with it is to ignore it.  In the old days they could do enormous damage with their Inquisitions and burnings at the stake. Now they are a sad rump, a mere 0.1% of all Catholics.  We should be patient and understanding and tolerate them, reflecting that so many of the doctrines they support so strenuously were invented at Nicea and other convocations two thousand years ago, and that what can be invented amid furious argument in Nicea can be reinvented today in Rome.  Why not?

On the other hand, the Curia and the cardinals who are  living like princes are unlikely to convert to the idea of a simple church without a struggle.  How far can Francis go in firing cardinals and bishops?  It is alleged that one previous Pope was assassinated for treading on the toes of the mafia and the Vatican bank  (true or not I don’t know).  Francis is a good , genuine man.  Epicureans should wish him well, while thanking their stars they are not in the shoes of the Fisherman.

The philosopher cabbie

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The other night my wife and I encountered a taxi driver who was also a philosopher.  He wasn’t an Uber driver, but one of the conventional taxi drivers who is probably slowly going out of business. ( I refuse to have any part in deliberately making people more insecure than they already are).

He told us,  ” When I was younger my dad died.  He was in his fifties.  It was a shock.  I thought I could be already half way through my own life.  I decided from then on that my objective should be happiness.  I have made this the objective of my life. If you chat with passengers and tell them you are happy, they are momentarily  speechless, but almost always reply, ‘Then business must be great.’  Automatically, you see, it is assumed that business success is all that matters and that money brings you happiness.  An increase in revenue is a cause for exhilaration.  But it isn’t true.  I don’t want a fancy house and fancy vacations; I want contentment and peace of mind.  The more money you have the more stress you have managing it and trying to avoid people stealing it.  And then you never know why others want to be friends with you.  No, I am a happy man.  Taken to its ultimate conclusion, you can’t spend all of it anyway.”  (I have paraphrased part of this, accurately , I think)

I didn’t tell him he was an Epicurean.  Nor did I tell him that he seemed to be making a more thorough job of living an Epicurean life of happiness than maybe I was!  It was a pity the taxi ride was so short.

The Social Progress Index

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Professors Michael Porter from Harvard Business School and Scott Stern from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that that models of economic growth alone are incomplete and misleading.  They have developed a Social Progress index, ranking 133 countries in three main categories, indepentently from GDP: Basic Human Needs (food, water, shelter and safety),  Foundations of Well-being (basic education, information, health and a sustainable environment, and Opportunity (freedom of choice and from discrimination, and access to higher education).

What the Index looks at is as follows:  does a country provide for its people’s essential needs, is well-being sustainable, and is there opportunity for all individuals to reach their full potential?  It is similar to the idea of Gross National Happiness, but it is claimed that this idea is more accurately quantified.  Norway, Sweden and Switzerland take the top places , the UK comes a respectable number 11, surprisingly beating France and Germany.

Porter, to the embarrassment, I’m sure, of many, compares the US with Rwanda, which went through a horrible genocide and the collapse of society.  Helped by a positive national consensus Rwanda has since reduced child mortality by 61% in a decade, got 95% of children into primary schools, and has a majority of women in parliament, among other things. In comparison, the US comes 45th in access to basic knowledge, 68th in health and wellness, 30th in personal safety, and 74th in ecosystem sustainability. (Information from Harvard magazine).

For America it wasn’t always like this.  But the long-running Republican rebellion against the Roosevelt civilised, liberal reforms, a reliance upon corporations for money and for spurring economic growth, and a growing hatred for entitlements, has divided the country down the middle, slowly undermining the happier and vibrant  country I encountered when traveling the length and breadth of it in 1963.  I mourn for those days 50 years ago as much as any born-American. Attitudes are unhealthily set and decline obvious to any resident.   I wish it were not so.

Montaigne: words from an Epicurean

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“The main obstacles to happiness are, firstly, desire for recognition, rank, wealth, power and sex.  Second is fear of death.  Third is the fear of hell fire threatened by organised religion.”  Michel de Montaigne (1533—1592).

Montaigne was a fascinating man.  He espoused most of the views of Epicurus and did not like organised religion, but nevertheless believed atheists were the next best thing to the devil: he believed in God.  Well, there is not a lot of harm in picking bits out of any belief system that suits you.

 

Making friends

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Some while ago a young lady wrote to this blog with a very open and honest request for advice about making friends.  She was clearly having a problem finding, and keeping. a friend of the opposite sex.  Since this is a constant theme throughout the generations I thought I would repeat my reply to her:

When I was young I yearned to have a girlfriend (preferably a pretty blonde one, typically male!). Almost anyone who was good- looking would have been a thrill. But I struggled, and watched the cool guys with the straggly beards and the unkempt hair, the fellows who never turned up on time and appeared not to care less, having  all the success.

One day someone said to me, “You try too hard. And maybe you’re trying with the wrong people, too”.   I thought about this, and tried to adopt a more casual, take-it-or-leave it attitude. I abandoned the flighty types and tried to find people with a sense of humour, with whom I could have intelligent conversations, people with whom I had something in common and have a good laugh with. Suddenly, things picked up.

My advice to Melanie was: Relax. Step back. At least pretend not to care. Give people space; if you don’t, they will retreat as you advance. And what can be most difficult for many people – lighten up and don’t be intense (I had no reason to think she was, but just in case the cap fitted…)