Mother-of-three Sally Gooding, 32, from Surbiton, said: “The first time I came up here I did not pay the women much attention.Oh, lady, if your primary school kids can read those bumper stickers, I’d rate that as far more of a miracle than any vision of the Virgin Mary!
“They are mostly old ladies, singing, and it all seemed quite sweet and innocent, but I have to say I was quite shocked by some of the bumper stickers.
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion but this kind of stuff is very right wing and fundamentalist. There is a primary school in this road and I would not want my kids exposed to such a narrow-minded view.”
One resident, who asked not to be named in case the order “started praying” for him, said: “Up to now they have simply been an irritant because they are always there at midday.Is it the prayer (since you seem to regard it as the Devil might a spray gun full of holy water yourself) or the reference to abortion that upsets you?
“If they want to go there every day and pray, fine, even if I think they are completely absurd, but to put up a notice saying ‘We pray for souls of aborted children’ opposite a school, I think it is dreadful.”
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was formed in 1984 after Patricia de Menezes claimed she saw the Madonna in a tree near her Surbiton home.We aren’t told what sort of tree, which perturbs me somewhat, but I’m pretty sure the Virgin Mary wouldn’t have been scrumping. Or collecting conkers…
Kitty Fox, from the congregation, said: “Abortion is the cause of the problems in the world and the Lord is helping us to provide the cure.”Kitty, bless your heart; you might be a religious nut, but by god, you have the right attitude to the Legions Of The Perpetually Offended….
When asked if she was worried about offending people Miss Fox said: “Why should we be afraid when doing the work of the Lord?
"People don’t like hearing the truth but the truth is the truth and it needs to be said."
But why should I have to explain to my child what 'aborted' means years they are ready to because some god botherers put up a sign opposite a primary school?
ReplyDeleteI can see both sides on this one.
Rantin Rab: it's not unheard of for parents to skirt around awkward questions posed by small children.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, is there a practical way of preventing this demonstration?
At least these women are physically present and not represented by an encampment of empty tents.
Talking of which why aren't the empty tents (Parliament Sq. & St. Paul's) simply removed as litter?
I see only one side here: the right of parents to come and go peacefully without every pressure group from the RSPCA to Socialist Workers cluttering up the school gates.
ReplyDeleteThis was all sorted out in the 1980s when the SWP tried school-gate recruiting. I don't care who you are, pal, you take a stall on the high street everyone else be it Captain Hook or the local council.
Our Lady of Surbiton was not accepted as of divine origin in 2002. Ellen Fox gives an exposition of the doctrinal situation and the reservations which the Church had about the group.
http://www.christianorder.com/features/features_2002/features_may02_bonus_1.html
As Catholics take divinity seriously, they have to consider the possibility that a vision which leads people to act antagonistically towards other groups, to behave in a way which will make enemies for the Catholic church generally, and where there is a distinct whiff of cult, may be demonic in origin.
It is important to note that this is not a recognized Catholic order - it is a private pious group.
Andrew Gimson ran a sympathetic interview in 2002 but didn't do any more investigation in to the negative aspects of the group.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/spectator/thisweek/9648/our-lady-of-surbiton.thtml
The bottom line is: they have two houses and like holding outdoor worship. So far that has not been regarded as a nuisance.
At the point where they begin to nark the locals and provoke a fight, then retreating behind the shelter of "it's my religion innit", there is no discernable difference between them and Anjem Choudhary.
Completely "Upney" (one stop beyond Barking) just like religious fanatics & fundamentalists of every shade ..
ReplyDeleteSo comedians can be "edgy" but not religious "nuts". Maybe we should all be forced to take the Hypocritic oath.
ReplyDelete"Talking of which why aren't the empty tents (Parliament Sq. & St. Paul's) simply removed as litter?" ..
ReplyDeleteNot to mention that if foodstuffs are being stored, cooked and eaten at the venue, they must represent a health & fire hazard ..
In the same way that their sanitary arrangements (such as they are) represent a health hazard to those who have to clean-up after them ..
'Cos no-one within TPTB has the cojones Mick ...
There is the old line about praying to God for anything you like, but the answer is always "no."
ReplyDeletePray away by all means, but just don't expect it to work much.
We aren’t told what sort of tree...
ReplyDeleteOne which produces nuts of some kind? I mean, Our Lady of Surbiton sounds like a Monty Python gag. But yeah, if they're not actually stopping people coming and going or threatening to cut people's heads off then they've got as much right to carry on as any religious nut with a mic, a cheap amp and an obsession with Revelation.
I know that Surbiton was the setting for "The Good Life" .. but this is just taking the piss .. ;)
ReplyDelete"... because some god botherers put up a sign opposite a primary school? "
ReplyDeleteThe sign is in tiny script, and the rest are bumper stickers i.e. not static.
If your kids can read those, they can read everything else, and frankly, the newspapers or other people's t-shirts are more of a threat!
"I see only one side here: the right of parents to come and go peacefully without every pressure group from the RSPCA to Socialist Workers cluttering up the school gates."
If they were doorstopping people at the gates, or proselytising, I'd agree. But they aren't. They have bumper stickers and a tiny sign, on their property.
I can't see that they are doing anything wrong, as AE points out, they've as much right to do it as any other religious wacko.
"'Cos no-one within TPTB has the cojones Mick ..."
Spot on!