On Sunday, October 8, at the St Andrew Kaggwa Church in Vistabella, parishioners were treated to a very special address by Sir Ellis Clarke – “Being Catholic in a Multi-Cultural Society”- the first of a three-part lecture series.

Fr Matthew d’Hereaux introduced the topic with some very important questions for Catholics in our society today. Fr Matthew said, “Faced with the challenge of change many people ask the question, should we, the Church, change with society and the times?

Should the Church be more vocal or should it become silent and passive as it respects the change taking place?” Fr Matthew informed parishioners that the lecture series was designed to answer these and other such questions.

Fr Matthew d'Hereaux and Sir Ellis Clarke

Sir Ellis focussed his lecture on what it means to be Catholic in our society and how one should go about implementing the teachings of Roman Catholicism.

Sir Ellis stated, “It would really be presumptuous of me to tell you how to be a Catholic. All I can do is give you some ideas of my own and challenge you to seek clarification …”

Sir Ellis stated that the primary role of Catholics in our society is to be Catholic in the full sense of the term. He said, “You can only be a Catholic if you know what your religion requires of you”.

He went on to say “If you do not know the fundamental teachings of the religion, its attitude…its rich history, if you know very little about it, then quite frankly you just are not Catholic in the full sense of the term.”

Sir Ellis quoted from a book called the Wonders of the Mass by Father Paul O’Sullivan: “The Mass is the greatest wonder in the world, there is nothing out there equal to it and there is nothing in heaven greater than it. The next greatest wonder is … the indifference and ignorance of Catholics regarding the Holy Mass”

“To be a role leader, a role figure in the Church, in the world, in this country we’re in, you have first of all to understand the teachings of the Church and value it, and you have to understand the greatest of all – the sacrament of Eucharist.”

The next part of Sir Ellis’ lecture focussed on the question of evangelisation and how it should be handled. He said, “We as Catholics don’t want to twist arms… the best form of evangelising, I have found, is by leading a good Catholic life; people are very impressed by it. Then they come to the conclusion… well he behaves this way… he is a Catholic – then they connect the two.”

“I look well for my age”, said Sir Ellis, “and they ask what do I do, and so they say it’s good to drink champagne…but they can come to another conclusion – they can say that I regard what so many people see as an obligation as a privilege… If we really value Mass should we see it as an obligation? Certainly it is a privilege to me.” Expanding on his much talked about fondness for wine Sir Ellis quoted a jingle,”Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, there is always music, laughter and good red wine…” livening the mood of the gathered.

Sir Ellis resumed the topic of evangelisation on a serious note saying, “Evangelising, which is our duty, is a very delicate thing to be used very carefully”. He implored us to follow Christ’s example when it came to evangelising. He went on to say that as Catholics we have a greater responsibility to be more tolerant of others, because being Catholic, he said, “is a great gift”.

Sir Ellis ended his address with a quote from an article written by Pope Benedict XVI, taken from the Catholic News: “The primary approach to other religions (by Catholics) must be one of tolerance.” He said, “We should learn from that how to deal with people – we treat them with respect and we treat them as God’s children.”

After his lecture Sir Ellis answered questions from the parishioners. The questions dealt mainly with evangelisation, and Sir Ellis maintained that our position as Catholics was to be one of quiet persuasion.

He insisted that the best form of teaching was leading by example. Sir Ellis warned that people nowadays always had the tendency to be critical of anything Catholic.

Fr Matthew took over to lead the people in prayer, and the closing hymn was sung. Refreshments were served and parishioners were given a chance to mingle with Sir Ellis and talk more about topics raised in the lecture, before going home.