THE TABLET

THE INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY FOUNDED IN 1840

ECUMENICAL OPPORTUNITY

THE CHURCHES MUST SEIZE THE MOMENT

Is it time for a game changer in relations between the Churches? There are already signs of the times pointing to a better way forward. The joint mission of the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to South Sudan was a powerful symbol of what church leaders can achieve when they work together. The visit of the Archbishop of York to Pope Francis in Rome was another indication that ecumenism still has plenty of potential. Archbishop Stephen Cottrell said afterwards that one of the biggest mistakes that Christians have made is to talk, write and confer about church unity “rather than seeing it as something that we must do”.

He is right, though talking and writing have their place. And conferring. It is striking that both the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales scarcely engage in joint ventures. Yet the problems their communities face are identical. The cost of living, the state of the NHS and social care, refugees, the housing crisis and so on are at the top of the political and social agenda. They should be at the top of the Christian agenda too. Church leaders do address them, but separately. Given how similar the points they make are, why do they hardly ever speak side by side? When the Archbishop of Canterbury made his full-frontal attack on the government in the House of Lords for its abominable “Rwanda” refugee policy, a few days later the lead Catholic

bishop for migrants and refugees issued a statement in support. It was largely ignored. The presence of a posse of Catholic bishops in the public gallery when Justin Welby spoke would not have been.

The Churches must work together if they are not to be marginalised. There is even a moral and philosophical language they share. The bishops of the Church of England made a statement some years ago – “Who is my neighbour?” – that said the common good, the core idea of Catholic Social Teaching, is the essential basis for the making of social policy. Virtue, the bishops said, is nourished “not by atomised individualism, but by strong communities which relate honestly and respectfully to other groups and communities which make up this nation”. Pope Francis could not have put it better. Earlier this year, the Catholic bishops issued “Love the Stranger”, a statement of principles guiding the Christian response to migrants and refugees that might have come from Anglican, Methodist or Nonconformist leaders. The Church of England recently produced an excellent report calling for a new approach on social care – an ideal subject for a meeting of Christian leaders.

The major political parties in the United Kingdom are searching for new ideas. They realise that yesterday’s policies and ideologies have reached their sell-by date. There is an opportunity for a positive, thoughtful joint Christian intervention, in words and deeds. It should not be missed.

TURKEY AFTER THE ELECTIONS

THE NEW CLASH OF CIVILISATIONS

Ukraine has become a blood-stained battleground in a global clash of civilisations. Its neighbour, Turkey, may be where the next ideological battle is waiting to be fought. The original “clash of civilisations” was portrayed by influential American neoconservatives as between Christianity and Islam. But this theory fell out of fashion as not enough facts supported it. The new clash is between secular liberal, and mainly Western, ideas of how societies should be governed, and autocratic and authoritarian models promoted by Moscow and Beijing. That clash is real.

But it is not simple. Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, has become an arena for this collision of values, and India is another example. In both cases autocratic leaders are using traditional religion, in one case Islam and in the other Hinduism, as the basis for an appeal to religiously-based nationalism. Both countries are electoral democracies, so public opinion has to be courted to sustain political leaders in power. In the case of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has just narrowly been elected for a third term as president in a populist rejection of the secular model which had been the basis of Turkish polity since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire a century ago. As in India, this is less an overnight revolution than a gradual drift in an authoritarian direction.

Turkey has a population of nearly 90 million, and has plenty of weight to throw around in its own Middle Eastern backyard. It is a full member of Nato, which has helped calm

tensions with its neighbour, Greece. It has applied for EU membership, though there is not much sign of progress there. It remains a member of the Council of Europe and subscribes to the European Convention on Human Rights.

So all is not lost. One of the great issues facing Erdogan is how much further to push the Islamisation of Turkish culture and society, and how to manage the competing claims of a criminal and corrupt Russian autocracy, and the liberalising – and secularising – attractions of Western culture, human rights and the rule of law. He is no stranger to the suppression of those rights and the overriding of that law, which has antagonised many in the trade unions, the professions and the media at home, and alienated Western liberal opinion.

Erdogan has promoted an independent role for Turkey in foreign affairs, which makes him a beneficial intermediary with Vladimir Putin, for instance over Ukrainian grain exports. He opposed both the Ukraine invasion and Russian support for Bashar al-Assad in Syria. So it would be a mistake for the West to turn its back on Turkey, or to disparage the unifying and steadying influence of a conservative religious culture. Indeed, it is the existence of that culture which gives Turkey credibility and influence in dealing with other parts of the Muslim world. It is likely Erdogan will try for as long as he can to avoid any decisive choice to side with the West or with China-Russia, but will play one against the other to Turkey’s advantage. But ultimately a choice between the two may be unavoidable.

2 | THE TABLET | 3 JUNE 2023

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