The Cathedral

The T-Kids of St Mark’s Pakuranga filled the St Patrick’s Cathedral, Auckland with their angelic voices during the mass sponsored by the Auckland Catholic Tertiary Chaplaincy on September 9, 2012. Not only did they receive a warm applause at the end of the final song, “Tell the World”, quite a number of churchgoers came forward to personally congratulate them.

In contrast on February 21, 2012, five members of Pussy Riots, a punk band, without any permission, occupied the soleas of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and performed a punk prayer, “Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!” The group used crude language not just in attacking the Russian leader Vladimir Putin but also the Moscow Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill I. The group members were arrested and charged with hooliganism, and sentenced to two years imprisonment.

International artists such as Madonna and Bjork condemned the “curtailment of freedom of speech”, while the foreign ministries of the United States and of European Union nations showed concern on the “disproportionate” sentence.

Sadly in this age of the internet, the outrageous, the bizarre and the contemptuous become viral (the Pussy Riots’ performance was uploaded in Youtube). People do these to get their “three-minutes” of fame. We must be reminded that doing despicable acts in the temple of God is definitely unacceptable, in the past, in the present and for all eternity.

Jesus showed deep respect for the House of the Lord. As a twelve years old, he stayed in the Temple to do his Father’s business (Luke 2:46-49). He was angered by the merchants who sold their products in the outer court of the house for prayer. (Matthew 21:18) God is present in the church; not just as a matter of symbol, but in the physical and spiritual senses.

While we pray for the imprisoned members of Pussy Riots that they be treated humanely and that they be released sooner than later; let us also tell the world that the Cathedral and all places of worship are sacred, and therefore have no space for hooliganism.