Honesty in Laughter
Ian Dunn, Editor of Scottish Catholic, reflects on a meeting with the Moderator, the St Margaret’s Declaration and suggests the true fruits of ecumenism may be learning to laugh at each other.
AS a journalist and a Catholic, I think a lot about truth.
So when I interviewed the new Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland I felt I had to be honest.
“Moderator, ‘’ I said. “There is a divide between us. And though it may be difficult, I feel I have to mention it so I can conduct this interview in a spirit of transparency.
“You are a fan of Partick Thistle and I follow Clyde.”
He had the good grace to laugh.
I was not, in fact, interviewing him about lower league football but rather the signing of the St Margaret’s Declaration, the historic affirmation of the lasting friendship between the Church of Scotland and Catholics in Scotland. There have been some questions over exactly what the declaration will mean practically but one I was struck by is that theological differences and difficult pasts can seem smaller when we can laugh together.