ROCHESTER, England (ChurchMilitant.com) – English Catholics are expressing outrage after the Church of England installed a nine-hole golf course in the medieval nave of Rochester Cathedral, turning it into a “den of golfers.”
England’s second oldest cathedral after Canterbury opened its “educational adventure golf course” on July 27 to give people “the opportunity to learn while they take part in a fun activity, in what for many might be a previously unvisited building,” the Rev. Rachel Phillips, canon for mission and growth, said.
But former editor-in-chief of the Catholic Herald, Damian Thompson, blasted the Cathedral’s decision, tweeting: “St John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, went to his death rather than watch his cathedral fall into the hands of greedy iconoclasts. I suspect he would rather see it lie in ruins than experience this fate.”
St John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, went to his death rather than watch his cathedral fall into the hands of greedy iconoclasts. I suspect he would rather see it lie in ruins than experience this fate. https://t.co/p6epKC7Xgp
— Damian Thompson (@holysmoke) July 28, 2019
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Padre Sebastian Hyatt also rebuked “Rochester Cathedral’s idea of mission” as “[s]o devoid of theology, and intent on making money they have forgotten ‘This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’ Shame on you,” the chaplain to the forces tweeted.
Rochester cathedral’s idea of mission. So devoid of theology, and intent on making money they have forgotten “This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven”. Shame on you. @RochesterCathed #churchofenglandpic.twitter.com/hAF0vVHIY3
— PadreSebastian (@SebHyatt) July 28, 2019
Rochester Cathedral, built by England’s first Catholic king, St. Ethelbert, in 604 and consecrated by St. Augustine of Canterbury, was home to English cardinal, bishop and martyr St. John Fisher for 31 years before Henry VIII executed him in 1535.
