O, Say Can You See Straight?

 Some variously related nits annoying me came together today. It's the day of the National Prayer Breakfast, and the Prayer-in-Chief spoke at the event to acknowledge that there is a God and the Bible is good and people ought to practice their Christian religion.

 President Obama used to go to these exercises in public smarm, too, but he was always accused of not going, and what he said was fly-specked for heresies against capitalism and the National Purpose. Trump will get a pass because, after all, he didn't say anything. Furthermore...



 So I picked up my diocesan newspaper and saw a photo of  the boys at the annual diocesan Men's Day event singing their hearts out. "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love"? No. "Amazing Grace"? No. Our National Anthem? Bingo. I've been to two of these gatherings. The preaching is of the bring-a-message Baptist style; the theology is on the order of how God wants us to look after the little lady, and the politics is Republican. Some guys I talk to see these events as the full-Gospel essence of what Jesus taught. The National Anthem, to them, is a perfectly appropriate way to ask God to defend our country against ISIS, and all the other left-wing enemies. I suppose some priest, somewhere, might want to  try to redirect some of their energy, but who wants to make grown men cry?

 All of which reminded me of the abomination of desolation on our altar. A long ago pastor brightly erected three huge outdoor flag poles holding, respectively, the flag of the United States, the flag of Florida and the flag of the Vatican. When he was asked why the stars and stripes were not on the altar, he said, "Look up, my friend; look up at what flies so proudly over the parking lot!"

 Then a pastor came along and, upon suggestion of I can guess who, put the U.S. and Vatican flags in the sanctuary as if the huge flags outside were not enough fealty. Or maybe he thought Uncle Sam needed equal time with what was going on inside. Whatever.

 It surprises some people (it does me) that there is no rule in canon law or liturgical practice about flags on the altar. So says the U.S. Catholic Conference, concluding:

The Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy has in the past encouraged pastors not to place the flag within the sanctuary itself, in order to reserve that space for the altar, the ambo, the presidential chair and the tabernacle. Instead, the suggestion has been made that the American flag be placed outside the sanctuary, or in the vestibule of the Church together with a book of prayer requests. It remains, however, for the diocesan bishop to determine regulations in this matter.

But it would deeply affront important parishioners to remove it now that it is there. That would be like taking a knee in football pads. But, look.  The flag represents a country in which abortion is legal and universal health care is possible but not in effect because the rulers find it offensive. It represents a country that is currently threatening two wars and "upgrading" its nuclear weapons capabilities so it can threaten more. It represents the only country that has quit working with other countries to deal with the threats of climate change -- threats which already are disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands headed for millions. It represents a country that has slammed the door on record numbers of refugees because America First.

 I am a patriot in the Woody Guthrie vein, but I am also a Catholic who can tell the difference between Gospel values and the concerns of extracting industries and defense contractors. Where we  praise the Lord I really don't think many of the things the flag currently represents belong.

 I didn't mention race because mentioning it makes some people angry.