Sunday 30 June 2013

A question of Truth: St. Peter's Basilica's Dress Code

There are those who believe that morality is a question of geography; akin to those who believe religion is: e.g. in England one is an Anglican, in Italy a Catholic, in Greece an Orthodox and so on. This is also reflected in the modernistic mind set that sees morality as a question of time: yet, nothing changes so quickly as time. 

In St. Peter's Basilica, thank God, morality - decency - is a question of truth. This small picture speaks volumes. Attire, deportment, decency, respect for God's Sanctuary are things that so many have lost. 

I recall, when being in both Rome (and Jerusalem for that matter), that officials enforced a dress code befitting the holiness of the place. I remember when entering St. Peter's, women being told to cover their arms from the elbows up, and wrap sweaters around their waists if their skirts were above their knees.  

What should not be lost is the sad need to have such a sign and enforcement. It only tells us that far too many people have lost the sense of the sacred; what a church is, what the Holy Sacrifice is; who becomes truly and substantially present on the Altar. Truly, we are in "meltdown".




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