Mark Dowd Wrongs King Canute (and Archbishop Nichols)

It was, of course, entirely predictable.


Once the Archbishops wrote their letter, we knew the The Tablet would dissent - and it did.  We also knew that QUEST and its allies would have a hissy fit - and they did.


Mark Dowd is quoted as saying: “Probably the Archbishop resembles King Canute standing on the shores with the waves coming in. It’s really a question of the tide of history turning and there’s very little that can be done about it.”


Here he displays as much ignorance as he does stupidity.  If the tide had been turning, then Canute would have looked as though he was commanding the waves.  And that's the least of Dowd's stupidity.


Canute stood on the shore not to try to turn the waves back: he was far wiser than that.  He commanded the waves to turn back precisely because he knew that the would not.  He was demonstrating to his sycophantic courtiers that there are limits to what a king can do.  


Let us hope that Archbishop Nichols has also realised that there are limits to what an archbishop can do: he cannot command the truth to reverse itself.  If he resembles Canute in that way, then we can only applaud - and support him with prayers, of course.


H/t Deacon Nick at Protect the Pope