ABOUT ALPHA

‘’I am the Alpha and the Omega’’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty
Revelation 1:8-9

Since my Ordination in 1987 I find that in one way the Church has changed in that it has become less homogeneous.  In those far off days the idea was that every Catholic throughout the world held uniform beliefs.  Having spent most of my ministry in parishes I find that opinions are much more diffuse.   Traditionists, liberals and evangelicals rub along together and tolerate each other.  However, I still find outposts of utter certainty that their way is the only way.   One these is in the evangelical movement, Alpha.

I have recently had experience of Alpha in my parish and this was disturbing. It’s a lonely furrow that parish priests plough sometimes and some priests may be comforted by Alpha’s presence and their involvement in it. Although I admire the skills and slickness of some of its members it is not my cup of tea. Maybe it is sensible for priests to involve themselves in Alpha meetings as a counter weight to wilder voices.   

At the end of the day parish priests are pastorally and legally responsible for their parishes.   What were my concerns?   Groups like Alpha can be cult-like and they can attract disturbed people. If one is mentally well balanced one can cope with Alpha, but imbalanced people can be disturbed even further. My opinion is that Alpha groups should be limited by number and that applicants should be interviewed.  A friend of mine ran an Alpha group in the Church of England and that is what her group did. Those who run Alpha groups must accept that they have responsibilities to their parish priests.

As a result of my experiences of Alpha, I thought a lot about the movement and I came to theconclusion that Alpha was not Roman Catholic but a low church evangelical sect deriving from Holy Trinity Church in Brompton.   Their theology is not Catholic.  There is no reference in the teaching to the Second Vatican Council or to the recent Synod. It has nothing to say about Catholic Social Teaching or our Catholic Biblical scholarship.  I was fortunate enough to study under some very fine scholars who influenced me e g Father Bob Murray SJ at Heythrop College.  This experience is deeply engrained in me.

I would also be concerned about Alpha’s possible link with the American Christian Right.  I believe strongly in promoting the social teaching of the Church.  I suspect that in part that the rise of this dark force is to do with a simple linguistic problem, that our language is English.  This makes it easier for us to draw from English speaking countries than from European countries.  In this way the great legacy of Guardini, von Balthasar, Haring and many others tends to be over looked.

A remarkable of Catholic authority which every Parish Priest should have at their side is Contemporary Catholic Theology, a Reader  edited by the late  Michael Hayes and Liam Gearon. An article in the Financial Times of 27^th February, Britain’s right decides to get religion illustrated that some aspects of Catholic moral teaching are being hijacked by Faragists and Vancists. Here there is a danger to or Church which is primarily an institution of mercy and forgiveness.

I think I was the product of the Second Vatican Council and I find Alpha unappealing.  I appreciate it as a social gathering and it clearly helps some people.  However, I am not at home with its evangelical style – its music and the talks they show.  I think I am very English and middle Class and rather cerebral. I can see too how some priests are attracted by it in their efforts to keep ‘bums on seats,’ but this has to be done within the context of Catholic beliefs.  Although there is a Catholic Alpha it seems to be mainly concerned with Alpha than the Catholic Church that there is room here for debate here.  Alpha often just lasts one year but where does it take its followers? There seems to be no Omega for its followers.

Ulick Loring is a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminter and holds degree in History and Theology.  He also holds a diploma in counselling, and is experienced in this field.