Pride is at the dark heart of this monk's tale
My boarding school used to be visited occasionally by a monk. No ordinary monk, though; he played squash with economic wiliness and preached witty, unstuffy sermons that were talked about in class all week. It was the 1970s, just a few years after Lindsay Anderson's film If... set the template...
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| Published in | The Independent on Sunday |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Newspaper Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
London (UK)
Independent Digital News & Media
03.01.2016
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| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | My boarding school used to be visited occasionally by a monk. No ordinary monk, though; he played squash with economic wiliness and preached witty, unstuffy sermons that were talked about in class all week. It was the 1970s, just a few years after Lindsay Anderson's film If... set the template for posh stroppiness. It was unthinkable that any self-respecting boy would find a monk charismatically cool. But we did. With hindsight, it's easy to think that Father Peter saw himself as a bit of star. There's a difference between wearing a habit out of humility and showing it off as a form of humble brag. He offered this humility to the high and mighty as a sort of gift by association and they, in turn, became proud of their links with him - too proud to see his flaws. He was clever and manipulative and, in the end, pride must have weakened the bonds that controlled his criminal urges to reveal a calculating, dominating paedophile. |
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