Q: Regarding your post on the U.S. flag at Mass https://paulturner.org/u-s-flag-at-mass/ , as a Brit, I do find the presence of the American flags in Catholic churches MOST disturbing.
About 16 years ago, we attended Holy Mass on (an exceptionally cold) Easter Sunday morning in a cathedral there (it snowed!!). Hanging over the nave, there were two large flags. I’m fairly sure that one was the Vatican State flag, the other was the Stars and Stripes. I felt SO uncomfortable through Mass. It felt SO wrong. It is simply not the place.
My Protestant uncle accused me of being unable to be patriotic because I’m Catholic – my allegiances lay elsewhere. I was rather taken aback but, as I grew older, I realised that my allegiance does indeed lie elsewhere; not Rome, per se, but the Kingdom of God. I am British, and I love my country (despite its many faults), but there is a conflict between the values of my faith and the values of my country, and the flag of my country has no place in a church.
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A: Thanks for sharing this worthwhile view.