Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, has criticized a “woke” version of the popular Christmas carol God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. The revised version of the carol featured LGBT-inclusive lyrics and was sung by the All Saints with Holy Trinity choir in Loughborough, England. Displeased with this attempt to inject the progressive language into a beloved holiday song, Cardinal Nichols took issue with it.
The lines that have caused such an uproar are: “God rest you queer and questioning, your anxious hearts be still” and “God rest you also, women, who by men have been erased. Through history ignored and scorned, defiled and displaced.” A third verse has also been added to the song which reads: “For all who’ve had to face injustice or oppression’s bitter pill, may you find love’s sweet embrace bringing you joy and goodwill.”
In response to these controversial verses being added to the song, Cardinal Vincent Nichols issued a statement saying that he believes Christmas is about “rituals” and that such changes should not be made to important works like this carol without consulting those responsible for preserving traditional rituals. He went on to say that while he appreciates attempts at making things more inclusive and diverse he does not believe changing historic works is necessary or appropriate to achieve this goal. In his view, it would be better to focus on creating new works that reflect modern values rather than trying to rewrite existing ones.
Cardinal Vincent Nichol’s views reflect those of many traditionalists who feel that such changes are unnecessary and disrespectful towards long-held traditions and beliefs. Whether or not one agrees with his stance there will certainly be much discussion around this topic as people debate the merits of altering classic works for modern sensibilities versus leaving them unchanged out of respect for their historical significance. What are your thoughts?
