I found the federal proclamation to be a most interesting piece of theatre. Not that I find the honoring of a Catholic and Anglican saint to be objectionable. Far from it. Eight-point-five centuries ago a not particularly religious ruler was the inspiration behind four very fine people (Knights were, by definition, fairly upper crust) bludgeoning a holy man’s head to the point of his bloody death in a church.
It seems that Thomas of Canterbury has become more a dog whistle for the me-generation of religious liberty than a holy martyr in the face of tyranny. It also strikes that the pardoning of the Blackwater assassins offers a curious counterpoint to honoring a man who himself was dispatched to the afterlife by another four mercenaries. The lust for blood, violence, retribution is with us. Even those parroting fine words about freedom.
Catholic Sensibility 