“Call Casey” is Downing Streets’ cry every time there is a social issue to be addressed. Dame Louise Casey received assignments from Labour and Conservative governments. The first was Tony Blair, who named her the “Tsar for victims of abuse.” Casey gave up this role to lead the investigation into the riots in London. Then, in September last year, Casey was asked by then Minister Eric Pickles to investigate sexual abuse in Rotherham by a gang of Pakistani immigrants.
Militant of Amnesty International, daughter of the working class, darling of the homeless, “one of the 100 most influential women of England” according to BBC Woman’s Hour, now Casey is the “Tsar of integration”. Her awaited report will be released in the coming days but its content has been anticipated by the British press.
Casey said that British Christian traditions, like celebration of Christmas, are in danger because of ethnic segregation that divides society from the “politically correct officialdom” that one day, not too far off, might very well ban Christmas. A few years ago, Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail wrote a column entitled “Merry Christmas! Before it will be abolished”. Then it seemed a joke. Now it is a government accusation.
It is already happening everywhere. The Church of England was prevented from projecting a sixty second spot on the Christian prayer “Our Father.” The company that manages advertising in theatres explained that the ad could “offend the public”.
A cemetery in Burnley removed the crucifix from the crematorium to not offend those who do not recognize Christianity. Always careful to not offend Muslims, the BBC thought it was appropriate not to use the expressions “After Christ” and “Before Christ,” replacing these with “Before Common Era,” as do observant Jews - but for other reasons. A Muslim, Aaqil Ahmed, was then named BBC’s head of religious programming, sparking the protest of the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
Even a Christian school in Huddersfield replaced its logo depicting a tree with a cross in the center with tree branches. And the town of Radstock, Somerset, dropped the traditional flag with the cross so as not to “offend Muslims” on the initiative of a Labour councilor.
England is stripping the old to make room for the new. Will they also banish two masterpieces of British literature such as Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” and T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral”? And why not replace Christmas with Ramadan?