Know the Truth
In this remarkable and candid memoir the former Archbishop of Canterbury recalls his life and his spiritual quest; this is the first time in history that an Archbishop of Canterbury has written his autobiography.‘Know the Truth’ tells George Carey’s story from growing up in Dagenham to his experiences in the RAF in the early 1950s, of how he was to become Bishop of Bath and Wells and thereafter attained the position of Archbishop of Canterbury.Utterly sincere and told with warmth and compassion, ‘Know the Truth’ shares George Carey’s story of marriage, family and friendship as well as addressing the wider political aspects of his time at Lambeth.
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KNOW THE TRUTH
A MEMOIR
George Carey
Harper Press
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
This edition published by Harper Perennial 2005
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2004
Copyright © George Carey 2004, 2005
George Carey asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780007120291
Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2012 ISBN 9780007439799 Version: 2016-09-30
CONTENTS
14 Empty Stomachs Have no Ears
16 The Challenge of Homosexuality
When, halfway through my archiepiscopate, I decided to write my memoirs I was surprised to discover that I am the only one of 103 Archbishops to have done so. Admittedly Archbishop Thomas Secker in the eighteenth century set out on the task but his sudden death left his memoirs unfinished. This book is a reflection on a ministry of which Archbishop Cosmo Lang said long ago: âThe post [of Archbishop of Canterbury] is impossible for any one man to do, but only one man can do it.â Any holder of this historic office knows from first-hand experience that its demands, expectations and opportunities take one to the edge of human endurance, and require of its holders a recognition of our frailty and our need of Godâs everlasting grace.
This edition of Know the Truth gives me an opportunity to comment on some of the reactions of those who have read the first edition.
I might have anticipated that certain sections of the press, and, indeed, a few Church leaders, would focus attention on what I wrote about the Royal Family. I was accused of breaking confidentiality, and one writer even saw this as âthe ultimate betrayal of trustâ. There is no truth in this claim. As will become clear to the reader, no conversation I had with any member of the Royal Family is divulged in the book. I have always kept strictly to the principle of pastoral confidentiality, with the Royal Family and indeed with anyone else. However, what particularly caught the mediaâs attention was the revelation that I had several private conversations with Mrs Parker Bowles. Again, no report of our conversation is given: all that is offered is my opinion of her as an extremely able and nice person.
Controversially, the book did offer my view that the Prince of Wales should marry Mrs Parker Bowles in due course, and I was delighted when the marriage took place on 9 April 2005 in St Georgeâs Chapel, Windsor. If the uproar caused by my views encouraged their decision to marry I am pleased to have played a small role.
April 2005 also saw the death of Pope John Paul II and the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope John Paul II will be remembered as an outstanding Pope and I feel privileged to have known him, and to have worked and prayed with him. If he has left behind him a great deal of unfinished business, it is up to his successor to take forward the hope that his predecessor has given. Scepticism has already greeted the appointment of the new Pope, whose record as President of the Sacred Congregation for the Defence of the Faith does not lead one to expect a great change in policy. However, Joseph Ratzinger has a brilliant mind and a deep love for his Lord. He knows the secular challenges all too well. I pray that he will take risks for the sake of the gospel. His own Church is dying in many parts of the West for lack of vocations to the priesthood. Now is the time to tackle the issue of priestly celibacy and make it optional in the Church, the time to look more sympathetically on the ordination of women and to encourage a healthy debate both within and outside the Roman Catholic Church. Now is also the time to support the action of Catholic agencies in caring for those affected by HIV/AIDS by allowing the use of condoms as part of the strategy to defeat the pandemic. I also suggest that now is the time to make Pope John Paul IIâs encyclical
