The headlines tell us that author Anne Rice has ‘left Christianity’. An article about it is here. It seems that she cannot be ‘anti-gay’, ‘anti-feminist’, ‘anti-artificial birth control’ and ‘anti-Democrat’. She doesn’t seem to be making a distinction between ‘Christianity’ and ‘Catholicism’. What a pity that Anne hasn’t been able to see past her own deeply rooted liberal bias to see that the Catholic Church is so much bigger than all that palaver.
I can certainly understand the frustration of the graying 1960s liberals. They are seeing all their cherished ideals being ridiculed and dismissed by a new generation of Catholics. Young, enthusiastic Catholics are pro-life, pro family, pro Church. The new wave of Catholics, both in the United States and the developing world simply have no time for the feminist, homosexualist, liberal agenda, and the wave of the future is with them, not with the aging radicals of Anne Rice’s generation.
After reviewing Anne’s books I was in correspondence with her and found her to be thoughtful, courteous and giving. I sent her some questions by email for an interview and she took an enormous amount of time sending me more answers than I required. She spoke frankly about the difficulties she had with the faith regarding homosexuality (she has a homosexual son) and her feminist and political views. However, she seemed at that time to have reconciled her personal difficulties and was able to see that the church’s teachings were not the same as some of the disagreeable personal positions that individuals espoused and expounded. She said she held her own views, but that she accepted Church authority and submitted to it.
Nevertheless, her answers, while satisfying, did indicate a deep unease within her about these three issues: homosexuality, women’s ordination and right wing politics. I felt she was tiptoeing through a minefield in order to please as many people as possible.
Anne Rice is an intelligent and learned woman, but she seems unable to grasp the true depth of her childhood faith. She says the Church is ‘anti-gay’, but Catholicism is conservative in sexual morality not because it is anti-homosexual or against ‘fun’ but because it is pro family and pro marriage. Because we believe in marriage and family life we are against all the things that destroy this precious and delicate opportunity for human happiness. Radical feminism is rejected for the same reasons–because it is the enemy of true human happiness.
As for politics, the idea that you have to be Republican to be Christian is just as silly as thinking that being Democrat is somehow more Christian. You can be a good Christian of either party, but as such you should also be highly critical of both parties.
Anne Rice has struggled between her liberal support for ‘gay rights’, women’s ordination, birth control and abortion and liberalism has won. She’s decided to leave the Catholic Church.
I, for one, am sad to see her go. She’s a talented and intelligent woman, and she seemed to be a great asset to the Church. However, it sounds like she’s being honest, and she really can’t reconcile her liberal views and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Maybe her choice will have far more consequences than she can see. It might be that her example will prompt other liberals who hold similar views to be honest, and get the courage to leave the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church is not going to budge on women’s ordination and homosexualism because the Catholic Church teaching is not culturally determined (as homosexualism and feminism are) but derived from the revelation locked within the natural order.
It’s sad to see Anne Rice go, but she’s being honest. Perhaps she has shown the way: liberal Catholics should face up to the stark choice: you can’t espouse radical feminism, artificial contraception, abortion and homosexualism and be Catholic.
Liberal Catholics should think about Anne’s choice, then make their choice and act on it.
About Fr. Dwight Longenecker
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