Heard About Brouhaha at Harvard? Thank the Blogs UPDATED

Does Catholic blogging matter? Does it make a difference? That’s more or less the question being debated at the Catholic Herald, UK, in light of the “Protect the Pope Blog” brouhaha, and I was pleased to be able to contribute to the conversation:

Particularly in matters of evangelisation, the Church trusts that any field seeded for love of Christ and in service to others will – through the patient, expedient promptings of the Holy Spirit – bear good fruit at the time appropriate to God’s purpose. The Church accepts that, by then, the worker may be long gone – a witness never meant to see the ripening. Most of her greatest missionaries, social workers and preachers have accepted it, too.

With the advent of new media, things have changed…

You can read the whole thing, here.

I am particularly happy to see this article hit the day after Catholic blogs broke and fleshed-out the Harvard-Hosted Black Mass story, hopefully impacting the outcome in a positive way. Today we are seeing portions of the mainstream media and Catholic news organizations picking it up.

That’s not too shabby for folks who mostly write part-time while they’re making their livings elsewhere.

No new developments in that story since yesterday, by the way — but Simcha Fisher has used the opportunity to encourage discussion of “harmless” occult games and children, although Frank Weathers is wondering when Satan became so square and correct — but we’re watching.

Speaking of Simcha, she has a piece over at the Register, which in many ways strikes the same note as I do in this interview over at Breitbart: Satan doesn’t really care if you’re offering historical context or calling it theater. You don’t have to be sincere; he’ll take the reasonable facsimile:

Still, any time a black mass is performed – with or without the use of a Consecrated Host – one has to wonder whether opportunistic dark forces may come into play. Just as a demonstrated Catholic Mass still issues an kind of invitation to Christ, this black mass will issue a kind of invitation, too, but against Christ. I am fearful for these people’s sake.

And of course, as a believer, I see this as nothing but sacrilege. Believing as I do in the “visible and invisible,” I don’t see how one can entertain these rituals, even as an “academic exercise,”without giving grave insult to the Creator, and potentially inviting in the destroyer. Again, I am fearful for these people.

You can read all of that (and get a reminder of what the Pope says about Satan) at the link here.

UPDATE:
Okay, the Harvard story is traveling up the food chain and the bigger fish are biting. Check out coverage from the Boston Globe, perhaps less surprising, Fox News, and it’s also being picked up by the local CBS affiliate and trumpeted on the Drudge Report.

Do any of them give a nod to the blogs? No. But that’s okay. What’s important is getting the story seen, and hopefully some opportunity for the Diocese to teach the faith!

As Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds would likely say: Heh. An Army of Davids!

And, thanks to Dr. Gregory Popcak, let’s end on a more playful note!