Wilde Times<\/strong><\/p>\nI think most people interpret that phrase, \u201cthe glamour of evil\u201d to mean that evil can seem superficially attractive. \u00a0If we let it, it has the power to draw us in, even when we know its wrong. \u00a0As Oscar Wilde famously put it, \u201cI can resist everything\u2026except temptation.\u201d \u00a0But I think there is another dimension to that phrase that this scandal is revealing.<\/p>\n
More and more, I am seeing otherwise good, faithful people unable to focus on anything but the latest horrifying tidbit to come across their social media feeds, no matter how unsubstantiated it may be. \u00a0\u00a0I see other good and faithful people who can\u2019t resist goading each other, either because each new vile story is just more proof that \u00a0\u201cPope Francis has failed\u201d or just another example of the \u201cvast right-wing conspiracy that\u2019s plotting to get Pope Francis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cardinal Popper<\/strong><\/p>\nIt seems to me that despite whatever good intentions we may have, we are all running the risk of being unintentionally seduced by glamour of the evil that is pouring out of the church. We have inadvertently become obsessed with it, \u00a0like some people can\u2019t get enough of those \u201cDr. Popper\u201d pimple videos on YouTube, or how you just can\u2019t bring yourself to look away from that horrific accident where blood and transmission fluid are smeared across the highway. \u00a0A melange of death and gore.<\/p>\n
Look Away\u2026Look Away\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\nEvil is glamorous, not only in the sense that it can be hard to resist being drawn into it, but also in the sense that it can be hard to look away from it. \u00a0If you aren\u2019t careful, it\u2019s tremendously easy to stare at it, and stare at it, and stare at it, until you can\u2019t see anything else. \u00a0Until everything good, and godly, and righteous, and beautiful has been drained from view, and all that is left is outrage, and anger, and indignation, and disgust.<\/p>\n
Pollyanna Need Not Apply<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mean to imply that we should adopt some Pollyanna perspective that simply pretends everything is just fine while the Cathedral burns to the ground. \u00a0I\u2019ve read the PA Grand Jury Report. \u00a0I\u2019ve read Vigano\u2019s testimony. \u00a0As both a pastoral counselor who works with abuse victims \u00a0and someone in Catholic media, I can\u2019t afford to not know what\u2019s going on. I am as unfortunately well-informed as anyone can be about all the latest appalling news.<\/p>\n
Moreover, I don\u2019t think we can afford to not<\/em> be well-informed. \u00a0As I have written before, this is going to have to be a lay-led reform, and we can\u2019t lead the reform<\/em> if we aren\u2019t well-informed.<\/em><\/p>\nEven so, we all have to remember to do whatever we can to intentionally and consciously drag ourselves out of the cesspool at least several times a day to remember that God is good. \u00a0That there is still beauty in the world. \u00a0That the Holy Spirit is alive and well. That there are real, hurting people who need to see that\u00a0someone\u2026anyone\u00a0<\/em>in the Church is still capable of love, compassion, and goodness. \u00a0And that nothing good comes from swimming in a sewer and throwing sh*t at each other all day long.<\/p>\nRSVP Satan<\/strong><\/p>\nWhatever \u201ckind\u201d of Catholic you are (left, right, middle, upside-down), whoever\u2019s ox you would like to see gored, maybe we would all do well to pause a few times a day. \u00a0Step away from social media. \u00a0Hug your kids. \u00a0Give thanks to God for something. Help someone who is hurting. \u00a0Just\u2026be kind<\/em> to someone\u2013for God\u2019s sake. \u00a0Literally.<\/p>\nSatan is throwing a huge party, and yes, we need to stay on top of it so that maybe, just maybe, we can stop it from turning into a riot that burns down the entire block (or, y\u2019know, theocratic city-state). \u00a0But the one thing I can guarantee is that you are not doing anyone any good by sending in your RSVP to Hatefest 2018 <\/em>and diving into the mosh pit.<\/p>\nPlease. I know it isn\u2019t as much fun as raking muck. \u00a0I know that it\u2019s hard to resist when everyone, including the highest officials in the church, are acting like competitors in some coke-fueled mud-wrestling tournament. \u00a0But please. \u00a0Do yourself a favor. \u00a0Do the world a favor. \u00a0Do the actual victims a favor. And do whatever you can to resist the glamour of evil. Look away. \u00a0A little bit. Just enough to remember St Paul\u2019s words. \u201cBrothers and sisters,\u00a0whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable\u2014if anything is excellent or praiseworthy\u2014think about such things\u201d (Phil 4:8).<\/p>\n
Yes. Be aware. Be informed. By all means, be motivated to act. But at all costs, in big and small ways, please, be a force for<\/em> good<\/em>. \u00a0Because even if you don\u2019t join in, \u00a0there is plenty of evil to go around right now. And unfortunately, I promise it will all still be there when you get back from your break.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many Catholics will be familiar with the question, \u201cDo you reject the glamour of evil?\u201d \u00a0It was part of the older form of the renewal of baptismal promises. \u00a0The \u201cglamour of evil\u201d is a curious expression that I think speaks to the reaction many Catholics are having in the face of the ongoing clerical scandals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1437,"featured_media":4491,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[206,1284,145,1308,1305],"class_list":["post-4488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church","tag-abuse","tag-mccarrick","tag-pope-francis","tag-scandal","tag-vigano"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n