This is a really good article by somebody who has figured the core falsehood at the bottom of the wrong-headed Conservative Catholic “reform” of the Church: that the problem is gays and liberals and if we can just purge them then the Church will be right as rain again. It’s just not true. The problem is abusers, gay and straight, and enablers, liberal and conservative. As long as at that falsehood continues to drive the pigheadedly unlearning Conservative–steadfast in his... Read more
This is extremely cool and is, in it’s own way, a tribute both to Tolkien (whose vision of war in Lord of the Rings is hugely influenced by the trauma he endured in WWI) and to the ANZAC troops who were massacred in huge numbers in the Great War, leaving a bloody gash in the consciousness of both Australia and Jackson’s New Zealand. Bravo, Sir Peter! Read more
…on behalf of the only people who actually matter in the Church’s abuse scandal, victims: The core mistake being made by the Cult of Vigano is not in thinking that the Pope could have treated victims badly. We already know that he did that with the victims in Chile and that strongly suggests he did the same in Argentina. We will see if and when the records there are opened. No. The core evil being done by the Cult of... Read more
So when the Right Wing Noise Machine (Catholic edition) has been so wrong about so much so many times for so long that only a fool would continue to unquestioningly trust their judgment, it is prudent to consider the possibility that the people who saw and reported accurately on the problem of priestly abuse nearly 30 year ago might, despite the denunciations of the Lie Machine, have something to say worth listening to. The National Catholic Reporter is exactly such... Read more
Part 3 of my series on the relationship between the lay and priestly offices: Last week in this space, we talked about the need to discern the distinction between Magisterial teaching and a cleric asking us to truly do evil or neglect to fight evil. My basic point is that we should be docile to the Church unless we have a really good reason not to be. The trick, of course, is to know when such times are. Some people will avoid... Read more
Why have we been talking for three weeks about the relationship of the Mosaic Law and the gospel? Well, in addition to the fact that it’s good to know what the Church teaches about our relationship with our Jewish older brothers, it’s also important if we want to have the foggiest clue of what large portions of the New Testament are about. For starters, everything from Matthew to John to Romans to Galatians to Hebrews was written under the lash... Read more
Many Reactionary Dissenters claim that the Church at the Second Vatican Council reversed itself not merely on prudential or disciplinary matters but on essential teaching when it comes to the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people. The epicenter of this claim is not hard to find. It is, of course, common knowledge that Christians are not bound by the Mosaic Law. We are under no obligation to be circumcised, keep kosher, or observe the various ceremonial prescriptions of Moses. Indeed,... Read more
As we discussed in our last column, the Progressive Dissenting reaction to the Reflections on Covenant and Mission document was as wrong as it was hasty. Many people assumed that “the Church now teaches” that salvation was possible apart from Jesus Christ. But in fact the Church has never reversed (and will never reverse) its clear teaching concerning Christ that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must... Read more
between the Jewish and Christian covenants? Because on Tuesday, the diabolical antichrist Cult of Trump made extremely clear that all the lies they have ever told you about “VOTE GOP OR THE BABY GET IT!!!!” are lies indeed. Proof? In Illinois, the race was between a prolife Democrat named Dan Lipinski and a genuine, bona fide, literal 100% Nazi named Arthur Jones. Who did the “prolife” Christianist Cult of Trump vote for? 56,000 thousand members of that Cult–one quarter of... Read more
… between this: and this: via GIPHY Hint: It is not “prolife” or Christian. Just a minor refresher on elementary Christian ethics: Neither Jesus nor a disciple of Jesus mocks the physically or mentally disabled. Read more
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