The Story So Far For those just tuning in, this series is about gender transition in Catholic doctrine. If you have the time and inclination, you can read the first, second, and third parts of this series at the highlighted links; if not, I’ve done my best to summarize below. About a month ago, a few Catholic priests tweeted some extremely ignorant remarks on trans issues. This made me pretty angry, for several reason. People authoritatively spouting nonsense usually gets... Read more
Go to these links for the Dawn and Brunch of the Gender-Havers, respectively. If you’re just entering in on this series, it’s about problems with how Catholics—especially Catholic clergy—talk about trans people. (I realize the series title is not exactly transparent, but I am nothing if not committed to bits.) I’m discussing five such problems in this series, and covered the first two in my previous post. Both they and this third problem are expressions of a kind of intellectual... Read more
Content Warning: this post includes references throughout to transphobic rhetoric, self-harm, and eating disorders. Go here to read the background to, and first part of, the rant below. Authority Is By Nature Indecent As I said in my last, the overwhelming majority of Catholics have no skin in the game in discussing trans issues. Now, in principle, this ought to be a huge restraint in how they talk about these issues, and indeed on the extent to which they talk... Read more
Content Warning: this post includes references throughout to transphobic1 rhetoric, self-harm, and eating disorders. The Setup I was freshly vexed by the misbehavior of some Catholic priests last week—far from the worst I’ve seen or heard of, but a timely example of what’s the matter with catechesis in this country. The topic of trans people came up somehow or other this past week. This predictably brought out remarks about delusion, “mutilation,” and so on. Refreshingly, a clear, no-nonsense corrective was... Read more
Logos In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. By him all things were made: without him, nothing was made that has been made. The Word came unto his own; and his own were incapable of resisting the temptation to call things “a modern form of Gnosticism” even if they couldn’t tell a Gnostic Gospel from their own ass, as were a bunch of people who don’t even go here. But... Read more
THOMAS Unbar the doors! throw open the doors! I will not have the house of prayer, the church of Christ, The sanctuary, turned into a fortress. The Church shall protect her own, in her own way, not As oak and stone; stone and oak decay, Give no stay, but the Church shall endure. The church shall be open, even to our enemies. Open the door! —T. S. Eliot, Murder In the Cathedral, Part II Previous installments in this series: Christian... Read more
But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” —The Gospel According to St. Mark 8.33 The Story So Far Previous installments in this series include Christian Nationalism; or, The Voice of the Dragon and After These Things Do the Gentiles Seek. Christian nationalism hasn’t been declared a heresy, but perhaps it... Read more
Why do the nations so furiously rage together, And why do the people imagine a vain thing? … He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; The Lord shall have them in derision. —Psalm 2.1, 4 For Heathen Heart That Puts Her Trust To begin with, I’ve said that Christian nationalism is wrong about what ethnicity and race are, and what importance they can have. What do I mean by this? What does any sort of nationalism even... Read more
And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies … And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to... Read more
What Were We Talking About? Okay! With all of that as setup, let’s begin. The original question was this: If the Church truly means the motte, why set up the bailey? The bailey, you’ll recall, was a lot of Catholic rhetoric and sound bites: stuff like “the Pope is infallible” or “the brown scapular protects you from going to hell”; the motte was the theological explanations, which tend to come off as “well, the Pope is only infallible when it... Read more
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