A Program for Reform, Part Two

Last updated on: November 20, 2019 at 9:16 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

Part One Let’s start with some suggestions for reforming authority structures in the Church, shall we? The power to avoid, dissemble, conceal, and reassign responsibility turned what might have been a series of local tragedies into a nationwide epidemic. The authority structure that enabled that needs to be checked, if not dismantled completely. Now, I am not a professional canonist any more than I am an expert theologian, so some of the details and terminology in the following proposals may... Read more

A Program for Reform, Part One

Last updated on: November 15, 2019 at 11:46 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

Wanna mess around and massively reform the Catholic Church? haha jk … unless? The sex abuse scandals, and the financial corruption that has come to light a little more recently, have wounded the Church’s image considerably. And while we can argue endlessly over whether the Church, insofar as she is the Body of Christ, deserves the bad repute her priests and bishops have earned for her, we can perhaps agree that her priests and bishops deserve it. But vindictiveness, however... Read more

A Slip of the Tongue, Part Two

Last updated on: November 11, 2019 at 4:46 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

Part One In my last, I discussed various sins of the tongue, and, in particular, the fact that giving others the benefit of the doubt is not an above-and-beyond act of generosity on Catholic grounds, but a requirement. I also said that the problem with distrusting the Holy See is not that there is no justification for doing so, but that it is in point of fact a bad idea, and promised to explore that a little. The Catholic doctrine... Read more

A Slip of the Tongue, Part One

Last updated on: November 11, 2019 at 4:49 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

It seems that we, the Catholics of the internet, could do with a refresher on a few points of theology. “Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense. … Scandal can be provoked by laws... Read more

Prayers for All Souls

Last updated on: November 2, 2019 at 9:24 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

So today was All Souls, a.k.a. Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. Today, western Catholics pray for the souls of all our dead (hence anti-Catholic propagandist Lorraine Boettner’s decision that we call it Purgatory Day, which, no, no we don’t). I particularly like today’s liturgy in the Anglican Use, so I wanted to share some of the texts we use. (Interestingly, the Collect is directed to the Son, rather than to the Father as usual.) Also, while... Read more

Thirteen Halloween Recommendations

Last updated on: October 30, 2019 at 10:40 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

I got into Halloween a little on the late side—my mother was in a fundamentalist phase when I was little—but I love it. When we began engaging with the holiday at all, our first family tradition was to watch Apollo 13 every Halloween, and honestly, that’s a fine investment. But, if you’re at loose ends tomorrow and looking for something new and strange to whet your media-consuming whistle, here is my countdown to awesome for spooky entertainment. 13. Death’s Dream... Read more

The Mark of the Pharisee

Last updated on: October 28, 2019 at 4:13 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

Yesterday’s epistle and gospel readings form, at first glance, an odd pair. Here, in my sentimental favorite translation, is the gospel: And Jesus spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,... Read more

Theotokos or Pachamama?

Last updated on: October 24, 2019 at 10:10 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

The suspicion, hostility, and charges of idolatry being launched against the Amazon Synod, the Vatican in general, and the Holy Father are reaching seriously worrying levels. A statue lies at the heart of many of the debates: a statue of a pregnant woman, nude, carved in an Amazonian style, which was presented to the Holy Father shortly before a ritual dance performed near the beginning of the Synod by Amazonian people attending it. A number of traditionalist sites like Lifesite... Read more

Vivisection

Last updated on: October 19, 2019 at 2:29 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

The words slide into me like a well-lubricated knife. “It is a sin against nature—don’t skirt the truth, You need to be open about it here, Don’t make me drag it out of you.” I twist uncomfortably in the dark. “Have you considered its link to narcissism?” I have considered; for twenty years I have considered, Read, prayed, felt, thought, wept, fucked; But he is the physician here, the one holding the gold and silver keys, Forceps to separate the... Read more

Clapback Comes for the Archbishop, Part Three

Last updated on: October 18, 2019 at 2:50 pm By Gabriel Blanchard

Part One; Part Two; Excursus Right then, back to your regularly scheduled program of subverting Catholicism. Archbishop Chaput’s second point of critique of Fr Martin is this: Father Martin has, in the past, suggested that people are born “gay.” … Studies have recently shown that there is no “gay gene,” and homosexuality is the product of a variety of factors. It’s true that many persons with same-sex attraction have experienced it for as long as they can remember, but no... Read more