“America” gets a blog – UPDATED

A few months ago, the Crisis Magazine abandoned dead trees and began publishing exclusively online. When they did that, they also put together a blog forum called InsideCatholic, along the lines of NRO’s The Corner, and they seem to be chugging merrily along.

Now, America Magazine, the Catholic weekly published by American Jesuits has today launched their MagBlog, called “In All Things”. Editor Fr. James Martin, SJ, whose outstanding book My Life With the Saints was often extolled on this blog, and to whose pearls I have occasionally linked, writes:

Our bloggers will include not only the Jesuit and lay editors of the magazine, but also distinguished American Catholics like Sister Helen Prejean, Robert Ellsberg, Tom Beaudoin, Francis X. Clooney, S.J., and Dolores Leckey. The name of the blog is a play on the Jesuit ideal of “finding God in all things” and a nod to our popular weekly column, “Of Many Things.”

That’s a pretty impressive roster. I’ve mentioned Ellsberg’s excellent All Saints here. That’s a book I would leave out on the coffee table in hopes that the kids would pick it up, read a bit and come back to, which they did, to good effect.

These two blogs, “Inside Catholic” and “In All Things” give a fair representation of modern Catholic thinking across the whole philosophical/political spectrum, from Conservative, to Libertarian to rather classically Liberal. Right now they’re both discussing the His Dark Materials series of books, the first film from that series, The Golden Compass, and author Philip Pullman’s assertions that Catholics who object to the overtly atheistic books (and the reportedly watered-down film) are “nitwits.” I’ll tempt you with a few quotes from both blogs, and then urge you to visit them for yourselves:

The crucial point is that Sartre isn’t meant to appeal to children; your average seven-year-old isn’t picking up Being and Nothingness at the local bookstore. Pullman, however, is marketed almost exclusively to children, and that’s where it becomes more insidious. — Margaret Cabaniss, Inside Catholic

In this case, I agree with [Bill] Donohue [of the Catholic League]: [Hanna] Rosin’s article seems to warn that when parents buy their kids something they expect to mirror “The Chronicles of Narnia,” they might be surprised (or appalled) when they learn that it’s less like C.S. Lewis than Christopher Hitchens. Readers who have actually read the book (and seen the movie) are welcome to weigh in.–Fr. James Martin, In All Things

(Above links and brackets mine, for clarity – Anchoress)

Do check out the blogs and the magazines, and do read more about The Golden Compass and His Dark Materials, where you can, in order to make up your own mind. Regular readers know I’m not much of a girl for sounding alarms every time an attention whore hoists herself onto a cross, and I don’t mind Chocolate Jesuses all that much (I actually thought that chocolate sculpture was a stirring bit of art), but I do have my limits. Julie at Happy Catholic (my all-time favorite, much-underappreciated Catholic blog) has some very enlightening and thought provoking posts on the subject. I’d say, start there! And don’t miss this delightful nugget from her invaluable and ever-growing quotebook. She ought to publish that thing. I’d buy it!

Also writing on Golden Compass:
Church of the Masses
Family Life Culture Watch
I’ll add more as I read them.

UPDATE: On the His Dark Materials series, reader Diane M. writes:

I have been a public school librarian for nearly 12 years. The school library I work at now has one of each of the books in the His Dark Materials series. I am a huge fantasy reader and loved The Golden Compass. I thought the 2nd book, The Subtle Knife, was ok. I was thrilled when the third and concluding book, The Amber Spyglass, was published until I started reading it. I was just stunned by the anti-Catholic writing, about the evil nature of the Church and the glorifying of anarchy. I wound up mostly skimming parts of the book so I could know what happened to my favorite characters, but was offended the entire time. It’s not like I am an overly pious person. I’m not a churchgoer. I’m not steeped in theology. This book still hit me over the head with its ugly sentiments.

I was really angry because this book/series is marketed toward children and young adults. The attacks on the church and the portrayal of the ministers must be confusing to younger children who have a very innocent view of religion. On the other hand, I am an adult reading this book and I bring with me my adult experiences and sensibilities. It is likely that the analogy(?) goes over the head of most children and that they do not make the connection between the plot of the book and the real life Vatican. Perhaps high school students “get it?” i don’t know…I don’t go much for banning, but it is important to be informed. Here is
here is a Washington Post article from 2001…in this article [author] Pullman is quoted as saying, “I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief,” says Pullman. “Mr. Lewis would think I was doing the Devil’s work.” when asked about the Chronicles of Narnia. It is a long article. There is even longer interview with him here from 2004 in the Telegraph where he and the archbishop of Canterbury discuss one of his works being made into a play, religion and children. I didn’t have time to read it now, but it seems to have a critical literature/philosophy focus.

I haven’t had time to read them, either, but offer them for your consumption and review. Thanks, Diane!