Catholics and the Present Confusion

Catholic World Report ^ | 1/6/17 | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.

[marshmallow]

The faithful are told that they are too “rigid”. The divorced and the homosexuals are, rightly or wrongly, convinced that the Church has changed its doctrine at least implicitly, if not explicitly.

All through the modern era, the primary accusation against Catholicism was its clarity, its being too sure of what reason and revelation meant. It was arrogant. Imagine her claiming that she had a handle on essential truths! What angered people was not the fact that the Church did not know what she was talking about, but the fact that she did and claimed that she did. People were comfortable with doubt. Doubt makes you free, not truth! Doubt leaves a lot of leeway. People claimed to be scandalized by certitude. To bring the Church into the modern world meant enticing, cajoling, or forcing her or her members to accept the supposed dubiousness of her own positions.

All religions, including Catholicism, are considered to be pretty much mythic. This origin of religion in fable is the majority opinion, especially among the elite. Religion is helpful only insofar as it does not interfere with more important things or claim that its truth was intended for everyone, that it had something to do with the way we should live. Religion was useful to keep the masses occupied. Catholicism is merely the extreme delusion of the religious mind. It brashly affirms that some connection with the divine can be established. Some divine intervention is thought actually to have happened in this world at a given time and place.

Let us add to this mix the multiculturalism and historicism that have governed academia and governments in recent decades. These positions affirm that “truth” varies from time to time and place to place. It changes according to current needs. The best religion, as it......

[Mrs. Don-o]

Schall the Last Good Jesuit bump.

[AC Beach Patrol]

And Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J.

[AC Beach Patrol]

Great take on Pope Francis' confusion. All the criticism of Francis' predecessors, theologians without equals, being too lofty now seems so stupid. Pope Francis is not a theologian-- not even a subpar one-- but is the equivalent of a social organizer with rhetorical flair. Disasterous. Bad theology has bad consequences, especially if you're pope.

Father Schall said it perfectly.

[cloudmountain]

And Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J.

Oh, yes!