However, as Birzer points out, "[d]espite his disappointment with what he viewed as the liberalization of the Church, Tolkien remained a loyal and practicing Catholic." In a post on another thread, I stated that traditionalist Catholics should emulate Tolkien's example in remaining a loyal and practicing Catholic. The preceding excerpt from Birzers' book, along with the rest of the passage it's taken from, is what inspired me finally to start attending the Traditional Latin Mass. I think it is a shame that you can't see the tremendous benefit of Tolkien's "sub-Creation." Speaking of Tolkien's example, I think he demonstrated his merciful attitude and loyalty to Jesus Christ and His Church when he said:
"The only cure for the sagging of fainting faith is Communion. I can recommend this as an exercise: make your Communion in circumstances that affront your taste. Choose a snuffling or gabbling priest or a proud and vulgar friar; and a church full of usual bourgeois crowd, ill-behaved children from those who yell to those products of Catholic schools who the moment the tabernacle is opened sit back and yawn--open necked and dirty youths, women in trousers and often with hair both unkempt and uncovered. Go to Communion with them (and pray for them). It will be just the same (or better than that) as a Mass said beautifully by a visibly holy man, and shared by a few devout and decorous people. (It could not be worse than the mess of the feeding the Five Thousand after which Our Lord propounded the feeding that was to come.)"
Agreed. But once again irrelevant to the Lord of the Rings.
traditionalist Catholics should emulate Tolkien's example in remaining a loyal and practicing Catholic
No one is saying that Tolkien was not "a loyal and practicing Catholic." The question is: "Can one read the Lord of the Rings as an allegory of Christian themes?" Many other loyal Catholics have written books that likewise were not allegories of Christian themes. This is not a criticism of Tolkien, it's a criticism of Joseph Pearce and others who misread the books and try to find something that's not there.