Jimmy Akin, Catholic Answers: Church doesn't use "heresy" the way Correction authors did

Catholic Answers ^ | 9/26/17 | Jimmy Akin

[CharlesOConnell]

Jimmy Akin is extremely knowledgeable yet not condescending. I believe him when he says use of "heresy" by the issuers of a "Correction" of Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia doesn't correspond to the Catholic Church's technical use of the word "heresy": over-emphasizing an isolated fragment of truth in contradiction to the integrity of the whole truth. https://www.catholic.com/audio/cal/8208

[BlessedBeGod]

Akin has proven himself to be worthless when it comes to Amoris Laetitia. He's constricted by Catholic Answers being in the diocese of San Diego, which has a heretic for a bishop. If he says the wrong thing, the bishop can shut him down.

[CharlesOConnell]

As my wife says, how do you know that? That is, what if you’re using rash judgment?

[jobim]

It’s an educated guess based upon evidence, I would say. McElroy is unhinged, Karl Keating has stepped aside, and Akin has shown his utter incomprehensibility of the assault on the Church that Francis & the mafia represent.

[BlessedBeGod]

For example, on Amoris Laetitia and Francis' commemorating the anniversary of the Reformation:

Luther’s Revenge: The Neo-Catholic Surrender to Protestantism

Akin: Protestants Aren’t Heretics, Catholics Should Commemorate the Reformation

[markomalley]

That is, what if you’re using rash judgment?

Catholic Answers has always had an exceptionally strict policy against criticism of the hierarchy. Even when such criticism was accurate (thus not being calumny), pertinent and in the public (thus not being detraction), and well founded (thus not falling into rash judgment).

I participated extensively in their discussion forums several years ago and found that this would be one of the absolute primary reasons for suspending or banning members.

(The other interesting point is that they had a habit of disappearing all offending posts of members who had incurred their wrath to include sometimes disappearing those members altogether -- and then to ban all discussion of why a member was no longer around)

It's entirely possible that Mr. Akin either fully subscribes to this editorial position on a voluntary basis or is constrained by his employer's policies. If it's the former, then, well, there's not much to be done here. If the latter, he could find himself totally stuck.

These constraints may not seem to be a big deal in of itself: if you or I don't like the policies placed on us by our employers, we can simply find a different employer. However, the life of a professional Catholic "apologist" can be a pretty tough one with limited career choices. A professional degree in theology is not a requirement (and, in the case of Akin, I don't believe that he ever pursued any formal degree in Catholic theology after he converted to the Faith). Thus they aren't able to teach in a formal setting, they aren't able to author textbooks, nor any other type of academic pursuit. Any books they do write are going to basically be "pop theology" for lay people or op/ed columns written for the Catholic mass media...and the residuals from those sources tie them back to the exposure they can get from their employer.

[ebb tide]

Jimmy Akin is extremely knowledgeable yet not condescending.

I strongly disagree on both counts.