Free Republic

Papal pokes in priestly eyesThere is nothing wrong with a Pope presenting points for priestly reflection and improvement, but the interminable negative drumbeat is a major factor in low morale among the clergy and seminarians.“Men, not Angels, the Priests of the Gospel”. So did St. John Henry Cardinal Newman entitle one of his lectures in 1849,1 four years after his conversion. Newman was not scandalized by that realization; he was actually comforted by it because it meant he could thus count himself among the Lord’s especially chosen disciples.On this recent Holy Thursday, the preeminent day of the Holy Eucharist and...

The Passive-Aggressive PresidencyObama appears quite unique in presidential annals. A campaign promised a fundamental paradigm shift, the creation of the Magical Land of Hope and Change. After victory, a strange lassitude followed. That is, with the exception of “Health Care,” the President took demonstrable action on very little else of the nation’s business, creating the extra-constitutional “Czar” system and appointing a radical “Team” to run things without much direction or input from him. This strange passivity is delivering the fundamental change promised. His behavior patterns fell into place. I am fairly sure that a psychiatrist might call them “Passive/Aggressive. It...