I am feeling dejected tonight. I am well aware that some might find something comical in my dismay at the "ladies and gentleman" business (see post below). However, this phrase had a certain totemic importance for me. I kept saying to myself: "Well, at least people still say ladies and gentlemen". And yes, this is just one policy in one organization, but it seems extremely ominous.
Some readers might think I enjoy getting worked up about political correctness. I've mentioned before that I like a fight. We all enjoy a bit of indignation. But really, I take political correctness very seriously and get very depressed about it. I wish we didn't have to fight this fight. There is too much at stake.
Also, events in the Church are getting me down. The removal of Cardinal Muller from CDF makes my blood freeze. He seemed like the one sane voice in the Vatican lately. It may be an exaggeration, but it's hard not to feel that the Church is in the control of a junta at the moment. And for how long, given the cardinals and bishops that are now being appointed? I used to roll my eyes at all the "smoke of Satan" talk I heard amongst hardline conservative Catholics, but I'm less inclined to laugh now.
The fact that Catholics who I thought were orthodox are cheering developments is even more disturbing. It must have been how French partisans felt when friends and neighbours turned out to be collaborators in Vichy France. I agree that's a dramatic analogy, but it doesn't seem entirely inappropriate.
Dark times.
With all due respect, the Vichy France analogy is exactly how I feel when people start cheerleading the alt-right simply because they are the enemy of our enemy, while ignoring or downplaying the fact that said ideology is simply not compatible with Catholicism. (Bear in mind that many on the French right supported Vichy out of disdain for the Third Republic.)
ReplyDeleteIt's not a particularly good analogy, I just couldn't think of a better one. I'm not accusing Cardinal Wuerl of being Charles Maurras!
DeleteI see now I missed the point of your comment. I suppose I would say there is all the difference in the world between a Catholic cheering actual heresy in the Church, and a Catholic looking favourably at some aspects of a movement which has other aspects which are anti-Catholic.
DeleteAppropriately July 16 is the feast of Our Lady of Carmel, as Elijah the prophet of Carmel was also dejected to the point of praying for death due to the spiritual and cultural degeneration of his country. God's answer was a bit strange. Pour oil on the heads of two other people. Spiritual regeneration can grow slowly
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, Anonymous.
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