Why the Left will do all they can to hurt the new Pope
By Deal W. Hudson
It really didn’t matter who the cardinals elected as the new pope. The Left, and we know who they are, hate the Church. Regardless who walked out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, there would be no honeymoon, hardly time for a hiccup, in fact, before the Left and its media goons started to bash him.
As Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, recently chronicled , the barrage of lies, spin, and accusations has already begun.
When you hate the Church, when you wish for its destruction, or at least for its transformation into another vehicle for secularization, you will naturally do all you can to hurt Her leader.
The Left can’t really help it (I can’t bring myself to call them “progressives, their preferred self-description) because they are not only left on the political spectrum, but they left true liberalism a long time ago, about the time they left civilized, humane conversation, a form of dialogue that sincerely cared about reaching the truth.
Francis himself, however, actually galls them: A Jesuit who rejected liberation theology (“Oh, the horror!), a South American cardinal who opposed the government on abortion, euthanasia, and gay-lesbian adoption, and, most of all, his lifestyle provides no clubs to beat him with — he rides the bus, will not live in archdiocesan palaces, and wears the simplest of clerical robes.
In his first public gesture, Francis I bowed to the thousands in St. Peter’s Square, as if to say, “I will be your servant.”
Some readers may think it hyperbole to claim the Left “hates” the Church. Anyone who by 2013 thinks such a claim an exaggeration will not be convinced by any evidence I could offer here.
Perhaps the most egregious fact of all: Led by the epicenter of anti-Catholic hatred, The New York Times, the Left considers the priest sex scandal a definitive corroboration of all their disdain towards the Church and its moral teachings. Yet, the same media ignore similar, and worse, patterns of child abuse in public schools, the Boy Scouts, and other religious dominations, including Judaism.
The Church gets special treatment. For the Left, priestly hypocrisy proves the falsehood of the Church’s moral principles, particularly on matters of sex, including celibacy, contraception, marriage, and, of course, homosexuality. And the moral standard a person strives but fails to attain is refuted. But they fail to notice how their argument leads to the nullification of all moral standards, even their own.
If their own logic leads to refutation of all moral standards based upon hypocrisy, from what moral ground does the Left, who we must presume suffer from hypocrisy, throw their stones at the Church and Francis I?
This must explain why the same critics of the Church haven’t registered any notice of the “sex weeks” being held annually at their prestigious Ivy League alma maters like Harvard, Yale, and Brown. At least the Left is honest enough, as signified by its silence, to decline comment on such flagrant nonsense.
The latest from Brown University is a workshop on “The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure.” The Yale University “sex week,” now over a decade old, was shut down briefly when its close ties to the porn industry were exposed, but was given the green light again by Yale College Dean Marilyn Miller after reviewing a revised proposal, “It’s an ambitious proposal, with attention to consent in the present and historical and social contexts overall.” Ah, sweet reason reigns once again at Yale University!
Faithful Catholics knew from the moment Francis walked out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, it was the beginning of his cross. The silent prayer he asked for, and during which he bowed, I believe was prayer that he could bear that cross with joy and fortitude, and that his ability to bear it would be provided by the prayers of his people.
Catholics know, and they will pray, regardless of who says what about our new pope.
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Deal W. Hudson, Ph.D, is president of the Pennsylvania Catholics Network and former publisher and editor of Crisis Magazine. He is a contributing writer for Catholic Online.
Article brought to you by: Catholic Online ( www.catholic.org ), reprinted with permission.
Reblogged this on Defend Your Post and commented:
This post is interesting to me, but as a mere buffoon, I lack the discipline and the knowledge to engage the author in a civil manner. Does anyone care to challenge this post? I’ll bring refreshments. Beer. For myself. Or, Coffee, maybe. It’s early.
I admire the new Pope because his lifestyle reflects his convictions. I like the fact that he wants the church to help the poor, which I think is lacking in a lot of churches these days.
I still disagree with him on gay marriage and I don’t think the abortion issue will ever be resolved in a religious arena. Being an atheist, I don’t even believe in his Biblical God, but I try to respect that he does and I would hope he would show me the same courtesy in my beliefs – something I have rarely found in my personal experiences.
I do find it interesting that the majority of Catholics (like the majority of other Christians) tend not to follow their own church doctrine. For example, many Catholic women use contraception. Also, since there are many Catholics who are Democrats (like many other Christians) I would take that as they help make up the “Left”, which the author of this article seems to have deemed the enemy.
If you truly want to set an example, I would think you would start by setting those within your own house on the right track first. We will see if and how this Pope will take up that challenge: to get all Catholics on board with Church doctrine.
I concur with your last paragraph. You’re right on the mark, Bob.
Did the catholic Church spread the message that condoms increase the incidents of AIDS, making people of Africa scared of condoms, which was a message that was reprehensible and evil? Yes.
Did the former Pope, Ratzinger, cover up an entire ring of paedophiles within his own church, meaning that children got raped at the hands of the cloth? Yes.
Who is the Patron Saint of Politicians, as of the year 2000? Is it that Thomas Moore fella, that burned and tortured people for the crime of trying to read the Bible in their own language? I say, yes it is.
Galileo?
So the Catholic Church has worked hard to earn our disdain. So let us talk about the new Pope. Seems to live a humble life. And it refreshing to see a Pope on this side of the “camel through the eye of a needle” comparison (although the Church itself still isn’t). But, what was that accusation about him being a collaborator in the Videla dictatorship of Argentina, and silence during the Dirty War? They went from a paedophile Nazi to collaborator in the Dirty War. Not exactly picking cream of the crop, are they (or “is He”, if you believe God is rigging the elections)?
And then his first Sunday announcement was about Forgiveness and Mercy. How fitting.
I had to edit out the profane in your response. In the future, I’d appreciate more civilized discourse. You’ve thrown much at me. With limited time at my disposal, let me respond as succinctly as possible.
Almost all of the abuse within the Church took place between 1965 and 1985. The Church DID err in the handling of this scandal, which Pope Benedict XVI labeled as “filth within the Church.” The Church is comprised of human beings who sin. I guarantee, there will be more scandals in decades and centuries to come. 80% of the abuse was homosexual in nature targeting adolescent boys. The Church has responded vigorously, none more than Benedict, who sat down face-to-face with victims throughout the world. Priests have been removed throughout the world who committed abuse. Many were removed who probably did not do anything wrong, but were unjustly accused.
I understand your disdain. I disdain the filth as much as you, just as I disdain the same filth taking place within the public school system in this country. Filth is filth. That does not mean that these institutions are bad. They’re not. The media did the Church a service by exposing this scandal in 2002. As a result of safeguards implemented since the story broke, abuse within the U.S. Church has been reduced to a trickle, in stark contrast to the public school system, which receives minimal media coverage for the same filth.
Despite man’s frailties, the Holy Spirit continues its relentless work through the Church and us flawed beings. I pray for Pope Francis as he leads the faithful into a new era of mercy and renewal.
Editing out the profanity is fine. Just for the benefit of your readers, I put a Tim Minchin quote in to criticise the Church for building itself on claim or moral authority and then… the paedo scale.
Although, quite why you edited out the links pictures of past and present Pope with fascists through out history is beyond me.
People who sin? That’s your defence? Ratzinger was a part of the cover up, so you’re also wrong about the dates. In fact, he ordered that priests and bishops, on pain of ex-communication, not talk to the police. And then there was Ireland. (And who was it that was “sentenced” to a life of prayer and penitence after the evidence of child abuse could no longer be covered up? Marcial Maciel. Why did it take so long? Because “One cannot put on trial such a close friend of the Pope” – Ratzinger. Rotten to the core.
Not that any of that matters, the question you raise is one of Francis I being unfairly criticised. And given that he currently has unfavourable links to the Dirty War, I don’t think it is unfair. I could pick 10 random people his age off the street and I doubt I’d find 5 with moral histories like the Popes…
Journalists from the Left have been quick to smear Pope Francis because of his criticism of Marxist “liberation theology.” The attacks have been led by Argentine Horacio Verbitsky, a former member of the guerrilla group known as the Montoneros and now an editor at the pro-government newspaper Pagina 12, not the most reliable source in light of his terrorist background.
On the other hand, we have accounts from reliable sources that contradict the likes of Mr. Verbitsky. 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, defended the new Holy See: “there were bishops that were complicit with the dictatorship, but Bergoglio, no. I know personally that many bishops who asked the military government for the liberation of prisoners and priests and it was not granted.” I suspect, though, that none of this matters to you. It sounds like your mind is made up. You have made your judgement.
Allallt: you’ve made several serious errors in your post.
For one thing: If a message of approval for condom use were to increase casual sexual behavior, then, yes, church approval of condom use absolutely WOULD increase the incidence of AIDS. It’s a shame that the Catholic Church is just about the only voice providing a REAL way to avoid AIDS: abstain from sex outside of marriage; abstain from the use of recreational drugs.
Also, you point, rightly, to the recent sex scandals as a stain on the Church’s reputation and, worse, a threat to the credibility of Her message itself. However, you are missing the ONE thing most important while condemning the entire Catholic Church for the transgressions of the few: Perspective. The Church is populated by imperfect people. As soon as the perfect Word of God reaches us we start to change it, to twist it, to try to manipulate it to our own imperfect purposes. This is not the fault of the Word, but of its imperfect recipients.
Abuse of all kinds is positively rife in the American medical community, for example — VASTLY more than in the Catholic Church — yet no one would even consider condemning the entire medical establishment for the transgressions of the minority. Of course, the medical community continues, deservedly so, to have a sterling reputation in the public at large. Nearly ALL of us continue to trust our health, LOTS of money, and our earthly lives into the hands of doctors.
The educational establishment is as bad as the medical establishment, and also continues to enjoy a glistening reputation in the public at large.
Why?
Simple: Everyone KNOWS doctors are human. Everyone KNOWS teachers are human. When these people commit vile acts, people understand.
Catholic Priests, however, always face comparison with the one who never sinned, who commanded that they hold themselves to the highest possible human standard. It’s important to note that Jesus Christ never asked priests to BE Him, but only to follow his way, his word and his example. He was clear: we are ALL sinners; yet people STILL expect — despite CONSTANT explanations to the contrary from them — that Catholic priests will lead spotless lives.
No one leads a spotless life.
Next, Allallt, you are measuring the behavior of the Church using rules and guidelines to which she does not adhere, and in which she does not believe. Simply put: the Catholic church doesn’t do things like you and me. The Church cares less for earthly justice, than she cares for preparing US to face ETERNAL judgement. Jesus commanded us to “love our enemy.” The Catholic Church tries mightily to obey that commandment. So, she loves Hitler as well as Gandhi; Charles Manson as well as Mother Teresa; Josef Stalin, Jack the Ripper and Osama bin Laden as well as starving children in Africa. The Catholic Church would offer the sacraments that lead to salvation to EVERY single man, woman or child on the face of the earth, regardless of his or her past failings. Including pedophile priests.
Is it, therefore, REALLY any surprise that she would fail to live up to expectations of those who insist that she do things like the rest of us? Or, that we would fail to understand the Church’s actions? Or, even that the Church would get it wrong sometimes!
The Catholic Church simply doesn’t do things as you and I do.
Lastly: there simply is no denying a simple, blindingly obvious fact: the three GREATEST things to happen to this planet in the last 2,000 or so years are, in order of importance: (1) The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, (2) the Catholic Church and the millions upon MILLIONS of Catholic Christians who work in anonymity and silence to better the condition of ALL people, and (3) the United States of America.
Has any one of these been PERFECT in their work throughout the millennia? Yes. Just Jesus. The other two have, however, exhibited plenty of very human failings, but have been REALLY beneficial for BILLIONS of people.
Allallt: I would encourage you to add perspective to your thinking. I think that you will find that the larger picture of the Church is vastly less bleak than that which you describe. As you say: “the Catholic Church has worked hard to earn our disdain.” Sadly, some in the Church have done so. However, far, far more have earned the world’s respect and admiration as they work to bring the Word of God to all the earth’s people.
May God bless you and expand your vision and perspective as you continue to study.
Thank-you for your thorough and thoughtful response.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, xPraetorius, for your wise words. I appreciate the backup in defending this Church we mutually love.