Saturday, October 19, 2013

How the Pope's remarks are being exploited by Catholic revisionists

The example in this case is Julie Sullivan, the President of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and her address at a recent school opening convocation. Using the reported words of one of Pope Francis' recent interviews to make her views sound respectably Catholic, conflating "love" and "support" with acceptance and toleration of objective evil, she declared: "We are called to love and support everyone in our community regardless of their sexual orientation ... And, I might add, regardless of the gender of their spouse." Sounds nice, I know, when considered superficially. But when you think about what the words mean, they involve a denatured and disordered use of language (words like "spouse") in order to approve of objectively disordered and perverted relationships.

Particularly egregious is her nefarious references to "Catholic" buzzwords to garner connotations suggesting that her words (and her administration) still reside securely and comfortably upon the pillow of Catholic tradition: "... and I also want to assure the entire community that we will not deviate in our commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition and Catholic values that have been a St. Thomas hallmark. I have the deepest respect for the Catholic Church as a vibrant and living institution. A Catholic university is a special place where we engage with the Church in a spirit of free inquiry and robust dialogue, and scholars here at St. Thomas will always play a vital role in that regard." (emphasis added)

Pfffffft! When someone talks like this, beware. It reminds me of Brunhilde the Hospice nurse, who tenderly pats the hand of an ailing grandmother, saying "God bless her," before injecting her with a cocktail of euthanizing pharmaceuticals.


Related: "The F1 F/X redux ..." (FCA, October 21, 2013):
"I like Michael Voris, but I’m beginning to wonder: is he being incredibly coy about Pope Francis or just incredibly wooden? Is he resisting with all his filial might to avoid criticizing the Pope, or is he being compelled, for internal or external reasons, to carry soft-ultramontanist water?" Read more >>

5 comments:

JM said...

"'We are called to love and support everyone in our community regardless of their sexual orientation ... And, I might add, regardless of the gender of their spouse.' Sounds nice, I know, when considered superficially."

When considered by the average layman, what these words mean is that disapproval of homosexuality is unChristian. By communicating that idea, the President of this Catholic University, no matter how pertly attired and dispositioned, is deserving of a millstone. And, I could argue, the hierarchy that allows her to remain empowered is complicit.

Meanwhile in Rome the canonizations of Popes multiply at a rate to rival that of the proliferating Latter-day Saint temple building machine. Of course the Mormons are somehow able to maintain a much clearer teaching voice on... well, just about everything, as well as running their own welfare system without having to tie themselves in knots over what various governments are doing. There is talking about the Devil, and then there is Organizing to beat the Devil (to quote not a Mormon but a Methodist). From today's Rome we are witnessing a little of the first, and none of the other.

Ralph Roister-Doister said...

I am certain Francis would be outraged to find that his remarks are being so blatantly "exploited." What has the man done, after all, to encourage these bounders?

Codgitator (Cadgertator) said...

Do you think Voris is now being compelled, externally or internally, to carry water for Pope Francis? I've been pretty rattled by "the Francis effect," but especially by the tribalistic soft ultramontanism of so many in the Catholic websphere, as my voluminous (but I hope not totally worthless) ramblings of late manifest. I fell out of blogging for a few seasons, but I will be adding your blog to my sidebar as part of getting back into the game. Comments welcome! ebougis.wordpress.com

Pertinacious Papist said...

If you listen to Voris beyond the "Vortex," you'll hear him acknowledge the problems circling around the Pope; however, I think he is reluctant to overtly criticize him. Why? There are many reasons I can think of.

Codgitator (Cadgertator) said...

Good to know that about Voris. My two (or more) cents: http://ebougis.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/the-f1-fx-redux/