CANADIAN CATHOLIC MSM HIGHLIGHTS / NO. 2

An ongoing analysis of subtle and/or blatant heresy/apostasy advocated by the Canadian Catholic Mainstream Media

Today's Lesson: The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is infinite (Ecclesiastes 1:15).

DISSEMINARE DISSENSIO AD NAUSEUM. Novalis Publishers, an internal enemy of the Roman Catholic Church, is all geared up for its autumn publishing season. In his Fall 2010 Letter, Publishing Director Joseph Sinasac seems very excited about this season's line-up: "Once again, Joan Chittister, the best-selling American Catholic author, has provided Novalis with her latest wisdom with God's Tender Mercies, on the sustenance to be found in an attitude of forgiveness."[1] Hooray for heresy! Three cheers for womyn priests! Let's hear it for pansexual pantheism! Joanie's back with a vengeance and Novalis must be making pretty good coin from her tracts as they churn out lots of her stuff. I wonder what Fr. Paul Marx, founder of Human Life International, would think? Oh, here's one thing he said about the blueberry muffin: "Sister Joan Chittister is a wicked woman, to say nothing of a wicked nun... this wild nun... has been doing her dirty work for quite some time."[2] So thank you, Apostasy Joe, for all that you do. Keep on truckin', buddy. Note to Canadian Catholics: Did you hear about Novalis' new motto?: "Screwing you since Vatican II".

YE OLDE CATHLYC TYMES. What's going on at the New Catholic Times these days? There is always something fascinating happening over there at its website, despite hardly any responses in the com boxes. Yet I thought they were a major outfit, representing a large contingency of Canadian Catholics? What gives? Usually, no original articles. Just regurgitations from other radicalist sources. Why is that? Guess when your view of society is disproved innumerable times and becomes outdated and boring that pamphleteering duties need be relegated to others more innovative at repeating old errors with new labels. Labour Day has just come and gone and, goodness gracious, did that nostalgia for the good ole days of mayhem and Marxism brim to the surface. Let's see... an article [LINK] from haereticus extraordinarius Fr. Richard McBrien, wherein we read at the outset: "I keep hoping that one of these years the U.S. Catholic Bishops will issue a Labor Day statement that focuses on the church’s responsibility to practice what it preaches and teaches about social justice and human rights."[3] What? Social justice has not been the dominant forces in the last 40+ years? What a funny guy. Another article is by Ralph Nader, all-around-leftist-activist-do-gooder, that false messiah for the worker, now fading into the sunset. [LINK] Read this self-congratulatory extract: "One day I was at BWI airport and went to the crowded men's room. As I entered, the elderly cleaning man erupted in frustration. 'I'm sick of this job,' he shouted to no one in particular. 'Hour after hour I clean up, come back, see the crap, clean up some more. It never ends,' he wailed. The men who were wiping, flushing, washing, drying and zipping were stunned and silently shuffled out, as if he wasn’t there. I thanked him for his work and candor, calmed him down and gave him a gratuity. The others looked at me blankly as if I was dealing with a ghost they never see as a human being."[4] A kind gesture, to be sure. But where did Nader head off to afterward? The next protest rally? A TV interview? Book signing? All talk, never getting the hands dirty on a regularized or routine basis. Chesterton: "They love ordinary people from afar and talk about them often. But nearness to the people and their beliefs frightens them and confuses them".

WESTERN CRAPLIC REPORTER. Arrrrrrrggg. What say ye maytees? At the Western Catholic Reporter Glen Argan is troubled. He is upset over "the public face of Christianity" in light of vampire novelist Anne Rice, who recently "quit" Catholicism because it is "anti-gay... anti-feminist... anti-artificial birth control... anti-Democrat... anti-secular humanism... anti-science... anti-life". Let alone Rice's standard dilettante bromides, Argan seems to think that the Church compelled Annie to jump ship. He also sympathizes with her. Arrrrrrrggg, he's a sensitive guy. She is absolutely right and 2000 years of Catholic teaching and tradition, consistent and unwavering, is wrong. The Church has made some bad public relations decisions lately, he laments: "The recent classic example of failure in this area - though not the only one - was the decision to lift the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops, blithely unaware that one of them was a Holocaust denier."[5] Of course, the anti-Semitism of Richard Williamson (the person referred) does not form the central node of Argan's grievance. Arrrrrrrggg, this is a diversion. Rather, it is the fact that Pope Benedict lifted the excommunication on the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and, therefore, Argan is well cognizant of the Church's gradual return to orthodoxy and reverent liturgy after decades of abuse by the now graying hippies. Arrrrrrrggg, does this poor fellow seem fearful. If this horrendous trend continues, no longer will Argan be entirely comfortable with, for example, writing puff pieces on Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, as he did last July 26.[6] Johnson, for the record, is a well known heretic, advocating one-world government, goddess worship, womyn's ordination and the feminization the Holy Trinity.[7] According to Argan, "the God of love is on the side of the poor and oppressed". Ah, yes, the Marxist class warfare thing. Does this mean that my upper middle class friend who drives a Ferrari is going to Hell? Anyhow, thank you Glen for approving of Johnson and her struggle against the evils of "masculine language" and, even more so, for exemplifying the feminization of man in modern society. Send him to the plank, maytees! Feed Glen Arrrrrgan to the fishies. Arrrrrrrggg...


FAIRY MESSENGER. The Prairie Messenger is endorsing a book by Fr. Andrew Murray Britz, OSB: Truth To Power: The Journalism of a Benedictine Monk. Do you think that fellow Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister's Foreward to this book yields a clue as to text's contents? Let's see: "This collection is an enduring part of the spiritual literature of our period". Oh my dear. The advertisment goes on to say: "Britz is known for his challenging editorials, weighing in on the concrete issues of our time: birth control, abortion, clergy abuse, sexism in the church, etc."[LINK] Hmmmm.... I wonder what all this means? Is Britz gonna get with the kidz? Truth to power, baby! Well, let's read a quote from one of Fr. Britiz's "challenging editorials": "Strange and, I think, dangerous changes are taking place in the ecumenical world."[8] Vexed about Pope Benedict's ordinariate offered to the Anglicans, are you? They seem to be crossing the Tiber is droves. I guess years of inutile liberal "dialogue" was a load of crap after all. It appears that all those decades of dissent were for nothing. Too bad. Enjoy your retirement.



A RON ROLHEISHER MOMENT. Do you ever notice that Fr. Ron Rolheiser... oops, he prefers not to formally present himself as a Catholic priest, a soul specially consecrated to Jesus Christ. I mean, rather, this: Do you ever notice that Fr. Ron Rolheiser, whose weekly column appears in 70 newspapers worldwide, approvingly quotes heretics, non-Catholics and leftist radicals on a regular basis? I do. Yes, he will quote the orthodox Catholic every once in a while, but the impression received is that their insights are really no better or superior than your run-of-the-mill dissenter. We are all the same. Difference means divisiveness, and we want none of that. This is his subtle heresy, whether done knowingly or not. After all, Rolheiser is a self-proclaimed "community-builder" (is like a community organizer?) and just wants everyone to get along. So maybe we should give him a break? But not today. Over the last few months he has, in his columns, favourably quoted from the following... First: Karl Rahner (1904-1984), progressivist Jesuit priest, "spirit" of Vatican II superstar, suit and tie kinda guy, had 22 year affair with German novelist Luise Rinser.[9] Second: the "mystical tradition of Islam". Seriously? Third: liberal Christian author Donald Miller, recently appointed to be on Barack Obama's "Task Force on Fatherhood and Healthy Families". Fourth: Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957), one-time admirer of Lenin, enchanted by Nietzsche, author of the not so Catholic friendly The Last Temptation (of Christ), made into a controversial film by Martin Scorsese (released 1988). In his latest column, entitled The Lesson of Loneliness, Rolheiser quotes from the anti-authoritarian/Dionysian Persian poet Hafez (ca. 1325-1390): "Don't surrender your loneliness / So quickly / Let it cut more deep / Let it ferment and season you."[10] Notice: wallow in sentimentality, give in to self pity and passivity, get lost in a mushy inwardist emotionalism, let your feelings fester. This has echoes of quietism, a heresy occurrent in 17th century Europe. Admittedly, yours truly is cold and indifferent in his analyses, yet no inference is here being made that emotions do not constitute part of the human condition. Still, with Rolheisher this self-remedial, self-annihilating emotionalism is made almost absolute, bordering on the pathetic. True love is an act of the will, which Catholic doctrine and the saints have always said. Emotions are ephemeral. So, then, here is our Ron Rolheiser Moment (from a December 2007 article): "Advent is about longing, about getting in touch with it, about heightening it, about letting it raise our psychic temperatures, about sizzling as damp, green logs inside the fires of intimacy, about intuiting the kingdom of God by seeing, through desire, what the world might look like if a Messiah were to come and, with us, establish justice, peace and unity on this earth". Endless gushing verbosity. Please make it stop.

CATHOLIC DISGORGISTER. John Bentley Mays at the Catholic Register argues that the Ground Zero mosque controversy is a direct consequence of racism: "The bitter controversy raging in the United States over the proposed mosque near New York’s World Trade Centre site has exposed a dark, durable stain on American public life. It’s racism of the old-fashioned, virulent kind, blurring distinctions, stereotyping the hated and feared 'Other', radically threatening the discipline and tolerance necessary to make a multicultural society work."[11] For my American readers, know that with Bentley (I like "Bentley", so let's call him Bentley) we have the typical elitist snob of the ruling intellectual class, at once spewing a vulgar anti-Americanism while extolling the so-called superior virtues of multiculturalism (he is American born, but lives up here). Pat Buchanan express Bentley's attitude more succinctly: "faculty-lounge obtuseness to the feelings of the people among whom they live."[12] Notice how the whole racism accusation immediately nullifies, in one swipe, all justified counterarguments to the mosque being built. Total silencing and vilification. According to a recent poll, 70% of Americans think the mosque should not be built. Based on Bentley's "logic", then, this means that 70% of Americans are racist. See the stupidity. What Bentley fails to understand is that - as my American friend Anita at V for Victory! pointed out - Islam is specifically a religion, not a race. But Bentley deceitfully attempts to equalize racism and religion. Racism, he writes, "always works by isolating and demonizing the 'Other', branding all as criminals for the crimes of the few, by taking indiscriminate revenge for those crimes on whole religious or ethnic communities". This is his escape hatch. Racism relates to the physical traits of a person. Religion relates to the theological beliefs of a person. The material versus the immaterial. Since, to Bentley, racism equals religious bigotry, he does not have to face head-on what Islam is as a religion. Like many on the Vulgar Left, he possesses not the testicular fortitude to deal with the objective facts of what Mohammedism is as a religion (i.e. theocratic, ideological) and thus sweeps those facts under the carpet of Political Correctness. Bentley continues: "Anyone who knows Muslims personally or Islam beyond what they hear on talk radio... is aware of the dangerous generalization embodied in this belief". Apparently, Bentley listens only to talk radio and never has read the Koran. Neither has he, it seems, read a book on the history of religions. But none of this matters to this little weasel. That Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Imam behind the mosque's development, does not condemn terrorism or Sharia is of no concern. That this Iman blames the US for the abomination committed on September 11, 2001 is of no relevance. That Bentley does not see in this controversy echoes of Mohammedan triumphalism at Cordoba, Spain betrays his utter historical ignorance. Fr. Raymond de Souza gets to the crux:

What kind of mosque and community centre will Cordoba House be? The sad reality is that throughout the Islamic world, especially in the Arab nations, Christian churches, schools and orphanages - where they are allowed to be built at all - often find mosques built next door, from which hostility and harassment issues forth.[13]

But the devastating broadside to Bentley and his latte-slurping confreres comes from the pen of Amir Taheri:

In fact, the proposed structure is known in Islamic history as a rabat - literally a connector. The first rabat appeared at the time of the Prophet. The Prophet imposed his rule on parts of Arabia through a series of ghazvas, or razzias (the origin of the English word "raid"). The ghazva was designed to terrorize the infidels, convince them that their civilization was doomed and force them to submit to Islamic rule... building a rabat close to Ground Zero would be in accordance with a tradition started by the Prophet. To all those who believe and hope that the 9/11 ghazva would lead to the destruction of the American "Great Satan," this would be of great symbolic value... The argument is that Cordoba, in southern Spain, was a city where followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism lived together in peace and produced literature and philosophy. In fact, Cordoba's history is full of stories of oppression and massacre, prompted by religious fanaticism... A rabat in the heart of Manhattan would be of great symbolic value to those who want a high-profile, "in your face" projection of Islam in the infidel West.[14]

So much for multiculturalism. But, of course, the abovementioned means naught to this mal vivant. Deer looking in the headlights. Fantasy over factuality. Instead, Bentley will be at the salon sipping apple martinis with his tight-ass windbag friends at The Walrus, blathering over deconstructionist art and architecture. Have fun in the bubble, Bentley.


NOTES / REFERENCES

1. J. Sinasac, Fall 2010 Letter from the Publishing Director, Novalis Canada. LINK [UPDATE Sept. 24/10: link removed by Novalis. See link for book here]. See my analysis of Novalis here.

2. Letter from Fr. Paul Marx to Fr. Tom Euteneuer (August 20, 2007).

3. R. McBrien, "For Labor Day, church should embody social teachings", National Catholic Reporter, September 3, 2010. LINK

4. R. Nader, "Honoring Those Who Toil", Eurasia Review, September 3, 2010. LINK

5. G. Argan, "Author's opting out from Church gives a heads up", Western Catholic Reporter (editorial), September 6, 2010. LINK

6. G. Argan, "A feminist perception of the Spirit", Western Catholic Reporter, July 26, 2010. LINK

7. See, for example, T.M. Baklinkski, "Catholic University to Give Award to Goddess-Worshipping Theologian", LifeSite News, November 13, 2007. LINK

8. A.M. Britz, "Dangerous trends evident in Catholic ecumenism", Prairie Messenger (op-ed), April 28, 2010. LINK Read more about Fr. Britz the dime-a-dozen "social justice" heretic here.

9. This affair was chronicled in P. Schaeffer, "Karl Rahner's Secret 22-year Romance", National Catholic Reporter, December 19, 1997. LINK

10. The columns cited here include: "Love in a Time of Opposition" (July 25/10), "Ego, God, and Ministry" (August 1/10), "Editing Your Own Life" (August 15/10), "Spirituality and the Seasons of our Lives" (August 22/10), "The Lesson within Loneliness" (September 9/10) and "Advent Longing" December 2/07). These can be found in the archives at Rolheiser's website. LINK

11. J.B. Mays, "Racism at centre of 9/11 mosque dispute", Catholic Register, September 1, 2010. LINK

12. P.J. Buchanan, "Only Bigots Oppose the Mosque!", Human Events, August 24, 2010. LINK

13. R.J. de Souza, "Harassment and hostility, or healing and harmony?", National Post, September 9, 2010. LINK

14. A. Taheri, "Islam center's eerie echo of ancient terror", New York Post, September 10, 2010. LINK

CANADIAN CATHOLIC MSM HIGHLIGHTS / NO. 2