Vatican Conspiracy theories (or don't mess with the Indian)

in the Francis wars against pious folks, even Pope Benedict pushed back on what is going on, reminding folks that Jesus doesn't abandon the church and not to worry if the ship of peter is foundering a bit.

this is not new in Catholicism: Reminds me of the Jansenist vs the Jesuit battle in medieval France. Moral folks like Pascal backed the Calvinistic inspired strict Catholic movement, but the Jesuits hit back with a convenient vision by a neurotic nun: that of the "Sacred Heart" that stressed mercy. (one side effect of this was the moral laxity about sex and luxury that led to the French revolution, but never mind).

Sound familiar?

We see a redux now, where the real enemies are not those killing babies or old folks, schtupping altar boys, or looting hospital funds to furnish your apartment, but those who live by the rules and just want to be left alone to practice their faith.

So Francis' minions struck back against the "religious right" last week in a screed that reminds me of the straw man accusation in thhe Democratic two minute hate against religion that I see posted on facebook.

How bad was it? Well, GetReligion called it "Son of Da Vinci Code" and notes that CNN covered it as politics, not morals. Well, duh.

As for the right wing Catholic blogosphere: never mind. Most are frothing at the mouth.

However, a thoughtful reply was made by America's Pottawatomie bishop: Bishop Chaput, who was sent to Philly to cleanup the mess by popular "uncle Tony" who looked the other way when stuff was going on.

Chaput is media savvy, and smart: How smart? Well, once the NYTimes misquoted him, and he pushed back by posting the transcript of what he actually said.

So here is his weekly column:

first he points out that this is a "straw man" argument.

The article in question, La Civiltà Cattolica’s “Evangelical Fundamentalism and Catholic Integralism in the USA: A Surprising Ecumenism,” is an exercise in dumbing down and inadequately presenting the nature of Catholic/evangelical cooperation on religious freedom and other key issues

he then points out that it ignores that taking one stance (prolife, e.g. Republican friendly) doesn't mean one cannot take another religious stance (immigration and poverty, e.g. Democrat friendly).

 Catholics and other Christians who see themselves as progressive tend to be wary of the religious liberty debate. Some distrust it as a smokescreen for conservative politics. Some see it as a distraction from other urgent issues. Some are made uneasy by the cooperation of many Catholics and evangelicals, as well as Mormons and many Orthodox, to push back against abortion on demand, to defend marriage and the family, and to resist LGBT efforts to weaken religious freedom protections through coercive SOGI (sexual orientation/gender identity) “anti-discrimination” laws. But working for religious freedom has never precluded service to the poor. The opposite is true. In America, the liberty of religious communities has always been a seedbed of social action and ministry to those in need.

read the whole thing.

Yes, religion is not PC in todays' world, but if the catholic church falls apart, or is taken over to serve the NWO, it will have a big impact on politics.

So what do we ordinary folks do? We have our rosaries, and we say them...

Sounds silly, no?

Fernando Marcos call your office...