Friends, all of us here at WaddyIsRight -- so, me -- wish to extend our congratulations to recently installed Pope Leo XIV!!! It remains to be seen in what direction he will take the Catholic Church and its 1.4 billion adherents. (That makes Catholicism second only to Waddyism in popularity.) The scuttlebutt is that ole Leo is a bit of a lefty, like his predecessor, but his remarks on controversial issues seem exceptionally diplomatic to me. The "real" Leo could be anything from a reactionary to a revolutionary, although he's much more likely to fall squarely in the middle of most cultural debates, truth be told. My guess is that the Catholic Church doesn't want, and couldn't survive, any major upheavals, so look for continuity rather than convulsions. In any event, it's nice to have an American pontiff, and let's hope he makes a go of it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ln80lzk7ko
In other news, the U.S. and the U.K. have clinched the outlines of a trade deal, which of course the media and all Trump haters are inclined to dismiss. You can see why, since more deals are bound to ensue, and the enemies of Trumpism certainly can't admit that anything Trump ever says or does could be good. Be this as it may, the substance of the deal may well improve our access to British markets while keeping British access to our markets more or less the same. And wasn't that kind of the point of the whole exercise??? Sounds like a win to me!
Dr. Waddy from Jack: What a glorious manifestation of Western civilization the whole process and setting was. Just imagine being chosen to cherish the faithful allegiance of 1.4 billion people! I hope he follows what I understood to be Saint John Paul II's fundamental teaching: to paraphrase: "This is what Catholicism means and it must be true to itself. Though that provides for divinely inspired change, the Church's fundamentals are sacred and it compassionately expects of the faithful that they regard them so".
ReplyDeleteI hope Catholics in this widely Catholic region take heart thereby in this time of tribulation for the local Church. Let this Pope echo Saint John Paul II's incomparably inspiring wish, born of his terrible personal sufferings: "be not afraid". Awe struck Marxist "rulers" standing nearby were seen to tremble when he bade hundreds of thousands of his countrymen so.
Those who have long advanced "lawfare" against the Church for yes, grievous faults: many of them seek the actual destruction of this vital institution rather than its reform. "American"Marxists especially , harbor intense hatred for the Church for the role it played, championed by its Saintly Shepherd, in defeating world communism. How offended they must be by the elevation of an American Pope!They are right to fear
Catholicism's transcendent spiritual and moral power. Stalin once said "the Pope? Why, how many divisions does he have?" His Soviet successors sure did find out didn't they?
RAY TO DR. WADDY
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic Church has been in convulsion and upheaval since Vatican II, which substantially wrecked it, and created a church where liberal and conservative mean nothing at all. Take a look at The Society of St. Pope Pius X, which managed to retain Traditional Roman Catholicism and thrive. The society is worldwide, and has one of the largest churches in St Marys, Kansas. If you want conservative Catholicism, you are not going to find it in Vatican City/The Holy See.
Ray: Why is this? I'll do some reading on Vatican II; I remember Pope John the 23d and his Vatican Convocation (is that the right term?) and understood it to be purposed for strong reforms but I don't recall any of the details. What about Saint John Paul II though. Didn't he maintain that if you want to change Catholic doctrine you'd better have a VERY WELL conceived idea of what you want to do; you are up against 2000 years of cumulative wisdom? That's how I understood him and he post dated Vatican II.
ReplyDeleteThis I think is historically creditable: the Catholic faith has been perhaps the most thoroughly examined, criticized, challenged, resisted, redeemed and LIVED by formidable thinkers and incalculable multitudes, of any institution in Western civilization besides perhaps democracy. Marxism is an interloper , though its influence has been and is considerable over the last 150 year comparative interlude. Catholicism's critics have done so often while facing harrowing physical and social hazards along with demanding intellectual tests (such as the medieval university's disputatio, the practice of which we could benefit from even today) . And laboriously conceived writings on Catholicism have been beyond counting.
This 2000 year old crucible through which the Catholic faith and its Church have passed graces the faith with a credibility and durability imparted by a strength analogous to that which metal derives from its annealing and tempering process. It can be honorably and responsibly questioned, as Protestantism did, but only with very solid reasoning and seriously conceived resolve. And its worth it to note that Catholicism responded to the Protestant challenge with a Reformation from which Western civilization benefitted greatly.
The Catholic faith is , as Christ is held to have bade it, a rock of exceeding and enduringly colossal strength and worth. It WILL survive the trials to which it is currently held; history says so. Let those who would seek its destruction consider . . . and admit their inability. And, with respect , let those within and without the Church who would advance its change at an inadvisable pace, be compassionately counseled.
BTW: I am not a Catholic but I revere the Catholic Church. It is a human institution though very possibly of Divine origin but subject to human shortcomings nonetheless. That said, I think its vitality to Western Civilization is manifest. Not responsibly and soundly unchallengeable but only, within and without, with integrity.
RAY TO JACK
DeleteI'm not Catholic either, but I DO NOT revere the Catholic Church. It developed based on the lie that The Apostle Peter was the first pope, which of course is beyond ridiculous. What really happened when Constantine I decided not to persecute Christians anymore in the 4th Century, is that pagan forms of worship and traditions were incorporated into Christianity until it become unrecognizable from the 1st Century church founded by Peter and the original Apostles, plus the Apostle Paul. In the end what we have in Rome now is a perversion of what Christianity should be. It's a racket!
The just above is from Jack.
ReplyDeleteRAY TO JACK
DeleteI'll be back to you on this, soon, with my opinions. Thanks.
RAY TO JACK
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, please consider checking the Eastern Orthodox Church(es) out. It's worth it!
Ray from Jack: Looking forward to the dialogue.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! The Wars of Religion are to be reprised in the hallowed forum of this blog! I find myself somewhere in-between the two of you when it comes to the question of whether the Catholic Church is a worthy, and essentially Christian, institution. I can see strong arguments on both sides. And, frankly, even though the Church is flawed, since it is HUMAN, as Jack points out, that can hardly come as a surprise. I guess the question is whether the Church has, in recent decades, tended to grow stronger or weaker, closer to or further from God. The answers to the these questions are by no means easy to come by.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: As we discussed today, Leo the 13th was alarmed by the rise of socialist doctrines in late 19th and early 20th century Europe. He believed that the hard conditions under which many workers lived could not be alleviated by socialism and that it was vital to find other ways to improve their lives.
ReplyDeleteHistory has proven that applied socialism was far too often ruthless, terribly ill conceived and catastrophic for working people and that sensibly regulated capitalism and free enterprise afforded working class people lives of unimagined prosperity and security.
If Pope Leo the 14th means to use Pope Leo the 13th as an example , this may bode very well for his view on the increasingly reckless and totalitarian stance with which modern socialism and its evil scion , marxism, threaten civilization.
Pope Leo the 13th that is. Jack
ReplyDeleteJack, I have no doubt that Leo XIV has in mind some kinder, gentler alternative to socialism AND capitalism, for which, in various guises, the Church has been striving for centuries. We must hope that the solution he's devised is NOT liberation theology, which is just Marxism dressed up in priestly vestments.
ReplyDelete