Latin Catholic by birth, Byzantine Catholic by the grace of God.
Pro: Restoration of the Holy and Universal Christian Roman Empire.
Caveat: The author makes no claim to being an exemplar of Catholicism or Monarchism (or blogging).
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Location: Upstate, New York, United States

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

He's really not all that bad



He takes a lot of flak from liberals, for obvious reasons. More scandalous though, is the unclear thought that the holy father elicits from conservative or orthodox Catholics. What they lack is a long-term perspective.

A lot of Traditionalists (capital T) see the post-conciliar popes as giving in to the world, bowing to modernism, etcetera, to the point of their complete loss of moral authority. The other folks are nominally conservative "radical moderates" (as I've seen them called). They take every word the pontiff says and put it on par with Sts. Paul or Augustine.

Traditionalists, and I lean that way, sometimes forget that "the gates of Hell will never prevail" against the Church, as stated in the Gospels. They also don't allow the pope a personality. Frankly, to many of us, John Paul II is too easy-going, especially with schismatic, heretical, and pagan cults. But I really think that he is simply on the outer bounds of human charity; one would maybe say charitable to a fault. But who's going to fault him for that? Not me. Are you going to cast stones at the pontiff? He did kiss the Koran, which I find indefensible, but does that compare to the pope who knelt in fealty before the Holy Roman emperor? Or the popes who held court with their own illegitimate children? Popes have done and thought wacky things, and we're still here, chugging along. Our requirement as Catholics is to follow his infallible teachings on faith and morals, and seriously consider everything else he has to say.

Catholic neo-conservatism is the warped half-brother of radical Traditionalism. They see the pope as infallible in not just faith and morals, but in politics and aesthetics and probably even what wine goes better with chicken. What a short-term focus! John Paul is against capital punishment; popes of the past used to hang brigands in the Papal States. Pope Julius, the War Pope, rode to battle in front of his troops to fight the Mongols. The popes are human beings, guided by the Holy Spirit, to be sure, but flesh and blood like the rest of us. They have personalities and are not above criticism. Some of our greatest saints took exception at actions of the Vatican, notably Sts. Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena.

So, what these groups need to realize is that, as Ecclesiates says, "to every thing, there is a season." Don't get overly hung up on the failings of a pontiff, or make him the fourth part of the Trinity. Our faith is bigger than any one man, except Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

If only it were true

Here's an article about the GOP's alleged ability to steal votes with electronic voting machines. Metropolis Sigh. For me, this was sweet fiction. If it was true, I'd have a modicum of hope for the future.

Oh, wait, Republicans in government don't act like Republicans anyway.

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Gay marriage is a big ho-hum

Now it seems New York Democrats are trying to establish homosexual marriage laws in the Empire State.



I can't get too worked up about this. The Church has long held that marriage is strictly its domain - it's not the state's job to sanctify marriage. So, while it shows what a sad direction public opinion is heading, homosexual marriage has no more validity than a straight marriage given out by the government. Some of my kooky relatives in the Old World took vows by walking three times around a burning bush, in a modern take on a Viking ceremony. This all adds up to nothing.

A marriage not blessed by God is simply a fiction. No worries.

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

This is why we're S.O.L.

Aftenposten details how Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Bondevik (below) is expecting a rebuke from the Pontiff during a trip to Rome.




Norway has passed a law whereby spouses have to declare the right of divorce before getting married. Why? To protect Muslim girls from forced marriages. Norwegian Catholics rightly say this law contradicts their teachings, and making them swear to divorce violates their religious freedom. I don't know where to begin with this one. Just thinking about Muslim idolaters running about in my ancestral homelands is enough to make me lose my Jarlsberg.

I'm sure my dear reader(s) don't share my interest in Norge, so let's consider the universal principal. Religious freedom is a canard. Two religions cannot coexist without violating the freedom of one of the groups, or the igno-atheists of the region. One group will always dominate the others. In fact, if you don't allow yourself to be dominated by Muslims, you are violating their religious freedom to impose dhimmitude on you.

Monday, September 15, 2003

Remember your brothers

A recent article on Lew Rockwell has reminded me of the plight of the Assyrian Christians. Regardless of their schismatic status, they are one of the world's oldest and historically successful Christian communities.

They have resisted centuries of Islamicisation and persecution, and the Christian world lets them founder. I'm disgusted. While we are persected practically the world over, the blind eye we turn to Muslim jihadis nauseate me. Islam is historically our most persistent and bloody competitor, and we smile and bow to them while they wipe out ancient cultures.




There's not much we can do but pray for them and spread the word. Lord knows our post-Christian government won't help them out. They're too busy bowing to the east.