The pope’s plans
The pope has plans to fight the good fight against secularization and re-impose Catholic theocracy in developed countries where it has lost a lot of popularity lately.
Pope Benedict XVI announced the new Vatican department dedicated to tackling what he called “a grave crisis in the sense of the Christian faith and the role of the church”…
The new department, to be called The Pontifical Council for New Evangelisation, will try to reinvigorate belief among Catholics in rich, developed countries — or, in the Pontiff’s words, “find the right means to repropose the perennial truth of the Gospel”.
Do we detect a note of sarcasm? Anyway, one wonders how this pontifical council will go about the reinvigorating. Posters on buses? Exciting new youth programs? Stem-winding sermons at malls? Hip hop at mass? Better-tasting crackers? Archbishop Fisichella, the Vatican’s top bioethics official who will head the new council, appearing on Oprah?
“Bioethics official” nothing, anyway – that’s not bioethics, it’s just authoritarian religious dogma. It’s just theocracy. Here come the theocrats, offering more theocracy. Yee-ha.
Clearly, the most effective way to reinvigorate Catholicism is through a concerted program of larger and gaudier hats for the people in charge.
Maybe it’s time to revive Tom Lehrer’s Vatican Rag?
‘find the right means to repropose the perennial truth of the Gospel’— The Catholic Church has usually used the wrong means— Many years ago I went on a ‘tour’ of the Inquisition dungeons in Lima, I’ve never forgotten that hellish place, it represented the cruelty and superstition that built and still maintains the Roman Catholic Church.
How odd. Tom Leher’s Masochism Tango was playing just as I opened this page. It seemed mildly comment-worthy …
Absolutely — ‘it’s just theocracy.’ Strange thing is, the pope and his buddies can’t see that. They act in the most outrageously authoritarian ways, and then, the next moment, they’re saying that they have to re-evangelise Europe! It’s simply bizarre!
At the same time that the pope shifted Archbishop Fisichella to another spot in the Vatican hierarchy —mainly because he failed to hold the Vatican line on abortion — he also appointed an ultra-conservative Quebec cardinal (Ouelette) to head the Congregations for Bishops, the Vatican ‘congregation’ that vets the appointment of bishops worldwide. And Ouelette did hold the line on abortion, creating a storm of controversy when he said that abortion is always an “unjustifiable moral crime.” (See here.)
I wonder what makes the Rat-zinger — having made sure that the church is firmly grasped by the dead hand of the past — think that now is a good time to re-evangelise the world? How can he possibly think that the cruel theocratic message that he wants his people to deliver is really an attractive option? In response to Cardinal Ouelette’s idiocy about abortion, the Quebec National Assembly passed a resolution guaranteeing free, accessible abortion in the province of Quebec. The vote: 109-0! Let the pope puff away on that!
Marc Ouelette, the cardinal at the centre of this controversy, rather lamely said, in response to the outrage his comments prompted, that the answer is evangelisation. People can’t accept the moral teachings of the church, he suggested, until they had met Jesus. Then, I guess, it’s okay to be cruel to women and little girls! He does say that it’s too late to change Canada’s laws respecting abortion, but that, in future, “we should be more prudent on what kind of laws we pass in Parliament.” (Read all about it in the Western Catholic Reporter.) He doesn’t say it, perhaps, but he means it: Canadian law should reflect the moral priorities of the church. That’s theocracy. That’s what the Roman catholic church stands for. That’s why it’s dangerous.
Years ago, when the wedge document was released, the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture defended itself by noting that this was actually part of fund raising efforts. Which makes sense, but also supports the thought, Hey, these guys are running a scam.
Likewise here. Europe must be filled with rich old Catholic men. What better way to separate them from their money than a well-constructed plan to ensure that The Son Will Rise Again?
I only pressed the submit button once. Honest!
Sorry, Eric, your first post got accidentally filtered; I just released it, so there’s probably some overlap. Sorry if I’ve made you look as if you repeat yourself!
Hey, that’s okay, even if it makes me look like a jerk! So far as I could tell it never completed my end, so I thought I had to rewrite it. The first try was last night — late. I rewrote it this morning. You can delete last night’s if you want to. It’s a bit more angry, and a little less measured.
Ok! I didn’t read it so I’m not agreeing, just complying.
It’s asking too much of mere mortals to expect them not to get angry with Ratzinger.
What is it about people with their rose-colored glasses view of the past?
I was sifting through some of the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings this morning – republican senators harping on how the world was better 50 years ago – the writers of the constitution were smarter than anyone today – blah, blah, blah.
The past is over, we can’t go back and, frankly, why would we want to? Change is inevitable. The idea that rules put in place 50, 100, 1000 years ago are still valid is not a given. I think the discussion over at the buddha is not serious on taoism and confucianism is worth looking at.
Hey, Catholics — here’s an easy way to get people to start attending church again — stop raping kids.
“Not gonna happen?” Well, then all the “evangelisation” in the world isn’t going to be enough. One would think this concept simple enough even for Ratzinger to understand.
The Vatican Rag…I’ll have to look for that. Haven’t heard it in years.
@ Michael:
–James Ellroy, Clandestine.
Not enough Kirth, not nearly enough. The complete ban on gay relationships, birth control, abortion, assisted dying, women in the priesthood, secularism — well, I could go on and on. Even if they stop raping kids, there’s nothing there but narrow-minded authoritarianism. And even then, it’s not as vile as Islam. But that means that Islam is very vile indeed.
Talk about evangelisation, papal style and ipads for the presbyterate, going backwards and forwards. The pope certainly wants to please Orthodox Christians, his wardrobe and young priests’ technological liturgical input all in the one go.
He has indeed revived a number of traditions, including giving the Tridentine Mass a more prominent position. While at the same time getting rid of the title “Patriarch of the West” to embrace the East Orthodox Church.
He has also restored the use of the red papal shoes. In 2008, he also restored the use of the white damask silk, Pascall Mozetta which was previously worn with white silk slippers. The next thing we will see is the reintroduction of the crucifx on his red papal slippers so that the cardinals will be able to kiss his feet as they must be wearing him out with all the bling-kissing.
Also, an Italian priest has developed an iPad application that will let priests celebrate Mass with an iPad on the altar instead of the regular Roman missal. Two years ago, Padrini also developed the iBreviary, an application that brought the book of daily prayers used by priests onto iPhones. The iPad application is similar but also contains the complete missal – containing all that is said and sung during Mass throughout the liturgical year.
Happy Canada Day, Eric!
@Eric — Great reply! And I especially love that last bit. You and I will get along just fine, I think — even if you spell your first name with a wishy-washy “c”.
Eric, did you know that just recently a half-dozen women priest campaigners who had unfurled a banner and were handing out leaflets at the Vatican, were asked by the pope’s police to go. They left peacefully. Apparently, it is a very common occurrence for protesters to be asked by the Vatican police to leave. The activists were only trying to draw attention to the church’s refusal to allow women to be priests, bishops or deacons. Yet the Vatican wants to foist its Pontifical Council for New Evangelisation on the rest of the world. They like to dish it out, but not take it, as OB would often say.