Then, without comment, comes Pope Francis saying, at Assisi, that none of this is what St. Francis was about. But since Pope Francis has nearly been painted in the media as New Ager himself, it's almost too easy to miss.
And if you "get" it, it almost seems cruel and "mean-spirited" of CNS to imply that these generous-spirited good-energy-channeling seekers of love are simply dreaming nonsense.
[Hat tip to Rorate Caeli]
He is not a New Ager.
ReplyDeleteHe is a "Spirit of V2" partisan who comes from a former Spanish colony with a brutal history of dictatorship and exploitation of the poor by the rich. By any sensible standard, he is a Catholic progressive. But he is not a First Worlder, and consequently does not share all of the concerns of First World progressives, such as feminists breaking thru the Church's "glass ceiling" and anal sex enthusiasts being accorded the sense of legitimacy they so righteously demand. He is much more enthusiastic about "the poor," and the liberation theology which glorifies them.
But Francis knows that he must play ball with first world progressives. When he says "stop talking about this or that" he is not only addressing his traditionalist whipping boys, but also those progressive firebrands whose radicalism might cause the emerging progressive coalition to unravel. For this, the NeoCath Grub Street scribblers compliment him on his "conservatism," and an astonishing number of Catholic folk buy their braunschweiger under the flimsiest of auspices.
As for Catholic traditionalists and their concerns, Francis despises and ridicules them. With a pope like this, the "pray and obey" bobblehead mantra doesn't cut the mustard, whatever Fr Z, EWTN, First Things and Commonweal might aver.
That was brutal. But more importantly, what was that exceptionally attractive young woman doing with all those old hippies?
ReplyDeleteNick
Nick, I think she was the protestant one. It is most likely an adventure in bizarro land even for her..
ReplyDeleteDear Ralph. As usual, that was superior. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThat was brilliant, Ralph. A post-colonial "Spirit of V2" advocate of the poor who despises traditionalists because they are useless for his progressive coalition. This helps explain why he sucks up to left-wing liberation theologians and overlooks oprichniks with fag records.
ReplyDelete