Catholic social teaching [is] not... analogous to Eucharistic doctrine and Marian dogmas, but [is] something much more akin to the Catholic literary tradition – a treasure trove of often-brilliant insights and deep investigations into the best ways for men to live which claims our respectful attention. -- Zmirak According to this oracle of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Inc. the Catholic Church is infallible in matters of faith and morals -- individual morals, that is. When Popes dare to dissent from the right wing of the Republican Party they are, how shall I put it, damned heretics, perhaps. When it comes to public morality, you no play-a da game, you no make-a da rules, as the Italian farmer is supposed to have said of Humanae Vitae. Mater si, magistra no, as Pope Buckley put it. In order to support his dubious position, Zmirak points to even more dubious factoids. About usury. Yes, the Church condemned lending at interest -- when borrowing was almost entirely to meet living expenses. But borrowing to finance business ventures was another matter entirely. Torture? Yes, church officials have sometimes supported and even encouraged it. But the moral condemnation of torture is ancient indeed, going back at least to Pope St. Nicholas the Great during the time of Photios. And I think Zmirak himself would not condemn enhanced interrogation out of hand these days. Religious liberty? The rights of conscience are surely inviolable, but religious expression is another matter entirely. Some people sincerely believe that Jews are vermin to be exterminated. In some societies they might be allowed to propagandize to no ill effect. But surely not in others. Yes, laypeople are to administer the state according to their best prudential judgment. But the separation of church and state doesnt mean telling Pope Francis, or, for that matter, the Dalai Lama, to mind his own f*cking business.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 04:32:23 +0000