Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

To Give a Defense

Home
Catholic
Lepanto Institute Under Malicious Attack by Eeeeeevil “Social Justice Warriors”!

Lepanto Institute Under Malicious Attack by Eeeeeevil “Social Justice Warriors”!

Last updated on: March 10, 2018 at 5:13 pm by Scott Eric Alt

Lepanto Institute Under Malicious Attack by Eeeeeevil “Social Justice Warriors”! 2018-03-10T17:13:50-04:00 Scott Eric Alt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Walter Seymour Allward, “Justicia” (Creative Commons)

Your generous contribution will help them survive this existential threat to their very existence. Michael Hichborn is still bunkered up somewhere at Lepanto after I posted this vicious hit piece. He writes today from that bunker to defend himself against the “enraged” “social justice leftists masquerading as Catholics in our midst.” In our very midst, dear reader! Said social justice leftists (masquerading as Catholics!) are in a “blind rage” over the Lepanto Institute’s very mention of Judas!

(Let me pause here for a moment to show you a picture of my own blind rage.)

Image via Pixabay

That’s me.

Now let me calm myself so I can continue. Bear with me, dear reader.

Okay, I’m back.

In this particular instance, the malicious assault on Lepanto was over a new meme (a different one than the one I addressed in my last post) suggesting that ugly and empty church buildings are a result of charity to the poor. I posted it on my own Facebook page. According to the meme, empty and ugly church buildings mean that “Judas got his wish”–that is, that fancy decorations be sold and the proceeds given to the poor.

Blind rage ensued, and now Lepanto needs your generous contributions so Mr. Hichborn can continue to make these memes. Otherwise, he will have to close it all down and find less socially valuable work than meme-making.

“The point is clear,” Mr. Hichborn continues in his fund-raising letter.

God deserves a place of honor; Judas was first in line to condemn such honor as frivolties — not because he had any true love of justice or society, but because he was pilfering the purse.

Now, you know, dear reader—Mr. Hichborn does not point this out, so I must—that was the wery point I made in my eeeeeeeevil hit piece on saintly Lepanto.

Judas does not want to give the money to the poor; he wants to keep it for himself and pretend he gave it to the poor. He does not practice social justice here at all.

Guess who pointed that out first, dear reader? I did.

But here is my question for Mr. Hichborn: If Judas “did not have any true love of justice,” then how is it that he is, in your estimation, the “patron saint” of social justice? That is what you did not explain before, and that is what you do not explain now. If you have an explanation, we would all like to hear what it is.

Stealing from the poor is not social justice. It is stealing from the poor. It is the opposite of social justice. I said that in my post yesterday.

“If the “social justice warriors” had a patron saint[,]” Mr. Hichborn writes, “Judas Iscariot would be their man.”

Are any of the people challenging your memes stealing from the poor, Mr. Hichborn? Show us the evidence.

The patron saint of social justice is St. Martin de Porres.

Mr. Hichborn continues.

True social justice? Rejects the idea of social sin. There is no such thing. True social justice involves the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy. Leo XIII is clear in Rerum Novarum, that socialism is no solution to social questions — a fact lost on the political leftists who have been confused and misled as to what Leo XII and John Paul II taught regarding the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Okay, let’s stop right here. Who is advocating social sin? What social sin? Does anyone find that in my post, or in Mary Pezzulo’s? The only sin Mr. Hichborn has hitherto mentioned is stealing from the poor. Where, in all these vicious nasty attacks on Lepanto, has anyone advocated stealing from the poor?

And where has anyone denied that social justice involves works of mercy? Many of them I listed in my own post, and one of them is feeding the hungry. And yet, if we believe all these Judas memes, that kind of thing detracts from the worship of God and leads to ugly churches.

And where has anyone advocated socialism? Define socialism, and explain how it differs from social justice as the Church speaks of it, and then tell me how what I presented in my post yesterday is socialism rather than social justice. That’s going to involve more than a meme.

Mr. Hichborn goes on.

In fact, so strong and so serious is the condemnation of this materialistic salvation that it is even prophesied against in Scripture.

Okay, I’ve had enough with this garbage. No one is advocating “materialistic salvation,” Mr. Hichborn. Who did that? Where? That’s not what I, or anyone else who has been challenging Lepanto this week, thinks social justice is. You think the poor are seeking to be saved by having food to eat? By having a sufficiently just wage that they can pay their bills, live in decent housing, and feed their children? That’s “materialistic salvation”? You think advocating for the poor is advocating for materialism? For being saved by money and things? Really?

I have not seen one single person, in all these mean and vicious attacks on Lepanto over the last couple of days, advocate for materialistic salvation. Where is that?

The request for donations goes on and on; and I won’t bore you with the rest, dear reader.

***

Previous Post

February 14, 2017

Lepanto Institute Meme Attempts to Link Social Justice to Judas Iscariot

Next Post

February 21, 2017 Simcha Fisher Speaks the Truth About Milo Apologists

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion About Me Answers for Calvinists Answers to Media Fictions Answers to Objections Anti-Catholicism Apologetics Apostolic Succession Atonement Authority of the Church Baptism Benedictines Biblical Exegesis Blogging Book Reviews Books & Writing &c. Calvin's Institutes Capital Punishment Catholic Church Chastity Christology Church Fathers Church Social Doctrine Confession Contraception Conversion Stories Crusades Debates Depression & Suicide Deuterocanon Development of Doctrine Ecumenism English Language Eucharistic Adoration Exorcism Extra Ecclesiam Fisks & Rebuttals Freedom of Religion Freedom of Speech Fundamentalism Gender Politics Gender Theory Good Works Homosexuality Humor Idolatry Immaculate Conception In the News Inquisition ISIS Islam Just for Fun Just War Justification LCWR Limbo Liturgical Abuse Liturgical Year Magisterium Marriage and Family Mary Mortal Sin New Evangelization NFP Papacy Papal Documents Papal Infallibility Personal Narrative Politics Pope Francis Pope Francis Derangement Syndrome Population Control Praying to the "Dead" Priesthood Primacy of Peter Protestant Denominations Purgatory Radical Islam Radical Traditionalists Real Presence Right to Conscience RIght to Life Saints Same-Sex "Marriage" Seven Quick Takes Social Justice Social Media Sola Scriptura Spirit of Vatican II SSPX The Eucharist The Mass The Resurrection Traditionalism Vatican II Year of Mercy

Select a Month August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Paul say in Philippians is far better?

Select your answer to see how you score.

To serve others To spread the gospel To suffer for righteousness To depart and be with Christ