Intelligent Catholics Need to Stop Taking Far-Right Reactionaries Seriously

Last updated on: June 4, 2018 at 1:54 pm by Rebecca Bratten Weiss

Intelligent Catholics Need to Stop Taking Far-Right Reactionaries Seriously 2018-06-04T13:54:38-04:00 Rebecca Bratten Weiss

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.

Note: my title is NOT intended to convey a notion that we should simply ignore the very pernicious influence far-right reactionary Catholics have on the mainstream. The fact that they have banded together with the American Religious Right in their obsessive and deluded adulation of Donald Trump is sad proof that no, these are no longer just a “marginal fringe” of basement dwellers. Or, rather, that the marginal fringe has centralized itself.

And we do need to oppose this. But we also need to stop acting as though they have a point.

Whether it’s parishes canceling talks by Fr. James Martin, or feminist Catholic academics having their livelihoods threatened, or orthodox queer speakers being banned from Catholic schools, well-meaning but poorly-catechized Catholics are walking about under the impression that publications such as LifeSite and Church Militant are actually sane or reliable, and are letting shrill bullies on the outliers of ideology dictate to them.

One mistake they are making is thinking that “the world out there” is filled with unspeakable evil, and that it’s necessary to huddle in enclaves to protect ourselves. Once one takes up this notion – instead of remembering that evil is everywhere, and that into any walled garden it will come, and that goodness is to be found everywhere, also – the next step is to distrust everything “out there,” whether this means writing off all ordinary media as fake news, or sending one’s kids to bubble colleges lest they be exposed to anything so dastardly as, say, literary theory, or people explaining what those words in Shakespeare actually mean.

So, yes, I do know I have moles watching my page. It’s a little weird and creepy, especially when they say things like “find her and deal with her” (yes, I saw that one, you little freaks) or “line them up and shoot them” (the Ruse Special). It’s unhinged when they spend all their time screenshotting on one’s page, and genuinely alarming when they make up fake profiles of you.

I could probably take the time to figure out which of my “friends” is betraying me, but why bother? Because, while I do know too well that these people can cause harm, the fact remains that in the broader academic sense, and in the sense of Catholic identity, their viewpoint really does not matter. And if everyone would remember that, and make a point of inviting the victims of their bullying into genuine community, the bullies would cease to have so much power. The rest of us, who are in the know, can perhaps diminish their power by not ceasing to respond when they try to pin us down and get answers out of us. There’s no need even to give them the added attention of mentioning them by name. We can take on their errors in a general sense, but engaging them directly gives them the mistaken notion that they have some kind of authority – and it might give bystanders the idea that we and they represent some equal binary of opposition. We should regard them as theological equivalents of flat-earthers.

There are many educated persons whose opinions I respect and whom, were they to say “you’re wrong on this point” I would take to heart. But when it comes to the reactionary right, their clamor is more a nuisance than anything else. It usually only becomes a problem when others, who ought to know better, begin to imagine that these are valid Catholic spokespersons, and not crackpots. Even if once in a while the crackpots have PhDs.

Of course, the hatred and fear of Pope Francis – who has not said anything out of line with the pre-existing tradition, no matter how desperately leftist Catholics may wish he would – is the inevitable fruit of all this.

For those who haven’t had the chance to get a solid education in Catholic thought – I mean, real Catholic thought, not a few pop theologians – a good rule of thumb, when looking at which current Catholic writers to take seriously, is an incredibly obvious one, for a Catholic:
Ask yourself: Do these people respect the pope? When they disagree with him, do they do so in the context of recognizing his validity as the successor of Peter, his dignity as a person, and his fundamental decency as a follower of Christ?

If not – run away. Run far away.

image credit: blogspot.com/-pc5L2cXK9ws/T_QOdV8Kr1I/AAAAAAAAYXY/nELq5h6tJQs/s1600/peterfinch.jpg

Previous Post

May 30, 2018

The Stories Our Bodies Tell: Beyond the Theology of the Singular Body

Next Post

June 6, 2018 No, #MeToo is Not the Fault of the Sexual Revolution

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion anti-semitism art Atwood Betrothed church clergy abuse coronavirus culture economics education environmentalism ethics faith family feminism gardening gun violence immigration Judaism literature MaddAddam New Pro Life Movement news pandemic personalism poem politics politics blue Pope Francis racism religion salvation sexuality social justice spirituality Station eleven Stephen King The Stand Trump Uncategorized war World Health Organization

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Lo-Ammi" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Exiled Chosen One The Lord is My Salvation Not My People

Support this
Column