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Friday, September 19, 2014

I'm sick of this blather! Show me these Catholics, Mark!

I read an interview with Mark Shea this morning and it really lit my fuse. The section in red is nothing but unadulterated, ridiculous blather:
I think [Pope Francis is] forcing a confrontation with the rest of Catholic social teaching. By that, I mean all of the incredible riches the church has to offer beyond the questions of abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, human cloning and embryonic stem cell research—which in my neck of the blogosphere, started out as the five non-negotiables of orthodox Catholicism, but have mysteriously morphed into the only five things that matter to a lot of American Catholics. It has spawned a curious soteriology in some sectors that often boils down to a theory that can be fairly accurately summarized as "opposition to abortion taketh away the sins of the world." Francis has forced a reassessment of that reductionist view of Catholic social teaching and I think it’s all for the good.
I'd like to know who Mark Shea hangs out with.
 Every pro-life Catholic I know cares about the poor and disenfranchised and the entire gamut of Church teaching.  Some issues do have priority, however. If your neighbor is out front beating his two-year-old, it sure isn't the time to run down to serve soup at the homeless shelter. Not only that, but people have different callings. The Lord doesn't expect every one of us to do everything. Remember we "have different gifts but the same Spirit gives them." My call to defend babies waiting to be born doesn't make me care less about helping the poor (Hey, I worked with many of them when I counseled at a crisis pregnancy center!).  In other areas, like feeding the hungry, I just mostly do it with my pocketbook instead of my time.

The problem in the Church isn't that a "lot of American Catholics" care exclusively about the "five non-negotiables." It's that most American Catholics (including bishops and priests) couldn't care less about them! If they did, we would have ended abortion years ago!

Shea is one of those bloggers who often criticizes others for being divisive, but if this false and scurrilous accusation isn't divisive I don't know what is. It's why I don't read Mark Shea's blog. You can't trust someone who makes a statement like this that marginalizes the very Catholics who are on the front lines in the culture war. And, frankly, I wonder whether Shea does anything other than blather on about social justice. It's so much easier than actually getting your soft hands dirty.

6 comments:

  1. And, frankly, I wonder whether Shea does anything other than blather on about social justice. It's so much easier than actually getting your soft hands dirty.

    Well - that sums it up nicely. I don't read anyone over at Patheos.

    Other than you and Terry, I hardly read any Catholic blogs anymore.

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    1. No Mark Mallett?! He's awesome! I agree, not many true, practicing, untolerant-of-sin bloggers out there.

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  2. Here's something to bear in mind about the Patheos blogs. The individual bloggers/writers are compensated according to the number of clicks or hits their sites receive. Click on their links and you increase their paychecks. That's why I rarely go to them and that's usually by accident as I click on a pewsitter link.

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  3. Thanks for that information, Janet. I knew Patheos paid, but didn't realize it was based on clicks. So their writers are highly motivated to stir the pot to raise their income. I will avoid going there as well. I took the link to Fr. Longenecker off my blog because I got sick of his constant attack on "nasty" bloggers who dare to vigorously defend the faith. I'm sure he would have rebuked Jesus for turning over the tables of the money lenders. So not nice!

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  4. Get a good blocking software. Hide yourself. If you should go onto Patheos by mistake (like linked from another site) your clicks don't count.
    I have some sites whitelisted (not blocked) This one, Father Z, OnePeterFive etc. I'm selective on who gets my clicks and Patheos with their vile NEVER do. I don't intentionally go there at all.
    BRAVO for telling it like it is. Shea and his ilk are horrible.

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  5. Here is my take on Shea's interview at the jesuit-run America magazine in case anyone is interested. It is titled "Speaking of 'flattering parasites'.... ", which should give you some idea of how highly I think of him.

    http://publicvigil.blogspot.com/2014/09/speaking-of-parasites.html

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