The Rome of Cognitive Dissonance and Doublethink

There's a psychological term that applies in spades to our age of confusion and chaos. It's called "cognitive dissonance" in the language of mental health and "doublethink" in the language of dystopian literature. Both terms mean the same thing: the act of trying to believe two contradictory things at the same time. 

Sadly, modernist Rome has become the icon of cognitive dissonance and doublethink. The Vatican pays lip service to the unchanging Catholic faith taught for two millennia, while, at the same time, undermining it with modernist claptrap. One bishop says contraception and abortion are wrong. Another says there are circumstances when they're not. Moral relativism takes center stage in the synodal church where sexual deviance is love. 

Cognitive Dissonance Is Engulfing our Beloved Church

We are becoming the Church of cognitive dissonance. Let's begin by defining that psychological term:

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that occurs when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes, or when their behavior conflicts with their beliefs. This discomfort motivates people to change their beliefs, justify their actions, or avoid new information to reduce the inconsistency.

Think about that. What happens when the actions of our pope and bishops show diametrically opposed philosophies. How do you reconcile two mutually exclusive propositions? You can't! Jesus called Himself "The way, the truth and the life."  Embracing truth means one has to choose. Which of two things is true, or are both untrue and is the truth elsewhere altogether.

Cognitive Dissonance: the Francis Effect and Desiderio Desideravi

An early case of cognitive dissonance

I once experienced a severe case of vertigo. Not only could I not stand up without holding onto something, my stomach was in turmoil, and the only relief came from lying down. It's something I hope never to go through again. My body was not in conformity with the world. 

A New Buzz Phrase for the Lexicon of Catholic Liberals: The "Francis Magisterium"

Just tell those recalcitrant bishops in the U.S. it's the "Francis magisterium" and they better obey!

What's a liberal pope and his liberal "magisterium" to do?..

...When his critics question his authority over innovations he's introduced into Holy Mother Church including pagan idols like Pachamama.....

WHAT TO DO?

....When his critics express horror at the company he keeps and question his giving a Vatican voice and platform to those who promote abortion, contraception, homosexuality, population control, eugenics, etc.....

Protect Children from Cognitive Dissonance!

UPDATE 6:30 P.M.: Those who oppose the actions of Archbishop Naumann and Fr. Maxim have launched a petition asking them to reconsider and allow enrollment of the child. We need to counter their action. Please sign the petition at TFP's Student Action's website. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for enough good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

ORIGINAL POST:

My colleague at Restore D.C. Catholicism has a "must-read" post about the situation in Kansas of a same sex couple trying to enroll the child in their care at a Catholic school in Prairie Village. She points out the obvious fact that Catholic teaching is totally incompatible with the living situation of the child. Why would loving "parents" do this? How can it NOT put the child in a situation of cognitive dissonance?

Same Sex Attraction: It's Bad for Your Mental Health

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), but that hasn't changed the realilty that those suffering from same-sex attraction (SSA) show a significantly higher rate of mental health problems than their non-SSA peers. Studies over the last fifteen years show that SSA is bad for your mental health. Of course, gay activists say that's because gays are so persecuted, but in countries where homosexuality is well accepted, for example Holland and New Zealand, the rate of disorders is similar to other countries where there is still significant opposition.

It seems to me that there is a clear explanation: violating the natural law instilled in us by God puts man in conflict with himself. That kind of cognitive dissonance means a man either has to change his behavior or his beliefs. The man in a sinful situation, who knows it's wrong, will either give up his sin or alter his beliefs to justify his behavior. Have you ever heard someone in a sinful situation, e.g., adultery, say, "I just don't know what to believe any more?" There's a perfect example. If I want to commit this sin that feels so good and makes me "happy" (at least in the short term), then I will likely throw out my former belief in fidelity and the sacredness of my vows and make up any excuse to justify myself. Tolstoy illustrated the truth of this in Anna Karenina.

Sure makes sense, doesn't it? But if you know in your heart what you are doing is wrong (because God placed the truth there), can you really convince yourself that  wrong is right? Probably not. So what happens? The screws start coming loose -- not a good sign for the future of our culture of death is it?

But then again, God has a way of taking people in their darkest moments and shining a shaft of white light that cuts through the darkness of sin and invites conversion. So pray for sinners in the mire of cognitive dissonance that they will see the truth and turn back to our Creator who loves them enough to shed every drop of blood for them.