Anamchara

PELOSI AND BIDEN: BELONGING TO CLUB CATHOLIC

 

CLUB CATHOLIC AND CATHOLIC POLITICIANS

You know things have reached a breaking point when usually quiet and mild Catholic Bishops and Archbishops take to the air waves and print media to castigate and soundly pound the living sin out of Catholic politicians who twist and and pervert the faith. 

Such has been the case with Senator Biden and Congresswoman Pelosi.  Heavyweights like Cardinal Egan, Archbishops Chaput and Wuerl among others along with the entire Bishop's Conference have roundly condemned both for the spin they have put on Catholic teaching concerning abortion.  Biden is more public now because of his run for vice-president, but his pro-abortion views have long been known.   Pelosi has come in for the most criticism because of her breathtakingly ignorant statement that our teaching on the matter is only fifty years old.  Her response to the criticism is equally shallow--as if she ran to Wikipedia's "Great Catholic Quotes on Abortion" and printed the first one that seemed--erroneously so--to favor her position.  But that's okay for these two, because membership in Club Catholic is different than belonging to the Catholic Church.  Check the Catholic Response here:    chaput , wuerl, egan.  

Club Catholic is all about appearances; the Catholic Church has those "rules" expected to be followed.  The Club allows one to do anything he or she wants because membership is due more to ethnicity or growing up in a certain neighborhood rather than a choice for the truth.  The Church, on the other hand, is so stuffy (so thinks the Club) about actually living out what it professes.  The Club is cool to belong to; the Church requires commitment. 

When one starts seeing the Church like just another version of the Elks, Moose, or Rotary Clubs, then a person gets to start defining for him or herself what being Catholic means.  That's just what Pelosi and Biden have done.  How pathetic.  Trying to use their Catholicity to gin up votes for their concerns, they will only succeed in awakening those voices who speak for those who have no voice--the unborn--many of whom will never have a choice to belong either to the Club or the Church.  All because Pelosi and Biden cling to the myth that their faith is whatever they choose to make it, rather than a truth handed down to them through the centuries by Christ, his Apostles, and their Successors.  The Cross is not some lodge badge, or strange hat with antlers, or a secret handshake or banner--it is the Sign of our Faith, of what is in our hearts.

Thank them, those Bishops who ought to be roundly praised for their quick, decisive and eloquent defense of life and clarification of Catholic teaching.  Club Catholic--pretty shallow.  The Catholic Church of Jesus Christ--just the place to be at this time, in this hour.

Here's an update based on Sen. Biden's Meet the Press interview on 9/7. Archbishop Chaput Slams Biden Again.   Sen. Biden needs a crash course on what constitutes a human right that obliges persons regardless of faith profession and what is a belief peculiar to a particular religion.

IRON MAN VS. THE DARK KNIGHT: THE BETTER MOVIE?

IRON MAN AND THE DARK KNIGHT:

RATING SUMMER'S TWO BIG BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

IRON MAN GETS A RATING OF:

THE DARK KNIGHT GETS A RATING OF:

 

 

Easily two of the best movies of the year, both these comic book adaptations portray a less than perfect hero.  Indeed, one could say redemption became a much more distinct possibility for both Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) and Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) once they were able to embrace their true destinies.  What makes the new Batman movie more superior to Iron Man is, first,  that it continues the character development of the hero, and, second, that it deals much more deeply with the problem of good vs. evil.

Iron Man is an origins movie.  We get to see Tony Stark at his worst and most debauched.  Robert Downey, Jr. (seemingly type cast) is a perfect fit for the billionaire playboy genius.  Once Stark faces his own mortality and gets an up close look at the violence he is helping to perpetrate on the world, a conversion experience begins.  This is not a particularly deep movie, but it has great heart and hope.  It eschews violence for violence's sake without being anti-American and it points out that wealth can never be the vehicle of salvation--only a noble heart can.  The physical heart of Tony Stark has to be mortally wounded before there is room for compassion and ultimately heroism.  This is a fine, enjoyable movie with good values.

THE DARK KNIGHT is another story.  If Heath Ledger gets an Oscar, it will not be a sympathy vote for an actor who died tragically young; instead, it will award truly magical talent.  Mr. Ledger gives a tour de force performance of evil incarnate--without a plan, without logic, without any reason whatsoever except that chaos is infinitely preferable to order and love.  As the Joker, Mr. Ledger creates a truly terrifying character, the original bogeyman, who tempts the hero much like Satan would.  His is an entirely believable character, and it is haunting to know that the young actor was troubled by the residual effects of his performance upon his own psyche.

Bruce Wayne, like Tony Stark, is very flawed.  He has his own demons to wrestle with, and sometimes, they merge with his ideals and hopes.  The Batman is supposed to make a difference, but the Joker causes all his heroism to lead to the death of innocents.  It makes  the Batman question his own morality, goals and destiny.  Interestingly, the hope he hangs onto is a love for human life.  Even the Joker's life is sacrosanct.  And it is the Batman's decision not to be the ultimate judge and jury that gives him the ability to sacrifice his reputation and honor  by taking on the sins of another for the good of Gotham City.  As Commissioner Gordon (brilliantly played by Gary Oldman) says:  Gotham gets the hero they want (namely the dead Harvey Dent/Two Face who fell from heroic prosecutor to vengeful murderer) rather than the hero they need--the Batman, who now must prowl the shadows seen by the public as a villain and outcast.

Christian Bale has created a Batman that is dark, but ultimately noble.  He is an anti-hero to some extent, tormented by doubts and the fear that his own pride will make him become like Two Face.  What keeps his vision clear, even in the dark night of his own soul, is his refusal of pride, his disdain of vainglory, and his humility.  He is a servant of the Good, not the Good itself.  One wonders if the writers know St. John of the Cross and his concept of the Dark Night of the Soul in which a person must endure terrible spirtual suffering marked by darkness and spiritual death to self in order to see the Light of Christ.  The movie really does resemble a cinematic portrayal of such a spiritual journey.

Highly recommended for its morality, the movie rescues itself from nihilism by showing the inherent goodness of humanity, even if its members are sometimes selfish.  Watching this film, it was easy to see that one of its messages is that there is a hero inside all of us, just as there is a doorway to the evil the Joker represented.  The scales weigh heavier on the side of good, and that is why THE DARK KNIGHT is a masterpiece--the greatest superhero film of all time.

MISSING TONY SNOW

 

TONY SNOW:  REMEMBERING A CATHOLIC JOURNALIST

When Tony Snow passed away a few weeks ago, I was on my way to Ireland and missed the coverage of his funeral and was unable to blog immediately about the departure of a good and decent man and an excellent journalist.

What most struck me about his life was his passionate love of values lived out in public life and his relentless pursuit for truth while at the same time holding a position of his own.  I am sure that he, like all of us, had many faults, but it was his particular gift to show forth an optimism about our country and a joy about his own faith and his own family that truly is his legacy to those he left behind.  I remember him talking once on radio a few years ago about a trip to Rome he took with his family and how proud the visit made him of his faith.  Knowing the cynicism of the world, he still could find the beauty not only in religion but in politics as well.  He was a gift to the Bush administration at a time when a fresh and optimistic face was needed.  He never pandered, he freely gave his views to the President, and he left with style and dignity as he battled his illness.

His journalistic achievements are many.  Surely, he will go down as one of the best press secretaries in history.  But more importantly, his legacy as a human being will be honored.  He taught us how to live life, even when you can see the end coming swiftly.  In a world that knows little value, he was all about values.  One doesn't always see goodness in public figures, but Mr. Snow radiated goodness and, from what many others say, much charity toward his fellow human beings.

Very Reverend David O'Connell, President of Catholic University gave a superb funeral homily at the Mass and said, "The measure of this man's life can be found in his character, in his optimism, in his joy and humor, in his courage, in his passion for what was good and right, and in his love for God and family and neighbor and country. Tony Snow did not need a long life for us to measure. It was, rather, we who needed his life to be longer."  It's a great homily and you can read the full text here.

Tony Snow will be missed.  He was a player in both politics and journalism--a great man has gone.  He leaves a legacy of good will in the hearts of both friends and foes.  Not a bad way to end a life of meaning and greatness--loved by friends, respected by enemies, and a model of how to live a good life.  Rest in Peace, Tony.  On our prayers, walk to heaven and see the God who has blessed you so much.  And don't worry, your kids and your wife will be fine.  Our prayers and support are with them as well.