Mark Shea swings and misses

He gets that both Feinstein's and Bannon's outbursts represent a path no Catholic should take.  I don't care for Catholics airing their grievances with Church leadership on such a public platform.  Didn't like it under the previous popes, don't like it now. But Mark glosses over the manifold sins of the Left to turn all attention on sins, imagined and real, on the Right.

The fact is, Feinstein represents a growing, and popular, viewpoint.  This is just what Sanders said.  This is what CAIR endorsed. This is what the media mentioned, shuffled its feet with, then brushed aside.  This was the demand that Robert Bentley publicly apologize for his beliefs about the Gospel.  This is the old battles fought when The Passion of the Christ was released. This is the view of the Left, and those groups outside of the Christian Faith who find common cause with the Left.  America has a new gospel - non-Christian liberalism - and all will convert or face the consequences.

Bannon, on the other hand, merely echoed a view that was held for years, and by people across the board.  When the Church began floating its latest recent crusade for open border immigration - which is what it is, any attempts to do anything restricting or regulating immigration is smacked down - many critics, including on the Left, accused it of using immigration to deflect from the abuse scandal and boost its numbers.  I remember that well, since I was just coming into the Church at that time.

He also questions the apparent disregard for national security and concern for those living in the United States. As a non-liberal, he wonders about the Church's growing lack of concern for American citizens who aren't working the fields, the tech firms, and going to Harvard while so many illegally here are doing just that.  But even then, his view is hardly a universal view among conservative Christians, many of whom openly reject Bannon as a viable voice.

Feinstein, however, echoes the view of millions.  Not just Catholic, but of Americans in general.  Millions who join with Bernie Sanders, CAIR, and others who say it's time for traditional Christians to stop thinking they deserve the same rights in this country as those who follow the true gospel of the non-Christian Left.  Many who cheer the HHS mandate.  Many who heartily believe that all who enter the public forum should be compelled to accept liberal morality or else.

Feinstein is hardly a freakish fluke. Hers is one voice in a growing chorus on the Left.  Bannon is not loved on the Right, and merely asks questions that Catholics in good faith are asking, albeit in a forum I feel was inappropriate.  Feinstein represents a threat to religious liberty, and so freedom in general.  Bannon questions the disdain for American welfare and security behind the modern immigration conversation.  You choose.  Mark has.  But is it the wise choice?