Monday, July 20, 2020

Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral in Nantes burns

And it doesn't look like the arsonists even tried to hide the fact that it was arson.  Why would they?  The war on the West and, more broadly, the war on Christ has begun in earnest.  Powerful forces are arrayed against it - corporate interests, political interests, the popular culture and news media, most education systems.  And, as can be expected, many believers are finding ways to justify siding with the forces against Christ, life and freedom rather than risk being the targets of the SJWSS.  So expect more flagrant attacks in the future.  And as Turkey has demonstrated with jumping on the bandwagon and shutting out Christians from the Hagia Sophia, expect a growing number of those from outside historical Christian civilization to jump on the bandwagon.  Some outside cultures, after all, have been waiting for centuries to make this move.  It took the modern generation of Westerners and Christians to make it possible.

UPDATE:  So I went on a little hunt across the world of Catholic Twitter, just to see.  I visited several high profile Catholics, including (but not limited to) Fr. James Martin, Dawn Eden, Deacon Greydanus, as well as other well known wags like Jimmy Akin, Mark Shea and Scott Eric Alt.  Guess what?  Not a single mention of this.  Not one.  In fairness, a couple hadn't updated their Twitter for a day or so.  Others, such as Fr. Martin, had copious tweets celebrating John Lewis.  Others who had posted today had much about Trump, the evil Feds, racists in America, Covid-19 and masks, and of course one celebrating a black Communist activist.  But nothing so far about this, the latest in a line of attacks and destruction aimed at Catholics and the Catholic faith.  Just FWIW.   In the olden days, we used to say we always make time for our priorities.  The absence of mentioning something doesn't mean much, if looking at a single person or outlet.  But when you look across multiple platforms from multiple individuals, and the same major story is missing, while other similar stories are emphasized, that says much.

UPDATE II: I've had several point out that Pope Francis has not spoken to this yet.  I don't know time zones, and it can take a few for the Pope to come out, even in the face of huge global catastrophes.  Since I don't know the papal time frames, or time zones, or whatnot, charity demands I assume it's no big deal and he'll speak to it in a timely manner.  The first update was pointing out that, across multiple Twitter (and other) outlets from multiple people known to jump on things and post regularly, I saw nothing at all about this.  Perhaps by now some have commented.  I'm not going to keep watch.  So that's the difference.  If several days pass and nothing is from the pope - which I can't really imagine - that would be a thing.  But I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt at this point.

UPDATE III:  For fairness and charity sake, I went back to these and other sites and twitter feeds (which I'm able to access thanks to a little end-run I was notified of) to see if anyone had mentioned the burning of this famous and celebrated Catholic cathedral.  As of now, nope.  Now not everyone has updated their blogs or twitter feeds since it happened.  So fair is fair.  But of those who have - including Fr. Martin - not a jot or tittle.  When you side with a movement becoming increasingly hate filled, violent, destructive, racist, bigoted and self-righteously intolerant, the most you can do is ignore these things.  Eventually, however, you'll begin to justify and defend them.  Finally, you'll be at the head of the torchlight processionals, goosestepping around the bonfires, and marching those problematic types to the camps where they belong.  Be warned.

Oh, and still no word from Pope Francis. He's still within that grace period, owing to the slow response time of the Vatican in most things.  But that grace period is shrinking, and if nothing is said, then see UPDATE III above.

3 comments:

  1. Normally, I assume nothing about things a person hasn't commented on, but Shea does it all the time, regularly lambasting anyone else who does not comment on whatever has got his dander up at the very moment. I also know he and his commentariat never bother to go check anybody they are critiquing to actually see if a comment has been made.

    So this time? I say judge him as he judges others. And Mark Shea is perfectly ok with burning churches. How bad is the age we live in where I can find more vigorous defenses of the Catholic church from secular non-believers than a self-styled evangelist. With friends like these, why does the church need enemies? (And you extended him far more courtesy than he extends others)

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    1. Again, I wouldn't single any one out - though Mark deserves a bit of his own medicine - but I thought someone somewhere would have said something. This shouldn't be a small thing, especially given what so many do comment on (the Portland feds, or the latest Trump, or some Conservative covid reaction). So while I hold no one to the fire, I would think out of a fair list of Catholics we'd have at least someone saying something.

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    2. Oh, and Mark has more or less defended, or at least dismissed concern for, the destroying of statues and attacks on churches. He pulls the old 'it ain't evil if done for a righteous cause' argument. Which, anyone who read Mark a dozen years ago, should certainly ponder.

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