American Catholicism's Pact with the 'Devil'

Stalwart · Mar 4, 2012

This is a somewhat a political article, yet fascinating nonetheless:

In the 1930s, the majority of the bishops, priests, and nuns sold their souls to the devil, and they did so with the best of intentions. In their concern for the suffering of those out of work and destitute, they wholeheartedly embraced the New Deal. They gloried in the fact that Franklin Delano Roosevelt made Frances Perkins – a devout Anglo-Catholic laywoman who belonged to the Episcopalian Church but retreated on occasion to a Catholic convent – Secretary of Labor and the first member of her sex to be awarded a cabinet post. And they welcomed Social Security – which was her handiwork. They did not stop to ponder whether public provision in this regard would subvert the moral principle that children are responsible for the well-being of their parents. They did not stop to consider whether this measure would reduce the incentives for procreation and nourish the temptation to think of sexual intercourse as an indoor sport. They did not stop to think.
In the process, the leaders of the American Catholic Church fell prey to a conceit that had long before ensnared a great many mainstream Protestants in the United States – the notion that public provision is somehow akin to charity – and so they fostered state paternalism and undermined what they professed to teach: that charity is an individual responsibility and that it is appropriate that the laity join together under the leadership of the Church to alleviate the suffering of the poor. In its place, they helped establish the Machiavellian principle that underpins modern liberalism – the notion that it is our Christian duty to confiscate other people’s money and redistribute it.

At every turn in American politics since that time, you will find the hierarchy assisting the Democratic Party and promoting the growth of the administrative entitlements state. At no point have its members evidenced any concern for sustaining limited government and protecting the rights of individuals. It did not cross the minds of these prelates that the liberty of conscience which they had grown to cherish is part of a larger package – that the paternalistic state, which recognizes no legitimate limits on its power and scope, that they had embraced would someday turn on the Church and seek to dictate whom it chose to teach its doctrines and how, more generally, it would conduct its affairs.

I would submit that the bishops, nuns, and priests now screaming bloody murder have gotten what they asked for. The weapon that Barack Obama has directed at the Church was fashioned to a considerable degree by Catholic churchmen. They welcomed Obamacare. They encouraged Senators and Congressmen who professed to be Catholics to vote for it.
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http://ricochet.com/main-feed/American-Catholicism-s-Pact-With-the-Devil

Anna Scott · Mar 25, 2012

I think the charge of Catholics selling their souls to the devil is rather extreme; and actually quite offensive.

Stalwart · Mar 26, 2012

Sorry I didn't mean for it to be inflamatory, that was just the title of the article itself.

The main point was that Catholics originally had sold themselves to the ideal of a heavy-handed state dominating private affairs, in favor of Catholic goals of course.

And now, having encouraged their creation, they are suffering from its consequences when it turned against them (mandating abortion on them, etc).

Anna Scott · Mar 26, 2012

Stalwart said: ↑

Sorry I didn't mean for it to be inflamatory, that was just the title of the article itself.

The main point was that Catholics originally had sold themselves to the ideal of a heavy-handed state dominating private affairs, in favor of Catholic goals of course.

And now, having encouraged their creation, they are suffering from its consequences when it turned against them (mandating abortion on them, etc).
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I just wanted to make sure this is not going to be another forum prone to bashing Catholics or other faiths.

Anna

Stalwart · Mar 26, 2012

My personal perspective is that while I disagree with Catholicism on a whole host of issues, it is not my intention to demonize them. I can recognize that the article's title sounds like the old Protestant polemics of centuries ago.

This subject matter deals specifically with the 20th century, and specifically with America; where Catholics brought a continental love for State domination, when they immigrated from Europe. They helped generate the omnipotent State in America (thinking it would be on the side of their values), and now have all their cherished ideals be crucified by it, when it has turned atheistical.

halleluia · Mar 26, 2012

Stalwart said: ↑

Sorry I didn't mean for it to be inflamatory, that was just the title of the article itself.
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It's very easy to go overboard with such statements, protestants had extremely harsh things to say about Rome, historically... And Rome had enormously harsh accusations on its end..

Gordon · Mar 26, 2012

Actually the buck stops with us all...

All my life I have been inclusive of all belief systems, for a very long time I was an interfaith minister... If this forum did turn into another faith bashing forum I would not bother to hang around either. That said my take on the article was as Stalwart said 'the Church made its bed now it has to lie in it' and not as a article to knock the Church in any way.

Anna Scott · Mar 27, 2012

Stalwart said: ↑

My personal perspective is that while I disagree with Catholicism on a whole host of issues, it is not my intention to demonize them. I can recognize that the article's title sounds like the old Protestant polemics of centuries ago.

This subject matter deals specifically with the 20th century, and specifically with America; where Catholics brought a continental love for State domination, when they immigrated from Europe. They helped generate the omnipotent State in America (thinking it would be on the side of their values), and now have all their cherished ideals be crucified by it, when it has turned atheistical.
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Stalwart,
I understand the point of the article, but we cannot ignore our own Anglican history and its ties to socialism--as described in 'The Mass and the Masses': Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Catholic Socialism, by Bethany Kilcrease, Assistant Professor at Aquinas College. Link: http://aquinas.academia.edu/Bethany...s_Nineteenth-Century_Anglo-Catholic_Socialism. You can find many articles by searching Church of England and Socialism.

Also, can we really rely upon individuals to take care of the destitute, the sick, and the disabled within their own families, much less the rest of our society? Christians do help and minister; but can we, as Christians and private citizens, fund all these needs? Many people are suffering now, even with the help of government and Christian and other private organizations. I just don't think we can trust the voluntary charity of the "individual." If we could, the government would not need to intervene.

Peace,
Anna

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American Catholicism's Pact with the 'Devil'

Stalwart Well-Known Member Anglican

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