Strange news that makes you think strange things...

[Michie]

Sometimes the news can appear to be just plain strange. Sometimes the point becomes clear on further reflection. Sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes it is clear that the figures in the story are missing the point altogether.

Just for fun, I’ve decided to compile ten examples of the strangeness of some very recent Catholic news:

1. Church mediates truce in Mexican drug-cartel conflict: There is no reason Church leaders shouldn’t attempt to protect public safety in cases like this, if they can. But at first glance the story appears bizarre. That the Church may be able to reduce murderous violence without being able to reduce the sins that underlie it is not really inconceivable in a topsy-turvy world. But the whole situation is just plain incongruous.
2. India’s bishops urge voters to keep country secular: This hardly sounds like a recipe for Christian perfection. But then Catholics constitute just 1.5 percent of India’s population, with Christians overall accounting for 2.3 percent. By contrast, India is 80% Hindu—a religion which is grotesquely, violently, and even demonically pagan. In other words, politics remains the art of the possible.
3. Vatican newspaper rues damage to ocean from Ghana’s dumping of used clothes: Yes, believe it or not, this is an ecological problem. But is this really a front-page story for the Pope’s own newspaper—overshadowing, as our story mentions, special coverage of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Perhaps this is why L’Osservatore Romano, under Pope Francis, offers us such an astonishing (using the word advisedly) Catholic witness….
4. End to celibacy could attract more men to priesthood: Cardinal Hollerich: While priestly celibacy is not mandated by God, it is a great clarifier for those who are confused about their vocations, and in fact even the Orthodox demand it of bishops. Surely the universal tradition of emphasizing the disadvantages of combining Matrimony with Holy Orders represents a kind of Divine value—an emphasis which at least cautions against conflicting commitments, however noble both may be. We must also ask why, when faith is weak in a particular culture, liberal prelates so frequently advocate for reduced demands. Indeed, based on some of his prior remarks about the outdated anthropology underlying the Church’s opposition to homosexuality, one may justly wonder if the Cardinal has other ways in mind of broadening the appeal of the priesthood.
5. Report: Cardinal calls for ‘permanent’ dialogue with Freemasons: To quote from my previous (and more strenuous) commentary (What happened to the Christianity of the apostles?), “Nowhere in Scripture…will you find a spirit of ‘dialogue’ except with those who had a serious interest in the truth. You will not find study groups set up to probe error for its vestiges of truth; nor will you find joint statements to emphasize where opposing groups agree so that they can disagree in peace.” Let’s just call this recommended reading!

Continued below.

Strange news that makes you think strange things...

Just for fun, I’ve decided to compile ten examples of the strangeness of some very recent Catholic news.

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