If you want to read a cross sample of very typical American anti-Catholic attitudes check out the comments on this article about a Catholic school with families in financial crisis.
The interesting thing about the new anti-Catholicism in America is how it is no longer just your run of the mill “The Pope is the archpriest of Satan and the great anti-Christ” Protestant bigotry; now the anti Catholicism has a nasty, ignorant, secular, atheistic ring to it.
But of course. The left made rabid anti-Semitism fashionable again. The logical next step …
Hmmm. I see more of an ignorant “education is a commodity” theme there, more so than anti-Catholic sentiment (whether old-fashioned or new-fangled). Most of the rock throwers (errr . . . commenters) seemed to have absolutely no clue as to why someone would want a Christian or more specifically, a Catholic-based education for their children. Seems that when times get tough, many believe that our priorities ought to shift away from “nice to haves” like religious education and focus on the basic “needs” of education. This trend of stripping society of its faith-based foundation is very troubling.
This is, sadly, now typical, as you note. At least when Bibliolatrists used to spew their paranoid fantasies about the Church, that kind of madness could be seen for what it was, could be pinpointed and quarantined in soome respects. This bilge is more diaphanous, chaotic…demonic, if you will. Much tougher to combat. This is a pervasive mood, a violent malevolence and malaise springing from the decline and self-loathing of an entire culture (ours!), resulting in this aimless, drive-by hatred for all that may be perceived as substantially “Good” and celebration of what is superficially self-serving. That’s the new “Good.” Too, there’s the inability to distinguish good from evil along with the confusion of these two things. Your entire “On my Head” theme has never been more apropos, and let us not forget the words of the prophet, “…and sadness will come to those who call evil ‘good’ and good ‘evil’, who present darkness as light and light as darkness, who present as sweetness only the things which are bitterness.” And it all comes from the bowels of Leftist secular humanism, attendant moral relativism, and too much unfiltered information too quickly in the hands of too many genuinely stupid people. To a lesser extent, the problem comes from Catholics who’ve been too apathetic to do much to counter it, or who didn’t bother/care to worry about it as a dangerous force when it was on the upswing. But all Christians will be contending with it in due course.Other than that, the Beastliness probably comes from Angelina Jolie. She’s bound to have some apocalyptic role in all this. Right?Well, prayer and vigilance is the answer, friends. And aspirin. Lots.
I always cringe as I read comments from posts on publications of major news media and newspapers. You never know what the comments will bring, usually tripe and always spewing hate-filled messages about the Church and Catholicism, but ever anything polite or positive. Usually the Catholics who respond are in defensive mode and have to correct all the errors and misinformation that gets tossed out.
So. I’m not being paranoid when I explain to my 6th graders how they will encounter real anti-Catholicism when they get older, if they haven’t already.
Read “The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice” by Philip Jenkins. He’s got some unusual theological ideas, especially lately, but a lot of his books are excellent and this is one. It’s a little chilling to see so much evidence in one place, and the book is not at all sensational.He has a great book on the history of the way child abuse, particularly sex abuse against children, has been perceived in this country (“A Moral Panic”). It throws a lot of light on why the abuse scandal in the Church turned out the way it did — not just because of what happened, but also because of the way child abuse is perceived now and the very different way it was perceived in the 60s and 70s.
I don’t understand why they think the Catholic Church is rich? These commentors claim the Catholic Churches have tons of money and the Vatican’s coffers are overflowing…Why do we give the impression we got money?
I’ve never really understood if there is a problem in thinking or regarding “education as a commodity.” I regard knowledge almost like money: some people accumulate it, others are ‘poor’ in it and others just don’t care and are blissfully ignorant.