Monday, February 20, 2012

Jesuit On Democratic Totalitarianism

Catholicism, much to its surprise, suddenly finds itself in the eye-sight of the absolute state because it is now the remaining body of reasoning that articulately opposes this power extension into all aspects of human life. No one should be fooled into thinking that a democratic totalitarianism is not possible. It is in fact happening before our very eyes. It will be very smooth and enticing. It will reward those who assist it along the way.
What is thus of particular interest is the way that administration spokesmen use dissident Catholics to play off Catholics against the hierarchy. 
The U.S. bishops have become remarkably alert to the threat against its public institutions in a way that many self-announced Catholic politicians, universities, hospitals, and publicists have not. The fact is that those Catholic sources that support the administration’s move can anticipate reward on the condition that they serve to justify doctrinally what is going on in the name of “democratizing” Catholicism. 
Link (here) to the full article by Fr. James Schall, S.J. at The Catholic World Report

4 comments:

Maria said...

" It is remarkable that when the authority of God is obscured or denied, mankind falls back rapidly upon a totalitarianism that runs roughshod over the claims of individual conscience".

--The Catholic Catechism by John Hardon SJ

mark said...

With the Affordable Health Care Initiative pushing the employer provided insurance onto the federal, there is now a challenge for Catholic Insitutions (and others private )in claiming their rights of belief in the denial of contraception/abortion services because of religous convictions.

As it now stands, private institutions are liable for prosecution if they deny insurane covering the above.

We can expect some rabble-rousing litigation I expect, with both sides accusing the other of totalitatian tactics

Douglas Andrew Willinger said...

The same drug "laws" worldwide:

cigarettes and alcohol legal and with a sweetheart exemption from basic labeling requirements of the ingredients.

MJ, Coca leaf and Opium "illegal" yet safer, yet the latter two are perverted into concentrated cocaine and heroin.

And this is so even as these "laws" are supposedly for public health?

Yes, we already have 'democratic totalitarianism'

http://continuingcounterreformation.blogspot.com/2008/07/roman-catholic-church-cocaine.html

And Rome is Satan's world government.

Anonymous said...

okay, we don't live in an absolutist state.

Would Padre Hardon have our large and diverse society follow "the authority of God"? That sounds very totalitarian to me