Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

[Mike Frentz <mfrentz AT bbn.com>]

Joseph,

I think it is difficult to understand what is going on based on the quality 
of reporting in the mainstream media (EWTN
is a good source for the "other" side -- which I believe to be balanced, i.e. 
an objective search for truth).

It is definitely a severe scandal for those individuals implicated, but *not 
for the Church*, per se. It was not a
failure of doctrine at all, but rather the failings of individuals (a very 
small minority of priests and the negligence
of a minority of bishops) who were grossly unfaithful to the Faith.  Not at 
all unforeseen (Luke 17:1, "Things that
cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they 
occur. It would be better for him if a
millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him 
to cause one of these little ones to
sin."), but rather it is a continual recurring theme in this (the fallen) 
world.  If you do happen think it is worse in
the RCC, read G.K. Chesterton's "Everlasting Man" for starters  -- it is an 
oft-repeated PC myth, peculiar to recent
times, that the world would be at all better off without "religion".  We're 
both spoiled and amnesiac.

Of course, I can "speak for Percy" only to the extent that he would answer as 
an orthodox Catholic (I'm certainly not an
expert on Percy, but in all that I've read he appears to be in concert with 
Rome -- much more so than the implicated
clergy).  This priestly scandal will actually be a long overdue blessing for 
the Church -- hopefully restoring the
backbone of American bishops to once again speak out against the warping of 
American culture (that JP II has forcefully
and consistently done) that leads to trivialization of human sexuality that, 
in turn, allows any semblance of what has
occurred to occur.

    There is a beauty in Catholic teaching that you won't find anywhere else. 
 It's not a matter of the Church being out
of touch with the real world; it's a matter of the real world being out of 
touch with the Church.  That's the beauty
that Percy discovered.  Truth is addicting.

    Paradoxically, this scandal actually bodes quite well indeed (despite the 
sensational press -- that part I think
Percy *would* love).

Best,
Mike








Joseph Cimino wrote:

>
>
>
>  I saw an interesting op-ed in the New York Times last week which stated 
> something to the effect that the "scandal" is
> not that priests are molesting children, but that the church has only just 
> now begun to acknowledge its existence. Has
> the Pope ignored this issue for so long, or is the Church so out of touch 
> with what goes on in the real world?
> Neither choice bodes well for the establishment.
>
>
>
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