Vatican throws wet blanket on U.S. bishops who want to deny Biden Communion

Vatican throws wet blanket on U.S. bishops who want to deny Biden Communion 

Bravo to the Prefect, although I suspect those who would deny Biden Eucharist are now hopping mad. Expect quiet condemnation from them and public condemnation from the Catholic Republican Press. 

One correction, the problem is not that the bishops mentioned are conflating the Church with the pro-life movement. They are conflating the Church with not only the Republican Party, but also with Donald Trump. I wonder how the frequent Mass attendees will react to this - or to the imminent prosecution and bankruptcy of their hero (which is essential for the survival of the Republican Party or one like it).

When the Conference serenely discusses the issue (why can I not stop laughing), they need to be quietly but forcefully informed of the nature of Constitutional Law on this issue, as well as the need to pursue economic means to end the need for abortion (and even contraception). The interesting fact is that in most nations, abortion limits are allowed by the basic law, so what the bishops suggest may be appropriate. They are not appropriate in the United States.

ADDENDUM:

The reality is that these bishops were not concerned so much with abortion as with the fact that Biden was defying their Republican views on how to end it. They were defending their Authority, not the unborn. They still believed that the Americanist heresy (that a society with freedom of thought need not be expected to obey the hierarchy in all things) must be fought. 

Since Vatican II and Dignitatis Humanae, freedom of thought is the rule, not the evil. These bishops hate that idea. Francis essentially told them to shove it. Also, Francis has ended the idea of the infallible Magisterium by simply never using the term We when he writes. A subtle change that means everything.

What if prominent Catholics guest-hosted 'Jeopardy!'?

What if prominent Catholics guest-hosted 'Jeopardy!'? 

Sounds like a Facebook list app.

The GOP, the big lie and the Avignon papacy

The GOP, the big lie and the Avignon papacy 

Otherwise reasonable people look the other way on Trump's foibles because they like his tax policies and love what he has done on appointing pro-life judges. The 6th Circuit has changed its mind on Down's Syndrome Abortions, largely because of Trump and McConnell. 

The only way to peel right to lifer's off of Trump is to utterly defeat the idea that the unborn will ever have legal protection outside of Biden's increased child tax credits. This is hard sell, as when support for the right to life is like support for puppies. True believers will not listen to the constitutional realities on abortion - which they consider legalese. Until an effort is made, however, Trump can do no wrong.

Trump voters have been programmed to believe that Trump was a successful executive and the real media are lying about his history of failure. They certainly don't believe him to be a Russian agent and until Federal prosecutors follow the money, they won't.  Some of the Trump fans believe that Nixon was railroaded, so he will always have core support. If Rudy and Donnie go to jail as Russian spies, there may be hope for the GOP.

The GOP's Avignon will be Lincoln Project and Bush Republicans. Many of these have left the party, except when it is time to vote. Given a reasonable conservative agenda, the GOP may survive. Without one, the neo-liberal wing of the Democratic Party is the only refuge. Tax simplification, an honest discussion of who holds the debt and who must pay it back, doubling down on family income an anti-Putin foreign policy could do the trick. The fact that John Kasich is tweeting up a storm should be a clue that the GOP may still have some life in it.

Links: Corporations and politics; reuniting families; the 'big lie' continues

Links: Corporations and politics; reuniting families; the 'big lie' continues 

If campaign finance is speech, then care must be taken to what is being said. The irony is that the new restrictions on mail-in voting are the GOP shooting itself in the foot. Great fun.

Unions need to focus on better toys. Before they put a big present under the tree, they need better stocking stuffers. When an Amazon worker makes $15 an hour and gets educational benefits, they will gladly work harder for the money. Labor could report bad conditions to OSHA, but workers may not see this as a friendly act. If subsidiarity beat tribalism, the Church would be all in on allowing birth control.

The current reunions make it easier to deport people whose asylum claims go south. Then families have harder decisions to make. The answer is reform more than administrative action.

I would take the award, take the money, donate it to the resistance and publish a blistering review of UAE's repression. It is much more fun than boycotting.

Ryan practically created the Freedom Caucus. Why in the world would anyone think he would be disloyal to it?

The key to any revolution is to make the oppressor overstep. It radicalizes the populace. The proper counterfactual in the revolutionary war is the British giving out cash and prizes for colonies abandoning the United States. That, and defying orders in 1781 and retaking the country after the Army disbanded. Thirteen simultaneous shows of force, including hangings, would have also worked. In civil war, whomever is patient, wins.

Catholics behaving badly: Part 2

Catholics behaving badly: Part 2 

These prelates are best ignored, although they are an interesting study in cultural theory. They are behaving as authoritarians. Their behavior is predictable, not bad. It also explains their support for Trump. That they share Trump's misogyny is a bonus for them. Will their faith be shaken if Trump is shown to be a Putin asset? That is the question of the decade. The irony, of course, is that MSW is as pro-life as his group of horribles. No wonder his criticism is so biting.

Links: Denying election results; Giuliani's legal troubles; GOP support growing in Texas

Links: Denying election results; Giuliani's legal troubles; GOP support growing in Texas 

WITF is making an inference on whether members were in the loop rather than following the herd. It is an important distinction that the Ethics Committee needs to investigate. The same is true with continuing the Big Lie. If the GOP keeps going with this, there won't be a GOP. Even in Utah. Mitt's main fault is cander, although sometimes he needs to explain a bit better. He is definitely in the Bush wing of the Party, which is the best long-term place to be.

Trump long ago went from being in the mob to being in the Russian mafia. He is now a Russian asset. The Big Lie originates in Moscow, not in the sick mind of Trump. Rudy is his handler. When this becomes the narrative, will his minions still follow him or will they forget him? The best play for Romney and Trump is to start that conversation going.

I suspect that Latinas do not agree with the GOP on funs. That they follow the Republican Party line on abortion is the reason Biden needs to be bold in explaining why it is a lie. If he does not ignore that bit of demography, Texas will remain a Red State. He needs to join Mitt and George W. in calling the Big Lie a Moscow Meme.

Many people have had the virus and gotten well, have family that has or have been vaccinated. For them, the pandemic is no longer a big deal. Until their children start getting sick, they will continue down that road.

Iowa, oddly enough, has the best pizza (or at least the best chain). Happy Joe's! Basso Nova is the best background music to work to, followed by Miles Davis. These are matters of aesthetics, which are very personal (or very tribal). The line between aesthetics and ethics is clear in the classroom. It is not so clear in our brains or our culture (or the culture of the clergy).

Weaponizing the Eucharist: The bishops, not Biden, cause scandal

Weaponizing the Eucharist: The bishops, not Biden, cause scandal 

We should not tremble before the Eucharist. It is an act of oneness with God and each other that commemorates how God (Father, Son and Spirit) abandoned the Divine nature in the grief we experience our separation from God. The sacrifice of the cross was unitive, not vengeful. 

Naumann, Cordileone, Olmsted and Aquila should not be anyone's bishops. Cardinal Sean, call the Nuncio! Their problem with Biden is not abortion per se, it is submission to the conservative Catholic message (which is also ill-informed) on abortion and homoesxuallity. Biden needs to convince the bishops that they are wrong about the law and the moral issues (not the other way around). As for Canon Law, it governs people considered Canon's (bishops), not the faithful. Not Biden, not me, not MSW. Ratzinger's version of Canon Law is Catholic relativism. If it were not so pathetic, it would be funny.

Recent studies show that many are abandoning the Church due to the noise of MAGA Catholics. This is a problem for the hierarchy, not those leaving. How they can confirm this during a pandemic is curious. Still, the MAGA crown is all in on everything Trump. Again, Biden needs to call out the bishops for creating the condition where Republicanism and Catholicism are hand in glove. That they have been is the real scandal. That Biden won't do this is what is regrettable and not good for either the nation or the Church.