Burn of the Day
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
When a priest or prelate peaks of faith and morals in an orthodox way, concretely or abstractly, he will have my support.
When he instead speaks of political opinion in ways that are supported by theological innovation, he will be greeted as a fellow citizen with whom I am quite free to disagree and whose flawed opinions may even deserve distain.
I must follow the pope when he speaks ex cathedra and in legitimate authority. It is permissible to call him out on maters in which a diversity of option are allowed, from the speed of Fulton Sheen’s canonization to the quality of Church finance. Catholicism was never meant to be a blind faith, especially not a blind faith in men.
Amen, BO, and Donald, both well said. I can’t do any better.
Prof. Kwasniewski wrote an excellent pair of short books on the recent phenomenon of what he calls “Hyperpapalism.” Highly recommended.
Waal, I was recently in an online discussion with a self-identified Franciscan who called the prime minister of Israel a ‘war criminal’ and cited the International Criminal Court, like he has any clue about how to actually fight a war of any kind.