For it has certain tendencies inherent in it which are, in themselves, by no means in our favour. We may hope for a good deal of cruelty and unchastity. But, if we are not careful, we shall see thousands turning in this tribulation to the Enemy, while tens of thousands who do not go so far as that will nevertheless have their attention diverted from themselves to values and causes which they believe to be higher than the self. I know that the Enemy disapproves many of these causes. But that is where He is so unfair. He often makes prizes of humans who have given their lives for causes He thinks bad on the monstrously sophistical ground that the humans thought them good and were following the best they knew.
CS Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
[…] AleteiaCatholic Church Celebrates Soldier-Turned-Bishop St. Martin of Tours on Nov. 11 – CNASoldiers of Christ – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American CatholicSt. Martin of Tours – and Rabbit […]
Gotta love our military chaplains. Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capadonno posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism with the marines in Viet-nam. There has been one miracle, healing a FL woman of MS.
The following quoted paragraph makes me see red! Did anyone on that Vatican panel read his MOH citation and understand what it takes to spiritually care for marines on and off the battlefield? Fr. Capadonno in the midst of a fierce battle gave last rites to the wounded and dying. He was wounded in the hand, arms and legs but he refused medical evacuation in order to still care for marines. He died along side of a navy corpsman and his marines.
“In 2022, a Vatican advisory panel recommended suspending the sainthood cause, evidently concerned that Capodanno’s heroism reflected the battlefield more than religion, and that his cause was being led by the American military more than the Maryknoll religious order. The Capodanno Guild and the current postulator Nicola Gori began working to overcome the objections, and the Guild’s chairman reported that Archbishop Broglio was appointing a three-member historical commission to document Capodanno’s pre-military life and spirituality in greater detail.”
A very interesting comment up above from CS Lewis. Can someone give me the context of that particular quote? I’m familiar with the book, but still can’t quite determine who exactly is speaking here. Thank you.
Ok, nevermind, thank you, I was able to find its context online. It’s indeed Screwtape speaking. I’m not so sure how I feel about this perspective.
“He [God] often makes prizes of humans who have given their lives for causes He thinks bad on the monstrously sophistical ground that the humans thought them good and were following the best they knew.”
Does He, really? Or do we just like to think that He does?
Does He, really? Or do we just like to think that He does?
It’s a deep and complicated question. Would Christ have revealed himself to Saul if his persecution of the Church had not been done with pure motives? The particular Judgment of each of us doubtless will take into consideration many factors.
Fr. Capodanno was undoubtedly heroic, and his MOH was very deservingly bestowed. The main question with the Servant of God lies rather with his life before becoming a Navy chaplain.
I know his Postulator and have read his surprisingly short biography of Fr. Capodanno. There were unanswered questions–at least in the biography–concerning his heroic virtue. One was his apparent resistance, on one occasion, to his superiors’ orders until they gave in and assigned him where he wished to go. The other question was the matter of rashness about going into the “kill zone” against the usual SOP. Was it motivated by the Gift of Fortitude or was it more of a “death-wish”? That should have been thoroughly examined.
I know it’s not a popular view to take–especially considering the kind of men in the Vatican who would be opposed to his cause–but in any worthy canonization, those questions should have been dealt with thoroughly before introducing his cause. Most Saints (in the good old days) had massive biographies written by the Postulator or his assistants, and every conceivably questionable action or word was examined in detail, not brushed off as “unimportant” or “self-evident.”
(If only the same kind of scrutiny had been applied to Paul VI or, dare I say it, John Paul II.)
Yes, it is very complicated Mr. McClarey.
Your point re Saul is well taken, but then again we have so much more to go on than Saul did; For starters we have fuller understanding of the ‘grace and truth’ of the Gospels, we have 2000 years of Church teaching/doctrine, and.. we have Fatima.
This Lewis quote has gotten under my skin, from the very first sentence, which could be used from any position, to soften any error (its tone sounds like something out of Fiducia Supplicans). It reads less like the authentic voice of the character Screwtape, and more like the voice of the author himself presenting a case for the culture of war and the fog under which that culture exists. And I find myself rejecting that perspective, viscerally. I don’t want to be mollified, I don’t want to think that we’re just ‘following the best we knew’. I want to be open to my own ‘Road to Damascus’ epiphany, as painful and gradual as it might be. I want to take the hit, both personally and collectively on behalf of humanity. “Forgive us Lord, we have failed you, yet again, in a very big way!” And I think this might be exactly how Our Lady wants me to feel. And hopefully many others as well. This quote has provided great additional insight into the whole idea of Our Lady’s request for “reparations”, “praying for the conversion of sinners”, and “Penance, penance, penance!”