The Triumph of Biden-Accommadationist-Catholic-Progressivism

Not the inauguration of Biden, but his reception of Holy Communion that preceeded it, brought the Culture War within the Catholic Church to a new place. Over 50 years into this War, things are getting much hotter. We have had a parade of pro-abortion Catholics already: the Kennedys, Cuomos, Kerrys, and Pelosis; but none like Joe. He markets himself as a model Catholic: rosary-praying, mass-attending, nun-loving, social-justice-living, down-to-earth, ordinary, working-class guy. By any standard he is a good guy: likeable, good-natured, charming. In God's eyes he may be very pleasing: it is not for us to judge his heart. But his actions are militantly anti-Catholic: he will fight for tax-sponsored abortions (our money!), for tax-sponsored exportation of abortion, for the Little Sistrs of the Poor to pay for contraception, for Catholic agencies to place our orphan girls with two gay men, for the cancelation of traditional Catholi morality as homophobic, oppressive of women, and hateful. In a fine essay (https://www.crisismagazine.com/2021/biden-the-bishops-and-the-new-face-of-catholicism), Monica Miller points out that with the blessing of Cardinal Gregory, Biden becomes the most influential Catholic in the USA, and possibly the world. His shameless, ostentatious reception of Holy Communion from the Cardinal announced to the entire world that one can crusade fiercely against the Catholic teaching on unborn life, sexuality, gender and marriage and still be a great guy, a model Catholic, a veritable altar boy! Ross Douthat (NY Times Jan. 24, 2021) notes that with Biden Progressive Catholicism becomes our singular dominant civil religion. He notes the unusual number of Catholics in positions of power and recalls the early 20th century hegemony of mainline Protestantism as well as erratic patterns of the last 50 years. Ross might agree, however, to call this phenomena "Catholic Progressivism" rather than Progressive Catholicism because in substance this ideology is a clear renunciation of clear Catholic teaching on all key issues: value of powerless-innocent life, sex, marriage, family, authority and tradition. Such "catholicism" embraces the Cultural Liberalism of Western Elites but flavors it with a sentimental piety: Joe clutching his rosaries and nostalgic about the nuns. George Weigel (https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/01/archbishop-jos-gomez-a-profile-in-episcopal-courage) gives us hope: the American bishops agreed that an inflection point has been reached with the Biden presidency. The stern inaugaraion letter on abortion from Archbishop Gomez, (over the objections of Cardinals Cupich and Tobin and incontrast to the dull Vatican letter) apparently expresses the episcopal concensus. The next move is a bishops' decision on communion for pro-aborts. The battle lines are clearly drawn: Cupich/Tobin/Gregory (the accomadaters) stand against Chaput/Gomez (the Catholic Resistance.) This is not new: In 2004 then-Cardinal McCarrick presided over the bishops argument over giving communion to pro-abortion politicians. Cardinal Ratzinger (with his usual precision and clarity) wrote a letter to him and then-Bishop-now-Cardinal Gregory, after conferring with his collegues at the Congregation for the octrine of the Faith.(https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/worthiness-to-receive-holy-communion-general-principles-2153)It explicitly directed the bishops to refuse communion to a politician who persists, after instruction, in public advocacy for legal abortion. This would apply also to a citizen who voted for someone because of the support for such. This letter carried heavy weight: from the head of the Congregation who happens to be himself the greatest living Catholic theologian. McCarrick (with Gregory's obvious collusion) boldly lied to the assembled bishops: he kept the letter secret and said Ratzinger left the decision up to the bishops' pastoral discretion. Ratzinger had actually stated that denial of communion is "obligatory for the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia." The shamelessness of McCarrick and Gregory is simply breathtaking! The choice is simple, flawlessly binary: - Between Ratzinger and McCarrick; between Gregory/Cupich/Tobin and Gomez/Chaput. - Between reverence for the Eucharist, the slaughtered innocents, and the Body-Bride of Christ and triple-desecration of the same. - Between fidelity to our Faith and capitulation to the Cultural Revoluton. Cardinal Gregory in giving Holy Communion to this abortion militant, who seems to have fooled even himself that he is Catholic, becomes a sycophant. In this act our episcopacy self-castrates and empties itself of all paternal authority. It becomes sterile, emasculated, impotent: increasingly resembling the eunuchs to whom ancient monarchs entrusted their harems because they were weak, neutered, harmless, void of all virility. This is not politics: this is about the identity, interiority, form of Catholicism. Stradling this issue, as many do in confusion with good intentions, is about as viable as it was in Virginia in 1860, in Spain in 1934, in France in 1942. May our American episcopacy be blessed with more like Gomez and Ratzinger who have the courage, clarity, and reverence of their Catholic convictions! May we be cleansed of the McCarrick legacy of deceit, infidelity, capitulation, emasculation and sterility!