If you’ve been following matters on this blog, you will have
noticed the uniformly positive comments on the recent publication of “Pope
Francis and the Just Third Way” in Homiletic
and Pastoral Review this past Saturday.
Now, we know what you’re thinking.
We’ve only been telling you about the positive comments and ignoring the
negatives.
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| "Bummer. They didn't like it as much as I did." |
You know something?
You’re right. The problem is that
we’ve gotten dozens of positive comments, but only three negative ones — and
they weren’t substantive. In fact, we’ll
summarize them here:
1. One reader loved the article,
but didn’t like the term “Just Third Way.”
That’s okay. It’s a matter of
opinion. And you’ve got to admit that
“Just Third Way” is an easier handle than “What Those Guys At CESJ Are Talking
About That Isn’t Socialism But Isn’t Capitalism Either And Since I Don’t
Understand It I’ll Just Call It Socialism If I’m A Capitalist And Capitalism If
I’m A Socialist.”
2. Another reader also loved the
article, but didn’t accept the explanation of the three principles of economic
justice. That’s okay, too. It wasn’t the main point of the article, and
we’re willing to discuss matters. At
least the reader was open and honest with the comment. That’s much easier to deal with than people
who talk behind your back and make vague comments that are impossible either to
prove or refute.
3. This one’s a “twofer,” but it
came from one reader, so we’re counting it as one negative. It wasn’t all that negative. First, he said he didn’t understand all of
it. That’s fine. In that case, get a little more specific, and
we can get back to you with more explanation if you’re serious . . . and really
tick you off if you’re not serious, but just trying to find something
wrong. Then he said he didn’t like the
comparison of Pope Francis with Leo XIII.
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| "No comparison? Why, we're practically twins! We even dress alike!" |
Well, if he didn’t like the comparison of Pope Francis with
Leo XIII in “Pope
Francis and the Just Third Way,” he’s going to hate the article published
yesterday on Catholic365: “Putting
Pope Francis in Perspective.”
How’s that for a
segue?
We won’t say too much about the article here, because we
want you to read it for yourself (just
follow the link — we put it in more than once so you can’t miss it), and
possibly browse through the other articles on the site. Also, they don’t pay contributors in cash
money. Instead, they promote the
author’s writings which — hopefully — increases cash sales of books and
articles. So every time you take an article
and share or tweet or whatever it is you do in social media, you’re helping not
just the author you like, but all the other starvingartists published on the
site.
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| "C'mon, guys, be reasonable!" |
The point of “Putting
Pope Francis in Perspective” is that all the criticism we’re seeing of Pope
Francis is really nothing new. Frankly
(sorry, but we couldn’t resist that one), spewing out ill-considered and just
plain loony criticisms of the pope has been a hobby of a lot of people,
Catholic and non-Catholic, for quite some time.
 |
| "Popeye? Next Tuesday." |
Not surprisingly, the criticism invariably comes from people
who base their understanding of the Catholic Church on faith instead of reason,
and are upset when the current incumbent fails to live up to the image they
have created in their own minds. Of
course, the fact that the critics can’t live up to their own high standards is
a subject that truly polite people don’t raise.
As Popeye the Sailor used to say, “It’s embarrasking” — but we can’t stands no more.
The whole anti-Francis frenzy is something that needs a
little more attention.
But not today. Read
our articles and spread them around.
#30#