Some Catholic bloggers are seeing a growing trend in comments as on-line civility and Catholic values give way to a hostile arena. Why post such comments?
These Stone Walls ended 2010 with “My New Year’s Resolution About Gossip.” It makes a good prelude to this post about the tone of our comments on Catholic blogs. Even before the on-line world existed, I learned a lesson about how the lure of anonymity can make me forget who I am.
About 25 years ago, a little old lady pulled in front of me in heavy traffic on one of New England’s infamous rotaries. She just pulled into the rotary’s speeding traffic seemingly oblivious to everyone else. Once she got in front of me she slowed to about 20 miles per hour, trapping me behind her as cars zoomed by on both sides. Round and round we went, blocked into the middle lane because she did not know how to drive on a rotary.
Contrary to what you may have read in newspapers or on Bishop-Accountability, the worst failures of my priesthood – and my manhood – have been when I allow impatience to dictate who I am. It was summer. My window was rolled down. I was many miles from home, and I thought I had some anonymity. It was so frustrating being trapped in traffic behind this old lady that I shouted something angry – though not quite obscene. As a break in the traffic finally allowed me to pass her, I heard a high-pitched voice shout back, “I’m so sorry, Father!”
So much for anonymity! I felt just awful. I went one more time around the rotary, then came up behind her as she exited to a nearby grocery store. Once there, I approached her car, took her trembling hand in mine, and told her I was very sorry for my inexcusable impatience. “That’s okay, Father,” she said. “Everyone yells at me when I’m driving.”
But I’m not supposed to be one of them. I felt about two feet tall, and vowed that such a thing would never happen again. I didn’t even know why I had been in such an awful hurry. So I helped her shop, carried her groceries, and let her exploit the event for all it was worth.
Last March, “My Incendiary Blog Post On Catholic Civil Discourse” sparked some discussion about taking a higher road in the midst of a troubling trend in the Catholic online world: the fact that blog comments, especially on topics like “accused Catholic priests” often degrade into name-calling monologues instead of meaningful dialogues. Since then, the case of Father John Corapi has given many readers an example of what I meant.
My other post on Catholic civil discourse was “The Scandal of Catholic Abuse of the Catholic Abuse Scandal.” It gave some examples about how the scandal in the Catholic Church is often used for agendas that have nothing to do with truth, or justice, or even the protection of young people. So-called Catholic “reformers” on both the left and the right have used the pain of Catholic scandal for agendas of their own. Some on the left have exploited it to promote an identifiably American Catholic Church that mirrors the Episcopal church, advocating for little more then symbolic authority from Rome. Some on the right use the scandal to promote suspicion that the Church has capitulated far too much to the modern World. Some demand a purging of the priesthood that would be far more Calvinist than Catholic.
Both sides of that ideological divide promote a conclusion that Rome has misplaced Holy Orders in unworthy men – bishops and priests alike – who have not lived up to their standards. As I alluded in “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” I’ve been a priest for 29 years, most of them very rough years. But I’m still unclear about what makes me, or any man, worthy of priesthood. If you know men who are convinced they deserve to be priests, be wary of them. Such a belief is at the heart of clericalism, an attitude that has seriously harmed the Roman Catholic priesthood almost as much as the notion that priests are simply disposable employees “on the job,” one of the tragic consequences of zero tolerance and the U.S. bishops’ Dallas Charter.
WHO ARE YOU?
I believe the heart of the problem in our on-line exchanges is anonymity, and the reality that, online, I never have to look my opponent in the eye and see him or her as a fellow human being and Catholic. Since my two posts on Catholic civil discourse, I’ve waded deeper into the tidal pools of Catholic exchange online, though I do so as a blind man. I think most readers know by now that as a prisoner, I have no online access at all. I have never even seen These Stone Walls on a computer screen. Charlene Duline prints and mails my finished posts to me, so you see them many days before I do.
In part, at least, this is why writer, Ryan MacDonald referred to me as “A Voice in the Wilderness” in his review of These Stone Walls on Catholic Exchange. When I mail my typed posts to be scanned, it’s a little like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it into the sea. I never know whether it will make a splash or drift off unnoticed.
I cannot see any of the content of other blogs either, nor can I respond first hand to anything. Your comments are read to me, and Lavern West, a TSW reader in Cincinnati, prints and mails them to me each week. Snippets of comments on other Catholic blogs are sometimes mailed to me by other TSW readers, and some have even been about me. Most have been kind, reflecting open minds in the service of justice. A few have been bombs of judgement or ridicule dropped from the comfort zone of digital distance, a kind of anonymous cyber-bullying.
Elizabeth Scalia, who writes at The Anchoress blog, had a recent post about the Father John Corapi saga. It generated an enormous number of comments, but Ms. Scalia had to close the comments because of abuses. She explained that the comments descended into a nasty series of accusations and exchanges with some Catholics posting toxic remarks using multiple screen names, but all from the same IP addresses.
I found that to be interesting. Just days before, I had been told by someone who knows that people involved with one of the most vocal “victim-survivors” groups are using contrived on-line names to “seed” the internet with negative comments attacking priests who try to defend themselves. I was cautioned that a list of accused priests who vocally maintain their innocence has been compiled. These activists routinely Google the priests’ names, pick out Catholic blogs and writers who defend them, then target these blogs for a “comments campaign.”
Recently, the moderator of a grass-roots website formed to defend a falsely accused priest wrote that she was contacted by representatives of SNAP who demanded that she take the website down. When the priest’s supporters declined, SNAP leaders reportedly contacted the priest’s bishop demanding that he order the removal of this website. I urged the group not to cave into such bullying tactics. SNAP’s insistence on controlling information about falsely accused priests is more akin to tactics of the Third Reich than First Amendment rights.
I was the target of one of these campaigns when I published a post defending Father John Corapi’s right of defense. It wasn’t on These Stone Walls where we have a “Comments Policy” that is very clear. The comments were on another Catholic blog that re-printed my post. Most comments were fair and just, and many even tried to defend me, but two people – possibly even the same person – were determined to change the tone and have the last word. Every attempt at factual reason was countered with untrue and nasty comments. A friend who was defending me said it was like playing “Whack-a-Mole” at the local county fair. As soon as one untrue statement would get knocked down, another would quickly pop up in its place.
The experience was a lot like Elizabeth Scalia’s when she wrote about Father John Corapi. I learned later that some of the nastiest detractors had been writing from the same IP address. This all drew the attention of a feisty TSW reader, Dorothy Stein, who left this comment:
“As a non-Catholic, let me get something straight in my mind. Last summer, Father Cutie was videotaped on a beach carousing with a divorcee. When the tape became public, he walked out of the priesthood, abandoned the Church, became an Episcopalian, and will soon have his own talk show on FOX TV. None of you Catholics seem to have an unkind word for him. Meanwhile, this priest [meaning me] is struggling for his freedom and his priesthood while calling others to fidelity to the Church despite vague and money-driven accusations from 30 years ago, and some of you want him dragged again before the Sanhedrin for crucifixion. It seems to me that Catholics get the priests they deserve.”
In response, one of the Catholics – apparently not knowing the “Father Cutie” story – posted a comment declaring that Dorothy Stein is “just too dumb” to even be a part of this discussion.
I was embarrassed for that writer, but far more embarrassed for the Catholic blogger who posted that comment. Days later, I was told that this particular Catholic blogger had a new post trying to keep this nasty momentum going. He wrote of the difference between calumny and detraction, and invited the latter while mildly rebuking the former. His goal is clearly to generate as many comments as possible regardless of their content. He erroneously measures the value and popularity of his blog by the number of comments he receives.
My self-esteem would plunge if I did that. One of my better posts on TSW this year – “Cable News or Cable Nuisance?” – only got four comments on TSW, but iCatholic called it one of their best-read posts when they re-printed it. But that’s immaterial. I’m very proud of the comments we have on TSW. Many are superior to the posts they’ve commented on.
A couple of TSW readers recently posted comments stating that they are so distraught about the tone of comments on many other Catholic blogs that they just don’t visit them anymore. I think these writers are onto something. If we judge a Catholic blog not only by its posts, but also by the comments it allows to be posted, we might help demonstrate the value of discernment.
As I pointed out in “My Incendiary Blog Post on Catholic Civil Discourse,” it’s nice to let people have their say. The First Amendment protects their right to say it. But the very same First Amendment also protects your right not to give them a platform on the blog that bears your name and your identity as a Catholic. A grass roots development is taking shape among some of the better Catholic blogs. Their hosts are being a lot more discerning about the tone of comments they will permit on the sites that bear their names and reputations. It is not discrimination. It’s a sign that Catholic bloggers are taking the “Catholic” part of their blogging responsibility seriously. It is not to control information. It’s to invite a higher standard for expressing it.
This is a promising development. Too many Catholic bloggers erroneously interpret the volume of comments to be evidence of the popularity of their blogs. It belies a need for volume and quantity at the expense of tone and quality – not to mention Catholic truths and values. As anonymous as I might think I am – either on-line or in rotary traffic – God knows every keystroke and every utterance issued from behind the wheel. This is why TSW has a clear and responsible “Comments Policy,” and why I do not weigh the success of any blog post by the number of comments posted.
FIRST-IN-THE-NATION
To get a sense of just how far Catholic discourse in the on-line world has slouched toward Gomorrah, consider a recent event In New Hampshire. Several months ago, when deep budget cuts were being hotly contested, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester – Bishop John McCormack – appeared at a rally near the State House organized by state employees and human service organizations affected by the proposed cuts. The bishop spoke about the Gospel mandate to care for the poor and needy, and asked that cuts curtailing human services be reconsidered.
The next day on his Facebook page, the New Hampshire House Majority Leader, who also professes to be Catholic, called Bishop McCormack a “Pedophile Pimp,” and suggested that he should clean out his own house before commenting at the State House. Two other legislators threw gasoline on the fire by declaring their intent to file legislation revoking the Catholic Church’s tax-exempt status because the bishop addressed a crowd near the State House. The spectacle was heightened by the fact that the nation’s eyes are on New Hampshire politics as the 2012 Presidential Primary season unfolds. The exchange threatened to trigger anti-Catholic sentiment on a national scale.
I do not use These Stone Walls to air grievances with my bishop. But if you have read “Case History Part IV: Status of the Case” then you know of tensions between us. However, he is still my bishop, and I could not sit back passively and watch such an anti-Catholic spectacle simply because my bishop was doing what he’s supposed to do. I contacted the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and asked them to defend my bishop. The Catholic League quickly took up the story and issued several press releases to its members who rose to the occasion admirably. The anti-Catholic tax bill was never filed, and within days the NH House Majority Leader announced that he had met with the bishop and apologized profusely, maybe even sincerely.
In my recent post about “Why the Sordid Case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn Matters to Catholics,” I commended Bret Stephens – a writer for The Wall Street Journal – for courageously critiquing his own industry, the news media, by holding journalists accountable. Mr. Stephens pointed out that too many reporters find the story they want just by exploiting certain facts and ignoring others. He exposed the fact that writers have the power to steer a news story, and not just report it.
Bloggers have that same power, and with it – for Catholic bloggers, at least – comes great responsibility to represent the truth and the values of what we profess to be and to believe. This includes the content of comments we publish.
If you’re old enough to remember TV’s “Batman” show (1966), starring Adam West and Burt Ward, what likely stands out in your minds are the comic book explosions of “BAM!” “BANG!” “BONK!” that appeared over the characters’ heads whenever Batman or Robin landed or took a punch. “Holy Hard-Head, Batman!” Robin would declare. “That Joker has no respect for anyone!” “There was a sad negligence in his depraved upbringing,” Batman calmly explained during a pause in the battle.
I thought of Batman recently when I received a snail mail letter from TSW reader Dorothy Stein after her on-line exchange described above. I was struck by her message and I think you will be, too. I asked her permission to use it, so hear it is:
“From watching some of the debate on Catholic blogs, I have come to the conclusion that there are factions in your Church whose prevailing agendas are to destroy the Church. Knowing that any sane person would realize as I have that there exists no evidence for your supposed guilt, I can only conclude that attacks on you are not motivated by that at all, but by your witness, your fidelity, your support of the priesthood, your asking your readers to remain faithful to their Church.
If you were willing to abandon all that, as some others have done, it seems things would go so much easier for you.
But don’t do it, Father. Take the Bangs and the Bonks! It’s for a good cause. Just learn when to duck!”
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I am a brother priest who prays for you. You write well.
Over recent weeks, you have changed I think about many things. Now you have changed the way I drive, and the way I read Catholic blogs. After this post, I won’t be reading some of them again until they clean up there act. This was very well written.
Hello once again, Fr. Gordon..
I cannot beg forgiveness, enough, for not posting, recently. Seems things DO happen in bunches. However, rest assured, that YOU are in my DAILY prayers…not forgotten, but etched in my heart. I thank and praise our God for YOU..even if You’re not hearing from me.
You, once again, have me choked up, tears in my eyes, with Your story of the little lady driver. Your humility has struck me like lightning. What a wonderful grace You’ve shared, exacting the very instant the Holy Spirit convicted Your heart. Oh!! that IS the story of our Living God. I appreciate it, too, because I, in my frail existence on earth, NEED to hear these wonderful little miracles of our faith. Thank You, Fr. Gordon, for sharing it.
You know, Fr. Gordon, surely, we can be anonymous to each other but we are NEVER anonymous to our God. Maybe that’s a thought we could all keep in mind and heart.
God bless You, abundantly, Fr. Gordon…. and thank You for Your honest sharing of Yourself, to us, Your readers. Please excuse me if I don’t comment more often. He promised if we followed Him, we’d have trials… but You already know that.
Thank You, once again…
Helen
Father, I agree with everything you said on this segment. The worst thing about computer technology is it being anonymous. AOL has a good dictionary and states, “of unknown authorship or origin…” Before our Lord, we will be held accountable for every word we speak. That makes me shiver as I write it. We’ve got to think before we speak and still our fingers more often than we do. Lord, please keep on giving Father Gordon these gems to us for meditation. God bless you, Father.
Great post, again, Father.
During the Corapi bruhaha, I posted the address of this TSW website in comments on a few blogs. I too saw the nastiness and insane comments. Your blog quietly and sanely describes the situation of a falsely accused priest and is a great antidote for those who misjudge the Fr. Corapi situation.
Its true that anonymity promotes misbehavior.
The other cause of blog craziness is the incapability of humanity in general today to think. Actually THINK. Logic. Fact plus fact plus fact equals solution. How this has come about could be the basis for a blog all by itself. Its the Calvinist promotion of feelings over fact, the destruction of modern teaching methods, the conspiracy against youth, the reduction of the influence of the Catholic Church… sheesh. Name something. LOL. Anyway, not being able to think makes one extremely vulnerable to being manipulated. Which I guess is the Enemy’s objective.
Thank you for your blog Father, you are in my prayers. My dad was a civilian POW in Vietnam in the 60s. He died of malaria there. I have a soft spot for the unjustly held, in fact it is a daily prayer of mine to the Blessed Mother to free all those held unjustly. My father’s reported death was on the Feast of Our Lady of Ransom, September 24. To her, I also have a devotion.
Begging your blessing Father,
Sincerely,
Tina in Ashburn
Father,
Once again an outstanding post.. I am one of those blog readers who now, and for a while only read your blog. I saw what was happening on the blogs with Fr. Corapi and it was so saddening to say the least.. I “almost” allowed myself to get caught up in it but I quickly backed away and told myself, enough.. I haven’t been back to those blogs since and don’t plan to.
I agree with Ms. Stein (hope I have the correct name) and I am Catholic… She’s hit the nail on the head with her letter to you.. and I agree you should not give up..You are a shining example to all of us although I know it can not be easy for you at all. I really do wish there were some way we could help get you out of there..Until that day comes, and God willing it will, we will all be here to support you in any ways you need..
God love you father..
Robyn
South Carolina
Thank you Father. This was a very well written and appropriate post.
Thanks again Fr. You are doing a wonderful job calling attention to things which we need to be attentive to. I have never really liked reading on the internet, gives me a literal pain in the neck, but I do it because I must. I include you in my list of favorite priests, and I have never laid eyes on you. You are preaching the gospel, convenient or inconvenient, even though you live behind bars in this sinful, unjust world of ours.
I have missed Fr. Corapi’s presence on EWTN so very much. I needed to hear his voice, preaching with authority the truth we all need to hear. There are few preaching with his kind of zeal in this world, in my part of it anyway. I have been so disappointed in the things I have read on some Catholic blogs, disparaging comments about this good priest. He is still a priest, no matter what. I could not avoid reminding folks of how grateful we must be to him for all his teaching on the Catechism and all his other series. This gratitude is important, for it is a witness to a backstabbing world, who does not care what good you did yesterday. It only wishes to degrade those who propose sanctity, especially when they are dragged into public scandal whether guilty or not.
Those of us who read these things on the web have an obligation to defend what is good and what is truth, what is right and what is holy. We as Catholics must never lower ourselves into the mire of verbally attacking a priest who has been accused. Otherwise, we join the mockers and hate mongers who spat upon and called for Christ’s execution.
Thanks for giving me a bit of space to sound off in my own little way. Thanks for the wonderful things you write about. May God continue to bless this “prison ministry”, and may He comfort you and sustain you, dear Father.
Great post Fr! I too skipped reading the Fr. Corapi posts since there was so much nastiness. I think people don’t realize that when they “talk”, they talk to everyone, not just those to whom they are replying.
I continue to interact in the blogosphere so that I can continue to be a light to others in the nasty darkness that pervades the internet.
Now for my driving story…. I started saying the Rosary with Mother Angelica’s CD while driving. After some time, I was able to say it myself and would do so occasionally when driving. I’m a very calm/patient driver 98% of the time. However, one of those 2% times happened while I was saying the Rosary!!
I was mortified, and while no one ‘caught me’, I knew that Mary had heard, and that since I was vulgar while in prayer, that God had the direct pipeline open as well. The Rosary was interrupted for apologies.
I now am listening to / learning the Rosary in Latin, so I’m safe for the time being!
Fr. G.,
Truly outstanding post. I gave up getting angry at bad drivers a long time ago. When I do something dumb and they scream or flip me the bird, I say a little prayer for them, smile, and sometimes even bless them. As they speed off even madder, it must be like hot coals burning their heads. Reading your post made me realize why I guess I was subconsciously avoiding blogs. There are so many great magazines and books that I still need to get to that I want to use my precious and limited reading time wisely. As far as you getting the stuff you write to cyberspace, you’re using old technology, but it ‘s working and definitely worth it. Thank you and God bless you. Fr. J
I have been reading your inspirational blogs for a while now, and believe you are incapable of stooping so low as to have done such a thing. I believe that most of the accused are innocent and I am very saddened that my Church is unwilling to allow due process of accused priests. I have known several priests and bishops accused of such crimes that could never have committed those crimes. I love my church even though I have seen friends leave her over these scandals. I encourage you in your fight and support you in my prayers. Your prison ministry is powerful. God has allowed you to be there where your presence leads others to know him inside prison and online. There will always be people who would crucify Christ over and over again and you are in his person taking the flogging for him. Hang in there and God bless you.
FR Gordon, Quis ut Deus,!!!.
@ Carlos- don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater: not all Catholics are so annoying. Hang in there!
I have a bit of scripture on my blog sidebar that about sums up my blog policy:
He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of Him that sent him, he is true, and there is no injustice in him. (John 7; 18)
Any time I start getting on my high horse about something, I go read that quote.
God bless you Fr. MacRae!
The part about the little old lady made me think of an incident of my own (where btw, I was on my way to Benediction…good grief!) Anyway, I was aggravated with a similar driving situation. I illegally and impatiently roared past someone in my frustration. It wasn’t until I arrived at the church parking lot where a friend asked me if I was the one who did that. I was so mortified. I had been seen. Now it makes me think of how I get angry at my children when they seem to be sorry only when they get caught or punished. I wonder about myself; would I have been ashamed of my actions if my friend had not called me on it?
Father,
Another great post! I do so enjoy your blog and keep you in my prayers as you inspire me so. I now look forward to Wednesdays almost more than any day of the week as that is the day when your new entry is posted. I generally read it at work at lunchtime, but often peek at it during my morning break to see what it’s about just like a child might to see peek to see if Santa brought him or her a big stack of presents this year. Week after week you never disappoint. I have told many friends about your blog and have sent them some in email, and they invariably also become devoted readers. I begin by telling them a synopsized version of your compelling story and then mention that week’s gem of your blog. It’s an easy sell because the quality is so good. Keep being faithful Father as you are spreading His Word and Truth in a most unique way, and thank you most sincerely. I haven’t met you but am honored to count you among my friends!
The “Angry Mob Play Set” is absolutely priceless. May I commend your site not only for the fine and thoughtful writing but your whimsical illustrations. You are in my prayers always. May God grant you the miracle we are all praying for, freedom and vindication.
I’ve been listening to a series on hope this last month. Hope’s meaning is understood in myriad ways. And there’s a significant difference among them: “Hoping I get promoted…hoping I get an A…hoping I can make the most persuasive argument…, “hoping I get to heaven…; hoping in “Christ in [me] the hope of glory.”
Life ends for all of us, no matter our situation on earth. Biblical hope will help us stay the course if we allow it to.
You are always in my prayers,
Susan
Excellent post! You truly personify the dictum that it’s “better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” No doubt your testimony inspires many more people than you will ever know. Illegitimi non carborundum!
Fr G,
I love what you wrote about blogs, I read some of those blogs and had to stop reading due to the growing concern that these people are my Bothers and sisters in Christ yet they seemed to have it out on priests, the ones who give up family and and live lonely lives to bring us Christ and all we can do is yell crucify, crucify him….wow, God grant me the courage to not judge till I have walked in that persons shoes who have been branded evil.Thanks so much Fr for all that you write about.It makes us think and consider our thoughts and Actions.Thank you again, Denise M
Good post, Father. I agree. I have been guilty of a few hot comments myself but never with the intention of harming the Church but quite the contrary. Yet my particular experience in the Church leads me to believe that Catholics can be a nasty bunch. I can’t fathom what drives the cruelty and venom that prevails in certain circles. One anecdote that will probably render this comment unpublishable but I just want it to reach you: a Spanish “catholic” site based in Fatima illustrated some articles of mine– published without permission–with a series of “gay art” images of the most repugnant kind. I demanded (a) that my articles were removed (b) that the images were also removed. It took several months of communications and legal wrangling to get the publisher of CONOCEREISDEVERDAD.ORG (Alberto Romegialli Jenny) an avowed homosexual, to remove the offending images and the stolen text. Incomprehensibly in his defense sites like CATHOLIC.NET (Spanish, a wing of the Maciel group) and INFOCATOLICA.COM published the most vile comments against me. Some compared those photos of homosexuals to the the paintings in the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Ever since that time anonymous callers contact every parish near my home periodically. They report that I am a “homophobe” and a “nazi” (of course!) Hardly anyone talks to me in my parish. The day I went to register, my first day in town, the secretary was so obnoxious she even asked me “what is your religion?”.
As a result I have reduced my assistance to Mass to a minimum of zero. I contribute nothing. I am registered in one parish but I attend Mass far away. I have virtually no Catholic friends nor I expect anyone to befriend me. I am single, and if I was to marry someone my only condition is that she HAS NOT to be a Catholic but a Christian of any denomination other than Catholic.
I converted 12 years ago, I was baptized 10 years ago on August 15, 2001. At this point I have no idea if I will die a Catholic. I believe in the doctrine but it is mighty hard to belong to the community. I wonder if there is some thing as a community of the faithful in any real sense on this earth.
Sorry to be such a bore but I had to say this. My Cross is much lighter than yours at this time. I truly admire your integrity, and Fr. Corapi’s who instructed me in the Catechism by the way.
God Bless,
Carlos
Fr. G -
As I join you each week for your Sunday Mass, I give thanks to God for the graces that you have received. The grace to perceive and articulate (following the Gospel admonition to be correct in interperting the “sign(s) of the times – Mt 16:2b-3; Lk 12:54-56) is more needed today then perhaps ever before! That you have been chosen to see and tell, manifests the fact that “the Lord will never abondon His people — Emmanuel (God is with us)). Thank you for being open to the movement of the Holy Spirit.
It is true that the anominity can be a source of weirdness, but it is also true that it can be a source of healing — the anominity of 12-Step programs surely gives credence to the latter. As you imply, it is how one uses anominity which dictates the result. So it is the moral choice which needs to be fed in order to fulfill the role of being a Christian, let alone a Catholic.
How frequently have these kind of moral choices passed through the filter of the Sacrament of Reconcilliation? Not often enough — sadly! Who dares to claim sinfulness of road rage, as you did in this article. Not as many as those who confess adultry or the like. It is the attitude which reflects the person, more then the behavior! Grace is always an internal operation and hopefully articles like this will embody Grace in more people within the Church, including its leadership. That you defend the man, who happens to be a Bishop, who stands against you shows that you are a graced person. Thank you and thank God for you.
keith
Oh, Dorothy’s comment on the true nature of why you are being so reviled when evidence is non-existent is spot-on.
You might take a gander at a column on the value of common sense and expose why THAT is not being taught anymore. The very young who have not been indoctrinated by ‘education’ over the last 40 years have a no-nonsense, no beating around the bush, call a spade a spade (I REFUSE to apologize for using this to appease the same people who undoubtedly belong either in spirit or in fact to the group that Dorothy discerns exists to take down the church) attitude that is far more reminiscent of ‘The Greatest Generation’ than the last two generations over the last fifty years.
As evidence mounts that our nation’s department of education is fully politicized and secularized, here is praying that God continues to bring down the veil and expose the erroneous course.
With a resurgence of common sense nearly every area of our world’s power brokers would be targeted and exposed as indulging in specious reasoning, baiting, malice and deliberate deception. Just name any of Satan’s calling cards and you’ll find them.
So Father, as many of us have said previously, you may wonder about how you got there, why you are there and if you have the ability to withstand it.
Your witness has the roar of eternity in it. And as happens so inexplicably with the Infinite and Eternal, that roar paradoxically, is made by a Creator whose abundant, transcendent and miraculous love, is delivered in a whisper to our souls, with a humility that humans simply cannot fathom and yet is fathoms deep and infinitely vast.
You do not search for who you are, you search for how you can serve and when you doubt if there is any service you can really do from there, doubts, fears and depression all taking turns stabbing you to undermine you and ultimately silence you and exile you.
No matter how your silence and suppression is attempted, you are infinitely buoyed by God’s purpose for you. I know only too well how difficult it is to just ‘Let God’ (oy!), but hold on to each event when you find out your story has resonated with someone. You are not forgotten, you are ever more precious and you are loved so much more each day that you struggle and choose the harder path in the times when everyone else shuns it.
God bless you, Father. May you be so still that you are able to feel the tiny moments of joy that sometimes steal over us so briefly and quietly but, when noticed, send shivers through us.
Jeannie
Great post Fr. Gordon! I started to see that some of the Fr. Corapi blogs were becoming an “occasion of sin” for me. My temper has not improved with age!!
Thanks!
Kathleen
As a Catholic blogger, I take your comments to heart. I sometimes puzzle over whether to allow a comment with an ad hominem attack. If it’s addressed toward me, I will often post it with a reply. If it gratuitously attacks others I usually don’t. Although I’m sure I’ve made mistakes at time both in my posts and in allowing comments.
I agree with you that the problem is anonymity, but I’m appalled at the increasing number of uncivil diatribes made by those who don’t mind attaching their names to them. I think that may be the email and Facebook impact. Many people are so narcissistic that they believe they can say anything. And they also respond and hit the send button before their brains are in gear.
In an age where babies are murdered daily, a little character assassination isn’t really surprising. That it often comes from people who call themselves serious Catholics is pitiful, however. I’ve stopped reading some blogs myself because of that.
Thank you so much for your witness, Father.
From Canada, its the first time that I`ve been able to read your posts in a few weeks. This is, as others, a great post ! You remind us that love and charity should at all times accompany us, even in cyberspace ! I hope you are O.K., despite everything. Please know that you are ever present in my prayers !
with fraternal affection for everything you are doing for the good of the Church,
Monsignor Michael
Father, I couldn’t agree more. The internet has become a demoralizing place. The Father Corapi brouhaha was the icing on the cake for me. The very same bloggers who stirred up the hornets nest then played innocent wondering how and why the commenters were so vicious.
I often wonder when and how we became so brutal and utterly malicious in one breath and then spout pious platitudes about charity and being non-judgmental in the next. All of this has caused me to take a deeper look at myself and to stay away from most fora and blogs.
God bless you, dear Father! You are in my daily prayers. Please say one for me too.
Wonderful post! Trust me that as far as Catholic blog and online wars, you are not missing anything. I belong to a prolife facebook page sponsored by a well known priest, and it is routinely barraged by the most hateful venom one can even imagine–and done so by a small band trying to appear larger. Fake profiles abound, and hate for the Church just drips from their every word.
It seems as though the internet is a microcosm of how the Church is under attack. But we soldier on, with Christ and through His mother. After all, this is the time we are living in, and our duty is to still bring His love to our present world.
I write my little blog, also never really knowing it’s impact, but trusting that if any good is to come from it, He will see to it, regardless of the number of comments.
God Bless you Father, for doing the work of telling your story and teaching us from your cell!
Peace in Christ
+JMJ+
Dear Father Gordon,
I like Mary’s analogy of TSW being a lighthouse in the midst of a dark storm; it is very fitting. As you point out, we are not as anonymous as we think we are, whether in actual life or in our blogs.
I have been appalled by the comments left on some blogs, especially in regard to Fr. Corapi’s case, but I have seen it on others as well. The comboxes become screaming matches and more like a boxing ring that allows unfair fighting than a place for civil opinions and dialogue.
I wish more bloggers, especially Catholic bloggers would realize that we do not write for ourselves but primarily for God’s glory not ours.
I like Dorothy Stein’s comments. I am sorry she had to endure the name calling. Sometimes it takes a non-Catholic to make us stand back a bit and look at ourselves in and through God’s eyes. I thank and commend her for her bravery.
Keep on doing what you are doing, Father; the good ripples are more far reaching than you may know.
Continued prayers.
Great post Father G
Your blog reminds me of a lighthouse in the middle of a dark storm tossed sea.
Its beam of charity is saving us weary mariners fro coming to grief on the reefs.
Keep ducking and weaving Father G
God Bless