Larry D has put some thoughts together on the problems with Patheos. He says the same things I've been saying...but far more eloquently and with more charity.
For Catholic evangelists to pull together resources of false gods and religions, throw Catholicism into the mix and then take as their credo they do not endorse any one religion?
Would they do that to their own children?
Maybe they do. Maybe they bring all kinds of pamphlets and books from Hare Krishna, demonic worship of wiccans to Catholicism and tell their own children they do not endorse any one religion. If so, they are uncatechized themselves and they know not what they do. God have mercy upon them.
If they know enough not to do that to their own children but they are doing it to the uncatechized who do not have access to mentors and sanctifying grace - that is not going to fly with Christ on the day of judgment, so good luck to them.
His post resonates with me because I recently caught up on reading the blog of solid priest now blogging over on Patheos -and thought to myself: "Ugh, this is mush & pablum".
The mush and cult of personality going on over there is weakening solid catechists and moreover, a solid priest who should know better.
n.b. Be sure to read the comments where the folks at patheos initiate a blogobrawl.
It is a sorry sight.
18 comments:
The thing they all have in common is that they are uncommonly mean and distinctively uncharitable, in such wise as to have created a kind of "brand". I won't name names but I find their acerbic retorts difficult to square with their ostensible mission, which I presume, is to spread the Gospel for which they seek payment.
Cardinal Burke has recently commented on the need for those writing in the public arena to adhere to the teachings of the Church. Why then are so many of Patheos' writers sodomy supporters. Scalia can barely post a column without mentioning her pal homosexual activist, James Martin. Read Kandra's latest on Our Lady of the Lakes. It is outrageous.
Morning Maria!
There are several things that confound me about Patheos. Several of the bloggers are passive-aggressively attacking Catholic teaching and those who evangelize it, while touting themselves as faithful Catholics.
The nastiness, while they tout themselves as the arbiters of blogocharity, simply fascinates me.
Good people who mean well and want to serve the Lord but it is all going so disturbingly awry that I can't wade into it. I don't know how you wade through it but I admire your tenacity.
Thanks for the link, Carol. The bottom line remains, for me, is will the inaccuracies in the resource information on the Catholic faith be corrected? Responses such as "I hope they are" or "I'm sure they will", while positive to a degree, don't fill me with the greatest confidence. I'm surprised that none of the bloggers there took the time to look at that information prior to joining Patheos - that is one of the first things I would have done if I had been asked to join.
I hope the info is fixed, for the sake of those seekers who express interest in our exceptional faith. They deserve the Truth in all its glory, beauty and wonder.
"The mush and cult of personality"
Exactly!
They've formed their own little ghetto where they sit around and pat each on the back and declare their brilliance.
My worst political rants cannot come anywhere near the nastiness I've seen over there.
One of the commenters over at AofA brought up a good point about the Patheos bloggers having to shut down their sites where those that are columnists at the Register (like Creative Minority Report) still maintain their own blogs.
It was a light bulb moment for me and explained much of what you see going on.
I fear Father L did himself a big disservice - particularly in light of the new format over there.
Okay - I'm barely out of bed and having lots of problems stringing coherent thoughts together, but I think you get the gist of what I'm saying...
Well, okay then - I had to go back to the comments and saw all the new ones. Good grief!
That is all...
Larry,
With respect to your valiant attempt and bottom line to keep the faith free of being watered down and confused by errors, I am not an optimist that will be fixed over at Patheos. They lack the discretion to know the truth when they see it.
Discretion either comes from illumination by sanctifying grace through the soul or through humility when somebody brings problems to our attention. I don't give up easily on people but at some point it becomes clear there is nothing to anchor truth upon.
Adrienne - the comments reveal a ghastly temperament has afflicted their ministry. I actually deleted the links I had there from my blogroll. Double up on the prayers and call it a day!
btw - the most astounding comment comes from Fr. L, with a claim that notifying evangelists they are watering down our faith with pablum and errors rises to the level of persnickity grumbling.
It appears they have lost their ability to be objective and are trying to kill the messenger. A spiritual danger zone.
I stay clear of Patheos. I'm not attracted to feel good syncretism.
The site treats Roman Catholicism as a sect. Unfortunately, their stable of RC bloggers seem very comfortable with sect status.
Giving credibility to a smorgasbord of religions, including the worship of demons, by setting up a website among them with my name on it and the Crucifix of Christ...not for a million dollars a year could I do it.
If that were the intentions of Christ, He would have dusted Himself off after the Crucifixion and headed right back into the Jewish Temple to sell His theology and ideas.
He set His One, True, Apostolic Religion and Sacraments apart. That's where It's place is.
Giving the uncatechized the notion that Catholicism is a sect among whatever floats your boat feels to me like casting the pearls into the pigpen.
I don't mean to make a judgment upon anyone at Patheos but standing up and saying Worthy is the Lamb is the right thing to do and it did not deserve the ferocity in that comments section - IMO.
I asked the question: were the Apostles looking for cash in Judea and Samaria. This is what came back:
Kathy Schiffer posted this at Acts of the Apostacy
April 22, 2012 10:08 am
I think all this grousing about whether bloggers are paid is shameful. By the same standard, should one demand that your priest not be paid because he should, like the apostles, spread the gospel for free? How about Catholic school teachers? Pastoral associates? Shouldn’t publishers make Catholic titles available for free? Wait: How about the girl who dispenses ice cream cones at your local Dairy Queen? Shouldn’t she want to make people happy for free?
Maria, let me tell you something: The pay is scant. I work a fulltime job, but I spend a few hours each evening reading, researching and writing. My saintly husband does not complain because I haven’t cleaned the house or fixed a great dinner. But you feel you have the right to demand that I do this for nothing, simply because I am writing about the things of God?
See post # 1 above. See how they love one another.
I saw that.
I'm with you Maria in the belief that once one starts taking money for writing for the Church, a plethora of metamorphosis inevitably follows.
Catholics have to compete with secular press and it takes money and time to do it. There are legitimate ministries that need talented people. These folks have families and should be paid.
However, when this gets used as license to do all kinds of things that are not benefiting the salvation souls and the Church, I'm out.
When is Pentecost?
Come Lord Jesus, come.
Maria, Fr. Martin is a homosexual activist? Dear Lord.
Dymphna: He is. A lot of people are enamored of him becuase of his books which are all about laughter and the Saints. He uses these to hoodwink folks. It is an effective ruse. Do you read the blog "In All Things"? If you do, you quickly see his modus operandi. He is a big advocate for the "It Gets Better Project" etc...
Adrienne, thou hast writ:
"They've formed their own little ghetto where they sit around and pat each on the back and declare their brilliance."
This was a challenge to Catholic blogging long before Patheos came to the neighborhood. The early "famous" bloggers were already established in the conventional Catholic media -- periodicals, books, and so on -- and so already had name recognition. That began to change when guys like the Archbold brothers (CMR) came on the scene, with no such prior exposure, and little going for them other than very good writing. Periodicals such as National Catholic Register, which had previously treated blogs as an afterthought, began treating them as a medium in its own right, and bringing these new voices on board.
There's nothing wrong in being the best, or winning awards from your peers or your readership. But a clever title doesn't make you a good writer, so much as a claimant to a marketing gimmick. People shouldn't have to be a slave to a set of blog sites just because every print article on "Catholic blogging" mentions them. We should have learned a lesson from "The Cafeteria Is Closed." We haven't. So find the voice that speaks Truth, and don't be afraid to let the world in on your secret.
Eventually, gimmicks lose their shelf life, and the cream rises to the top.
I don't know how I missed all the commotion on The Cafeteria is Closed. In a nutshell, what happened?
Catholic blogosphere has certainly been an odyssey. I'm not sure what the lesson is except if you build it, the devil will come. There are many temptations. Most are aimed towards the ego. Sometimes the wallet. Sometimes both. For every gimmick that loses its life, a new one gives birth. People learn. God is served. Allelluia.
The Cafeteria is Closed thing is still a mystery to me. Was the guy who wrote it ever legit or was he having us all on all along?
At the end, it sure had the appearance that the whole thing was a charade all along but I was not in the weeds with the details when it got ugly.
Some claimed he was forced to abandon Truth and adopt the family baggage and skeletons in his new wife's closet.
Say all you want about orgies and tattoos... until it turns out your inlaws run a brothel and a tatoo parlor. LOL.
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