A highly intelligent piece in the Catholic newspaper, the Tablet, on how American Catholics (mostly pro-war) manage to side-step the Vatican’s position (more pro-Saddam than the French). Yes, it has to do with the slide in papal authority since Humanae vitae, the papal letter that condemned contraception. And then there’s the child abuse crisis, which hasn’t exactly increased the hierarchy’s moral standing. Then there’s this:
It is easier for the Roman Catholic Right to shrug off Rome because, as it happens, Rome is being shifty. During his mission to Washington, Cardinal Laghi declared: “We have always insisted on the framework of the United Nations. Without it, I’d say war is illegal.’ But Americans have not forgotten their first bout of warfare with Iraq, in 1991. That conflict had fervent UN approval; Providence had apparently crafted it to meet Aquinas’ standards for a just war; yet it was still condemned by the Pope and Vatican. People also remember that the UN sanctions designed since then to contain Saddam and enforce inspections have also been steadily damned by Rome. Thus John Paul, despite his approval of forcible intervention in East Timor and Bosnia, is widely perceived as a pacifist, and therefore not a serious commentator. “It’s the Pope’s job to shake his head over the wicked way of the world”, I was told by another white-haired, loyal worshipper at another parish, forthright and cheerful in sensible shoes and medal of Lourdes. “And it’s our job to do something about it.”
Beautifully put.
The Dish 