I thought it was him…

Oh, my wife tells me dogs can’t talk or write.

What about Scooby Doo, though…?

A dog as a avatar? That is ridiculous. :)

Only the Greek Catholic called for it anyway… and honestly, no one takes him very seriously. He has a photograph of one of his 22 pound dogs as his avatar for crying out loud. He’s pretty simple.

We have little respect for anything Tito writes as it tends to be based on gut reaction rather than on Catholic faith or human reason.

I am sure I am not the only contributor who was horrified by the display at University of Dallas.

Yes, some of us are politically “liberal” according to those who think only in binomials. Others of us are “conservative.” Some still are “radical.” We’re all over the map.

Yes, we are 100% orthodox and compromise no Catholic doctrine.

No, the blog is not “owned” by Katerina of Evangelical Catholicism. It is a group project.

Yes, I went to Steubenville for my theology degree, and I think highly of the program there.

No, none of us at Vox Nova are interested in a “blog war.” Dialogue and discourse, yes.

This thread is getting way too busy and contentious, far beyond the point of the original post.

Sorry, Michael. I am too old to actually know what those things are.

—————-
I see on another site (https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=20487926&postID=905375253375925910) that Fr. J is complaining that we (he means me, not the Vox Nova borg collective) is busy “trying to impress upon the world that the suffering of Christ is not the point.”

Also he says that we are “well educated, liberal ph.d. types who are so above it all, they refuse to see themselves as liberal”.

Frankly, I’m disappointed that he would write this nonsense behind out backs. At least have courage to say so here.

Let me address the second point, the easier point. As I’m tired of pointing out, like so many others wearing the blinkers of the American political systrem, he simply does not know what “liberal” means in this context.

“Liberalism” is an Enlightenment-era anthropology predicated on the notion of individual liberty as the foundation of society. Society is reduced to a mere social contract between individuals and private liberty always supplants the common good. The common good steps away from obeying God’s law toward satisfying self-interest. Now, this is not all bad. It led us to refine our notions of personhood and inherent human dignity. But it can also lead to ideas like unfettered free markets, abortion, and marriage as the fulfilment of individual wants and desires rather than the bearing and rearing of children. Like it or not, the US is a child of the Enlighenment, and the pathetic “culture war” language of “conservative versus liberal” is merely a fight between siblings. It has no place in Catholic discourse. Those who call themselves “conservative” when they glorify the nation state and the individualism of the free market are in truth no such thing. And we don’t need a Ph.D to figure this out, Fr. J.

On the the more substantive point, which is simply and obviously wrong. This post does not argue that the suffering of Christ is not the point. On the contrary, Christ’s suffering is a direct result of humanity’s sinfulness. He was tortured and subjected to judicial murder as a result of our sins. But by his great mercy, he overcame sin, and bridged the gap between humanity and the divine. The point of this post is to argue that pain is not good. It is not virtuous. Pain is bad, and that is exactly the point.

As for the virtue of suffering with Christ, let me quote Pope Benedict in his latest encylical:

“Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God’s compassionate love—and so the star of hope rises….What does it mean to offer something up? Those who did so were convinced that they could insert these little annoyances into Christ’s great “com-passion” so that they somehow became part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race.”

Compassion. Mercy. Forgiveness. That’s what it’s all about.

Actually, Father, I seem to be standing alone on the position I have taken. And that’s fine. We’re a diverse group. Don’t be dishonest and say that “they” (all VN contributors) think the episode is “no big deal.”

Glad you are taking on RCM who despite having no personal experience of the matter has taken it upon herself to smear the works of centuries of good religious and ignore the overwhelming evidence of the good that has come from adoption.

It is hard for such charges to not become personal for this religious or for yourself as one who was adopted. One is left to wonder what life, or no life, she would have preferred for you. Lucky you, it wasn’t up to her. For if adoption had been discredited there would have been few other options for countless many.

SS,

If there is time, I am thinking of making a pilgrimage to Carey before Holy Week comes. Is that far from you?

RCM,

Slow down and take a good deep breath. Listed above are the last 20 entries for PC. As luck would have it, it has been a slow week, I wrote 19 of them. (The one I didn’t write is a post in memoriam.) But if you could point out which of those posts give you the idea that leads you to say ” Little could I know that this blog is more interested in what is “liberal” or “conservative” and not on what is Catholic which when you read and live you will discover is BOTH RADICALLY LIBERAL AND RADICALLY CONSERVATIVE AND SO MUCH MORE than any political label.” I would appreciate it - I will go back and reconsider what I wrote, if that is the impression the simple work of this simple sinner gives you.

I make an effort to think with the heart of the Church, to be sure that puts me in some fairly conservative waters more often than not. But if you could show where it is I have written anything that leads you to think I am more concerned about what is ‘”liberal” or “conservative” and not on what is Catholic’ I want to be brought up to speed.

As far as what goes on in the combox - you are as veteran a blogger as any of us (the media being new enough anyone in it for over a year can claim such distinction). By now you know that what goes on in the combox and off the cuff shows a lot of variation in mileage and opinion. I hope you have read more than the comments in the combox of a post I did on a cartoon before making a stirring indictment about what we write about here or what our combox participants are all about.

I am working on a response to your post and comments here, I want to be thoughtful and cogent in my reply. It will take a day or two.

I will try to get around to your book about adoptions gone bad… In the mean time, I am just going by the actual life experience of my sister and I - both infant adoptions. Anecdotal to be sure, and not as moving as a book to some, but it simply is what it is: me.

Father J writes: “My college friend looked up his birth mother and found a Catholic woman more committed to alcohol than her child.”

One could do worse… When life hands you lemons… Well, I certainly do like bourbon.

Shame on me.