“Is the Pope Catholic?”
This is a variation of the traditional question of where urine is digested. But now this has become a real problem for some conservative Catholics, especially in the United States. The issue arose when the Vatican fired Bishop Joseph Strickland, who retained his episcopal title but no longer leads the Texas diocese after criticizing Pope Francis on social media.
The conflict raises cultural, religious and technological problems. How conservative or majority are Catholics in the United States? How does their cultural situation complicate these competing loyalties? Why did His Majesty blow up on Twitter?
Traditionally, the Catholic Church suffers when radical advances in communications technology occur. The most important figure in the schism that tore apart Christianity in the 19th century was not Martin Luther or John Calvin: it was Johannes Gutenberg , who completed his most important work in the middle of the previous century. No printing press, no reform.
Printing accelerates communication speed and reduces costs. Spreading the word requires less investment of time and capital than in the past. That is certainly a beautiful thing, but there is no pure product in this fallen world. It was only a few years before the first Gutenberg Bible was printed and the printing press was used to mass produce pornography. Printing itself, like guns, is essentially a morally neutral technology: you can print Coriolanus or you can print Mein Kampf.
Advances in printing technology led to an economic transformation in the world of literature and publishing. Books, once a precious commodity, were now generally available, and newspaper readers took weeks or months to get by. day. Nonprint technologies—telegraph, radio, and satellite—increased the power of the press: USA Today long boasted "Via Satellite" on its front page. Like Gutenberg's revolutionary discoveries, subsequent technological developments had a similar impact on communication in general. They are fast, cheap and have brought great benefits to many organizations.
The Catholic Church is not one of them.
The institutional church, by definition, is a slow organization. When Protestant reformers introduced the printing press and started causing problems, the Catholic Church responded with committee meetings that lasted for nearly 20 years.
Although not all Marxist doctrine may suit you, it is true that the material and economic conditions affecting the means of communication have a profound influence on the political and social nature of that communication. The higher the speed of communication, the lower the level of qualities such as thoughtfulness, kindness, and careful editorial attention, qualities that are often as important as speed. Almost anything posted on Facebook or Twitter should be posted at a moment's notice, especially if it's urgent.
Bishops should write books and letters rather than tweets and Facebook posts. This is in accordance with the nature and purpose of his office, not only the bishop. Lawmakers, professors, and leading figures in the scientific and medical fields would do well to communicate with smaller, more sophisticated audiences at a slower, more deliberate pace. But attracting direct feedback from many readers is very interesting.
He works as well on bishops as he does on senators, which is probably one reason why Bishop Strickland seems like a dead ringer for Ted Cruz, with the same general obsessions – vaccines, stolen elections, etc. - from each uncle. Of course, progressives should enjoy their Thanksgiving meal. There are a number of prominent figures in conservative Catholic circles, including harsh critics of the current Pope, who privately consider Bishop Strickland to be a bloodhound and a publicity stunt.
One of the issues in our political discussions is 535 members of Congress, 9 Supreme Court justices, III. However, the article lists 861 other judges, etc., but only one president. It's easier for them to focus on action or big story heroes rather than big control teams.
The Catholic Church also has the same problem. Popes can be truly great people, especially truly heroic people like John Paul II. But the president is not the state, not even the government, and the Pope is not the church. Each is an interim chief executive who carries out administrative duties with real but limited political power. Although most people know who the Pope is, few know who, for example, Armando Matteo is or why he is important. There are many Americans who know the name of the president but not the name of his vice president, and almost none who know the name of the president. Since tribalism is the true religion of every tribe, the tribes in the Catholic Church fight the Pope like political parties fight over the presidency. This is a wrong situation.
If they cannot find peace in the body of Christ, what hope is there for the body politic?
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