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You Can Be the President, I'd Rather Be the Pope
I have no dogma in the fight over Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical Caritas In Veritate, nor in the question of whether it's an anti-capitalist tract, nor in the question of whether it's a right-wing or a left-wing anti-capitalist tract. As long as the Vatican continues to sit on the real Third Secret of Fatima, we are under no obligation to care about any of its announcements.
But I have enjoyed the brouhaha over Ethics and Public Policy Center distinguished senior fellow George Weigel's critique of the new document (which at two pages is 142 pages shorter than the encyclical and recommendable on those grounds alone). Weigel sees the finished encyclical as a Frankenstein creation stitching together non-organic arguments from left-leaning members of the hierarchy with more recent and (supposedly) more pro-market arguments.
If you have ever participated in the not-dying-fast-enough ritual of committeeing together a newspaper editorial, you will find Weigel's hypothesis reasonable. And in a church where someone-should-tell-the-czar is a permanent state of mind, it's unsurprising that Weigel believes he can deduce the pope's true opinions in all the muddle:
Now comes Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), Benedict XVI's long-awaited and much-delayed social encyclical. It seems to be a hybrid, blending the pope's own insightful thinking on the social order with elements of the Justice and Peace approach to Catholic social doctrine, which imagines that doctrine beginning anew at Populorum Progressio. Indeed, those with advanced degrees in Vaticanology could easily go through the text of Caritas in Veritate, highlighting those passages that are obviously Benedictine with a gold marker and those that reflect current Justice and Peace default positions with a red marker. The net result is, with respect, an encyclical that resembles a duck-billed platypus.
A Gerard Manley Hopkins fan spoofs Weigel's argument from the left:
Justice and Peace was angry. Very angry. Skulking in the darkest corners of the Vatican, they plotted their revenge. With an evil cackle, they hatched their malicious plots. And when John Paul died and Benedict was elected pope, they saw their opening. "Your Holinessss," they whispered, "don't you think you should issue a document to mark the anniversary of that great encyclical, Populorum Progressio? We could help you, you know, it would be your greatest achievement ever, Holinessss,". Pope Benedict saw the evil gleam in their eyes and he was most disturbed. They gave him a document, but he said no. He did not trust them. They hissed in frustration, but held back their anger. They handed him a second document, and he rejected it again. They tried a third time, and again the answer was no.
Ever the kind old man, the pope did not want to hurt their feelings. So he told a little white lie. "My friends," he said, "the world is going through the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. We need to reflect more on that before we write the document". Of course, there was no such "economic crisis" (these things cannot happen in capitalism after all, unless the evil government messes it up). But the advisers were not very bright, and they believed him. And so they kept plotting.
Both sides are in the right pew but the wrong church, or something like that. Populorum Progressio was written by an impostor pope, and its primary interest to free marketers is the sly use that uncuddly mother of Objectivism Ayn Rand made of it in her great essay "Of Living Death." Rand asserted that there was no essential difference between Paul VI's vaguely economic-justice-oriented Populorum Progressio (which pleased the left and displeased the right, in broad terms) and his more famous birth-control-and-abortion encyclical Humanae Vitae (which pleased the right and infuriated the left). Both documents proceed from the same worldview: a determination that people should be both poor and numerous, a rejection (by a self-described pro-life institution) of life in all but its most meager, pleasureless forms.
More broadly, it is vain to seek anything like approbation of capitalism and enlightened self-interest from an institution founded on the rock of shame-based tithing. It is equally vain to seek a full-bore condemnation of even crony capitalism from an institution that is intimately dependant on modern finance, banking and (especially nowadays) insurance companies for its existence. You can look to the church for guidance on the liquefaction of the blood of San Gennaro. On finance and wealth creation, not so much.
Real reason for this post: Can anybody tell me whether the Catholic Church makes encyclicals available in in Latin anymore? The Vatican site has Caritas In Veritate in several modern languages, but not the language of the Roman church. That's enough to make Mel Gibson get a divorce.
shrike|7.9.09 @ 9:08PM|#
Pope or President? Now this is a provocative question!
Neither are constrained by morality - so throw that shit out.
Going back in history - the real pussy grabbers were JFK and most
any Pope before Innocent the Dickbreath... still a
toss-up....
hmmm - such consternation... I guess I would rather have been Frank
Sinatra.
Tall Ship|7.9.09 @ 9:13PM|#
"I have no dogma in the fight over Pope Benedict XVI's new
encyclical Caritas In Veritate"
Bullshit
|7.9.09 @ 10:42PM|#
really, what was the nazi pope trying to do here? use the word 'charity' as many times as possible in his encyclical? cause that is what it felt like. i read the first few sections and that shit made absolutely no sense.
BakedPenguin|7.9.09 @ 11:03PM|#
It is equally vain to seek a full-bore condemnation of even crony capitalism from an institution that is intimately dependant on modern finance, banking and (especially nowadays) insurance companies for its existence.
Tim, you forgot the mafia.
|7.9.09 @ 11:06PM|#
Both documents proceed from the same worldview: a determination that people should be both poor and numerous, a rejection (by a self-described pro-life institution) of life in all but its most meager, pleasureless forms.
That is one masterful bit of Orwellianness. Credit where credit is
due, I guess.
|7.9.09 @ 11:10PM|#
To paraphrase Mother Teresa, there is no greater poverty than that which requires a child to die so adults can live as they wish. I know Reasonoids tend to prefer bloodthirsty obscene pompous blowhards such as Mr. Hitchens to the nun from Calcutta, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.
|7.9.09 @ 11:16PM|#
More broadly, it is vain to seek anything like approbation
of capitalism and enlightened self-interest from an institution
founded on the rock of shame-based tithing.
Don't be so hard on Reason, Tim.
zoltan|7.9.09 @ 11:24PM|#
Both documents proceed from the same worldview: a
determination that people should be both poor and numerous, a
rejection (by a self-described pro-life institution) of life in all
but its most meager, pleasureless forms.
That is one masterful bit of Orwellianness. Credit where credit is
due, I guess.
Hey man, that's what the Catholic church excels in.
|7.10.09 @ 12:07AM|#
Q: Was Mother Teresa a sadist?
A: Is the Space Pope reptilian?
(and what the fuck is an encyclical?)
|7.10.09 @ 12:51AM|#
"You Can Be the President, I'd Rather Be the Pope"
Well, in modern times, only GOP Presidents have to be celibate.
Giovanni Boccaccio|7.10.09 @ 3:19AM|#
"Go then," said Jehannot, seeing that his mind was made up, "and
good luck
go with thee;" and so he gave up the contest because nothing would
be lost,
though he felt sure that he would never become a Christian after
seeing the
court of Rome. The Jew took horse, and posted with all possible
speed to
Rome; where on his arrival he was honourably received by his fellow
Jews. He
said nothing to any one of the purpose for which he had come; but
began
circumspectly to acquaint himself with the ways of the Pope and
the
cardinals and the other prelates and all the courtiers; and from
what he saw
for himself, being a man of great intelligence, or learned from
others, he
discovered that without distinction of rank they were all sunk in
the most
disgraceful lewdness, sinning not only in the way of nature but
after the
manner of the men of Sodom, without any restraint of remorse or
shame, in
such sort that, when any great favour was to be procured, the
influence of
the courtesans and boys was of no small moment. Moreover he found
them one
and all gluttonous, wine-bibbers, drunkards, and next after
lewdness, most
addicted to the shameless service of the belly, like brute beasts.
And, as
he probed the matter still further, he perceived that they were all
so
greedy and avaricious that human, nay Christian blood, and things
sacred of
what kind soever, spiritualities no less than temporalities, they
bought and
sold for money; which traffic was greater and employed more brokers
than the
drapery trade and all the other trades of Paris put together; open
simony
and gluttonous excess being glosed under such specious terms
as
"arrangement" and "moderate use of creature comforts," as if God
could not
penetrate the thoughts of even the most corrupt hearts, to say
nothing of
the signification of words, and would suffer Himself to be misled
after the
manner of men by the names of things. Which matters, with many
others which
are not to be mentioned, our modest and sober-minded Jew found by
no means
to his liking, so that, his curiosity being fully satisfied, he was
minded
to return to Paris; which accordingly he did. There, on his
arrival, he was
met by Jehannot; and the two made great cheer together. Jehannot
expected
Abraham's conversion least of all things, and allowed him some days
of rest
before he asked what he thought of the Holy Father and the
cardinals and the
other courtiers. To which the Jew forthwith replied:--"I think God
owes them
all an evil recompense: I tell thee, so far as I was able to carry
my
investigations, holiness, devotion, good works or exemplary living
in any
kind was nowhere to be found in any clerk; but only lewdness,
avarice,
gluttony, and the like, and worse, if worse may be, appeared to be
held in
such honour of all, that (to my thinking) the place is a centre
of
diabolical rather than of divine activities. To the best of my
judgment,
your Pastor, and by consequence all that are about him devote all
their zeal
and ingenuity and subtlety to devise how best and most speedily
they may
bring the Christian religion to nought and banish it from the
world. And
because I see that what they so zealously endeavour does not come
to pass,
but that on the contrary your religion continually grows, and
shines more
and more clear, therein I seem to discern a very evident token that
it,
rather than any other, as being more true and holy than any other,
has the
Holy Spirit for its foundation and support. For which cause,
whereas I met
your exhortations in a harsh and obdurate temper, and would not
become a
Christian, now I frankly tell you that I would on no account omit
to become
such. Go we then to the church, and there according to the
traditional rite
of your holy faith let me receive baptism." Jehannot, who had
anticipated a
diametrically opposite conclusion, as soon as he heard him so
speak, was the
best pleased man that ever was in the world. So taking Abraham with
him to
Notre Dame he prayed the clergy there to baptise him. When they
heard that
it was his own wish, they forthwith did so, and Jehannot raised him
from the
sacred font, and named him Jean; and afterwards he caused teachers
of great
eminence thoroughly to instruct him in our faith, which he readily
learned,
and afterwards practised in a good, a virtuous, nay, a holy
life.
-|7.10.09 @ 6:58AM|#
To paraphrase Mother Teresa, there is no greater poverty
than that which requires a child to die so adults can live as they
wish.
Or to paraphrase Rand, there is no more evil a faith than that
which requires humans to live in poverty and misery so that the
Church can have more members and more power.
Mother Teresa was a hateful bitch who condemned even voluntary
birth control as a means to alleviate poverty. If there is an
afterlife, I hope she is living in a hell that is at least as bad
as the one her beliefs condemned others to live in on this
Earth.
-|7.10.09 @ 7:09AM|#
...a faith than that which requires humans to live either in poverty and misery or shame and guilt...
Abdul|7.10.09 @ 7:42AM|#
To anwer tim's question about Latin, it's still the official language of the Roman Catholic Church. It's likely that Pope Benedict XVI drafted the document in his native language, but I believe the authoritative text of any papal pronouncement would be the Latin one.
God Fearing Atheist|7.10.09 @ 7:45AM|#
"(and what the fuck is an encyclical?)"
After a quick look at the contents I take it to be a document that
talks in circles.
smartass sob|7.10.09 @ 7:56AM|#
It is equally vain to seek a full-bore condemnation of even crony capitalism from an institution that is intimately dependant on modern finance, banking and (especially nowadays) insurance companies for its existence.
I seem to recall that back in the 70's at least, the Church owned a
bunch of stock in Bank of America as well.
|7.10.09 @ 8:52AM|#
I love how the pope demands a world political body to enforce "social justice" when it involves my tax $$, but is fine w/ jurisdictional games when a pedophile priest needs to flee Boston and hide out in Vatican City.
|7.10.09 @ 9:23AM|#
Man, I'd love to be Pope. They'd have to change the rules to allow me to stay married and to not be Catholic; otherwise, I'd be great at the job.
hammeredHead|7.10.09 @ 12:39PM|#
I seem to recall an SCTV episode where the king wanted to be pope, the pope wanted to be king, and some nobody wanted to be pope and king.
|7.10.09 @ 1:50PM|#
what was the nazi pope trying to do here
The Pope was not a member of the Nazi party.
He was conscripted but deserted soon after. If he had been caught,
he would have been executed.
I'm guessing no one posting in this thread has ever done something
nearly this brave.
|7.10.09 @ 5:09PM|#
Please forgive my ignorance, but what does "someone-should-tell-the-czar" mean. Google and Wikipedia returned no useful definitions.
Sarah D|7.11.09 @ 12:02AM|#
So how many of you actually know how to read and actually read
the encyclical in its entirety? And no, reading two sentences of
the first chapter don't count.
I find it fairly odd that you all seem to be able to summarize your
idea of what the pope thinks and what the Church teaches despite
the fact that your cute little characterizations were directly
contradicted in the encyclical. Grow up...and read.
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