A cult of ugliness born from an admission of defeat...

It was Professor Duncan Williams, in his book Trousered Apes, who wrote, "What shocks an audience today will be acceptable tomorrow and thus the contemporary dramatist is constantly impelled to seek further excesses to gratify a warped taste which he has himself implanted in the public mind....The whole modern cult of violence and animalism is in essence an admission of defeat. Since we cannot be men to any idealistic extent, let us lapse into barbaric animalism but, still clinging to vestiges of a past which we hate but cannot escape, let us clothe our defeat in high-sounding terms: 'alienation,' 'cult of unpleasure,' 'realism,' and similar jargon. Yet all this fashionable phraseology cannot conceal the fact that the Emperor has no clothes. The literature of today lacks certain essential qualities. It no longer satisfies man's need for beauty, order and elevation, and to this extent it is incomplete and stunted. It contains, as Trilling has observed, an anti-civilizing trend, and to this is closely linked a cult of ugliness, a morbid concentration on the baser elements of life, a clinical obsession with the bizarre and with the grossly sensual and degrading aspects of human nature...The contemporary playwright or producer might well take as his motto, Apres moi, la secheresse (After me, the drought), and congratulate himself that he is writing before a morbid public appetite demands scenes of such repellent realism that actors and actresses will have to be killed on stage in order to satisfy it."

In his book, Professor Williams argues (quite effectively) that because we have banished God from our society, "..the Western world and its culture is saturated with violence and animalism...We are teaching savagery and are naively appalled at the success of our instruction." He then proceeds to demonstrate how the literature of our times is a reflection of this savagery and provokes an escalating barbarism and defeatism which is creating a satanic society which will then be prepared to enthusiastically welcome the Antichrist.

The Twilight film series is aptly titled. For our troubled society is indeed in twilight. It was Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas who once commented on the way that oppression can subtly arise in our midst: "As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."

Witness how far our culture has fallen. Remember films like Citizen Kane, It's a Wonderful Life, Lillies of the Field, and The Quiet Man? What did these films have in common? Each celebrated truth, goodness and beauty. And now we have films celebrating vampirism and the occult.

Darkened minds. Troubled minds.

Meditation: Matthew 12: 35.

Small wonder that Catholics United has been critical of Father James Rafferty's decision...

Shortly after Father James Rafferty, pastor of St. Paul's parish in Hingham, Massachusetts, denied admission to a student whose parents are lesbian, the dissent group Catholic United, which is highly partisan and supports President Obama, launched a petition accusing St. Paul's of engaging in discrimination. See here. Catholics United, at its website, describes itself as, "a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good found at the heart of the Catholic social tradition."

But the fact that Catholics United is anything but non-partisan is obvious to anyone who takes the time to visit the organization's website. For Catholics United promotes the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), an organization which was inspired by radical agitator Saul Alinsky, a Marxist who dedicated his Rules for Radicals to Lucifer, whom he called "the first radical."

According to American Life League's Michael Hichborn, "..no less than fifty organizations (one-fifth of all CCHD grantees from 2009) are, in some capacity, engaged in pro-abortion or pro-homosexual causes." See here. And James Salt, Director of Organizing for Catholics United, has worked for Pax Christi USA, another prominent dissent group which is rooted in New Age spirtuality.


Related reading on CCHD here.

Homosexual adoption subjects children to violence. See here.

Does the Archdiocese of Boston respect those evangelical values which provide the basis for educational norms?

As reported here, Father James Rafferty, pastor of St. Paul's parish in Hingham, Massachusetts, denied admission to a student whose parents are openly homosexual. LifeSiteNews is reporting that the Archdiocese of Boston, rather than backing up this courageous priest who cares for souls, will help find a Catholic school for the ward of the lesbian parents who was denied admission on the basis of their illicit relationship. See here.

This is most unfortunate. For, as Father William Breslin of Sacred Heart Church in Boulder, Colorado made clear during a similar case which took place earlier this year, "It is not about punishing the child for the sins of his or her parents. It is simply that the lesbian couple is saying that their relationship is a good one that should be accepted by everyone; and the Church cannot agree to that." (See here).

Father Breslin is right. The Church cannot condone what is an illicit relationship or even appear to do so. She teaches in fact that, "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law. Homosexual acts 'close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved." (Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons, No. 4).

What is it exactly about this teaching that the Archdiocese of Boston does not understand? By declaring that it will find a Catholic school for the child in question, the Archdiocese of Boston is providing a tacit acceptance of a homosexual relationship. Additionally, the Archdiocese of Boston has forgotten that, "The implementation of a real educational community, built on the foundation of shared projected values, represents a serious task that must be carried out by the Catholic school. In this setting, the presence both of students and of teachers from different cultural and religious backgrounds requires an increased commitment of discernment and accompaniment. The preparation of a shared project acts as a stimulus that should force the Catholic school to be a place of ecclesial experience. Its binding force and potential for relationships derive from a set of values and a communion of life that is rooted in our common belonging to Christ. Derived from the recognition of evangelical values are educational norms, motivational drives and also the final goals of the school. Certainly the degree of participation can differ in relation to one's personal history, but this requires that educators be willing to offer a permanent commitment to formation and self-formation regarding a choice of cultural and life values to be made present in the educational community." (Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating Together in Catholic Schools: A Shared Mission Between Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful, No. 5).

Let's all pray that the Boston Archdiocese will rethink its decision to find a Catholic school for the student in question. It sends the wrong message. And such an attitude fails to respect those evangelical values which provide the basis for educational norms.