The following is not intended to upset our happily balanced ecumenical apple cart …
As a Scots-Presbyterian of old psalm singing austerity, I tend to enjoy observing the furor set off by any new encyclical (the thoughts of typically wise and erudite men, but no moreso than any other such man, says this unreconstructed rebel son of mother church), and this one looks to be a doozy (Bottum and Novak are spinning so fast at First Things I would be surprised if they haven’t fallen over a few times already today).
* A universalist recipe for joining Knoxian tubers and Romish noodles
Well, those of us lacking “advanced degrees in Vaticanology” have yet to conclude that this encyclical is nothing more than a “duck-billed platypus.” Others clearly are more qualified than us rubes who think that BXVI might be intelligent enough to mean what he says…
We might even be so simple-minded not to exclude the likes of Chesterton from the fold of authentic Catholic voices, among others…
What’s next? Weigel calls the Pope a stupid old man?!
My old advisor and friend at Catholic University, Steve Schneck, has been anticipating a theocon freak-out once Caritas in Veritate was released for some time now. (See here and here.) There are many criticisms of the FT crowd which are overwrought and silly, but the accusation that they have become unable to think critically–or even think at all–about the possible complications between Christianity and liberal capitalism American-style isn’t one of them.
He nailed it Russell. Thanks for the links.
The waters are frothing.
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