[Diego]

The belief that partisan politics has any influence on governance or those who govern is one of the most absurd bêtises of the religion of democracy worship—and one of the hardest for converts from it to relinquish.

Catholics in "democracies" are also a bit uppity when "superiors" lie to us.

[Incredulous]

...The two administrators of Ignis Ardens (IA), Patricius and Clare, are both liberal Catholics. ...

Both seem to be guided by personal pique rather than objective truth.

Coincidentally, I was listening to Dr. David Allen White's lecture on Moby Deck.  He got into the topic of national tendencies of which Moby Deck is a great literary mirror on the American character.

He mentioned that the British character was not of big ideas.
They tend to dismiss most ideas.
Therefore, they excel in the literary world, but not in the theological realm.

I found another reference on this:  British anti-intellectualism:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/ed-rooksby/britishness-and-anti-intellectualism"

It is often remarked that Anglo-Saxon culture is marked by a relative pragmatism and empiricism in comparison with continental European cultures which are much more inclined towards high theory, abstraction and so on..."

[claudel]

Catholics in "democracies" are also a bit uppity when "superiors" lie to us.

That's yet another bêtise, alas. Why should anything they speak, truthful or otherwise, be related in any way to the local system of governance? Furthermore, no one in authority in a soi-disant democracy speaks the truth. No one in authority cares about the opinions, muddled or not. of the "electorate" or the "citizenry" or the "taxpayers"—or the laity, for that matter. The Roman Empire was required to spend veritable fortunes on bread and circuses to keep its masses docile. The American empire and International Jєωry get off cheap, with the quadrennial dictribution of the crusts of flattery sufficing to pacify their sheep.

"Democracies" aren't democratic, and their "citizen rulers" may be citizens (as the Masters choose to define the term), but any belief they have that they have a say in how they are ruled is both a rank delusion and a sin, at least for anyone over 40, in being a product of culpable ignorance.

There was a time when Catholics understood that talk of freedom of speech and expression was not only a snare to entrap the ignorant and the self-important but a Judaeomasonic tool to undermine the principle of just subordination within a rightly ordered secular society. Recall, if you will, that revelation ended with the death of Saint John the Apostle, not "Saint" John Courtney Murray.

The more local point is that no worthwhile enquiry into the actions or motives of religious superiors (with or without the sneer quotes) can occur till Trads divest themselves of the canting language and deceits of the Enlightenment. The comment by John Grace that I quoted in part indicates that he has very likely cleared his own mind of cant. I earnestly suggest that everyone else follow his lead.

[1531]

"Pride cometh before the fall", and "the root of all evil is greed".

 :sad:



For your listening enjoyment.  What a sad day it is.

Thank you, Magdelena, for the lovely music from Mozart.  :applause: It helped a lot as I read through the sad news about Gregorio deciding to leave as moderator at Ignis Ardens.

[claudel]

quadrennial dictribution of the crusts of flattery

Ouch. I meant distribution, of course. Sorry.