The Pope’s Denial Problem

this article is incisive - readers might enjoy my parody of nostra aetate at http://tzvee.blogspot.com/2009/02/to-roman-catholics-worldwide-nostra.html
tzvee

Intellectualism and religeon should never be used in the same sentence, oxy-morans, like jumbo-shrimp or working-vacation.

The fact that Hitchens can't spell the pope's name properly is probably symbolic in his attitude to religion in general - shallow intectualism putting itself forward as robust thinking

To Benfolds and the rest o his/her ilk. How is it prejudice to be wary and contemptuous when one of the most powerful religious/political forces on earth behaves this way? When he allies (and yes that's what he is doing) himself with holocaust deniers and people who barely recognize Vatican authority to curb their excesses? Are you so truly deluded by blind loyalty that you cannot tell the difference between bigotry and simple common sense?

Hitchens for Pope!!

I am a Catholic and refuse to accept these inclusions in my church. The beliefs of these men have no place in modern Catholocism. I have not heard of any changes in their belief system. I have heard an apology, but not a denial of their extreme beliefs.

the Mass is just not about "Holding the Host up so that people can see it" or "saying It in latin"...This is the most superficial and ignorant comment i ever heard. This is not just a mere nostalgia for the old. The Mass is the very centre of the Catholic faith, and its every feature, right down to the language to the words of the Consecration, have a far greater impact beyond that of a superficial ritualism. Lots of people who are born long after the 1960s (including those who are now no older than 17..i was one of them) go to the Traditional Mass of their own will, because they realise Its true value and Its ability to bear the fruits of virtue and of sacrifice in our lives.

Traditional Catholics everywhere are persecuted. Bishops mislead their flock by telling them the faithful who go to SSPX will be "excommunicated" (absolute rubbish- Rome has said that anyone can go to the SSPX for the Holy Mass and the Sacraments) and by preventing the Traditional Mass from being said in their churches within the diocese. They have no respect for the Pope anymore...bishop conferences from America to the Phillipines exlpicitly declare that they do not wish to implement what the Pope advocates (e.g. the Motu Proprio which allows the Traditional Mass to be said without any hindrance). They welcome Jews and Muslims as "brothers", but they despise those who try to preserve 1900 years of tradition and to live a truly Catholic life.

I agree with the many others here who, in essence, are saying that Christopher Hitchens writing on this topic in a Newsweek article is sort of like Karl Marx making stock picks/recommendations in a WSJ article. Nonetheless, I've always enjoyed watching Hitchens on TV where he often displays a very keen intellect and great erudition. However, his problem is that while God gave him a great mind (....sorry, Chris, it was not only nature's serendipity in the way of particular molecular structures randomly patterning in your pre-birth brain), Mr. Hitchens himself has chosen, of his own free will, to avoid or even reject a relationship with God. Moreover, any human who does that ultimately does so with their heart, not with their mind. Faith, like love, is as much more a matter of the heart than of the mind. That is the problem that all atheists inflict on themselves. Anyone can have doubts (and who among us hasn't felt those pangs at some point in our lives), but it is a betrayal of his own heart and personhood to allow his mind to utterly deny the stirrings, no matter how slight, that percolate at some point in life in every human soul. Deny it all you want, Chris, but you too have a soul. Your article doesn't prove that you are smart. It only shows that you are angry because your brilliant mind can't conquer or deal with faith.

This article is hate filled garbage intentionally written to mislead people on the nature of what is going on with the SSPX and the Catholic Church. Mel Gibson's father has nothing to do with the SSPX movement to restore the Tridentine Mass, and no one, least of all the Pope, is advocating the resurrection of any extraneous petitions to the Liturgy which may be considered insulting to Jews. The reason there is no concrete evidence provided in this article regarding the SSPX or the Pope's opinion on the supposed charge of "deicide" against Jews is that this is not something that they have promoted! The author also tries to make this unfortunate byproduct of centuries of bigotry out to be a formal doctrine of the Catholic Church, which it never has been. He does this so that he can intentionally misrepresent any movement of Catholic traditionalism as a "return" to such bigotry. He also throws in a crackpot like Mel Gibson's father to discredit other Catholic traditionalists. what a hater!

This is one of most poorly researched and blatently biggoted artitcles I have ever read. This author knows absolutley nothing about the traditionalist movement or what distringuishes a traditionalist from an ultra-traditionalist or however he wants stereotype people.

First of al Mel Gibson's father is a sedavecantist, which mean he thinks the pope is not really the pope and there is no pope. Gibson also links Marcel Levebre with free masonry and thinks that he was a heretic.

Levebre on the other had was at the Second Vatican Council, warned that alot of stuff would be detrimental to the Catholic Church. (which was right on the money). He rejected the new mass which he had every right to do since the old one was not disallowed (legally anyway). And he disobeyed the pope by consecrating bishops in fear of the future of the church. His followers have always prayed for The Pope and believe that path to heaven comes from Christ through the catholic church. What terrible catholics they must be.

As for the WIlliamson thing. Williamson was totally on an island when he made his comments. The SSPX recently reelected its leader and there is a reason why Williamson is not in charge. The articles bashing the SSPX and the pope fail to mention how much the SSPX and other bishop in the SSPX have distanced themselves from Williamson's comments. They want to make you think that somehow Williamson is the figure head for what the the SSPX stands for. That a lot of bull and it downright decentful and biggoted.

This is one of most poorly researched and blatently biggoted artitcles I have ever read. This author knows absolutley nothing about the traditionalist movement or what distringuishes a traditionalist from an ultra-traditionalist or however he wants stereotype people.

First of al Mel Gibson's father is a sedavecantist, which mean he thinks the pope is not really the pope and there is no pope. Gibson also links Marcel Levebre with free masonry and thinks that he was a heretic.

Levebre on the other had was at the Second Vatican Council, warned that alot of stuff would be detrimental to the Catholic Church. (which was right on the money). He rejected the new mass which he had every right to do since the old one was not disallowed (legally anyway). And he disobeyed the pope by consecrating bishops in fear of the future of the church. His followers have always prayed for The Pope and believe that path to heaven comes from Christ through the catholic church. What terrible catholics they must be.

As for the WIlliamson thing. Williamson was totally on an island when he made his comments. The SSPX recently reelected its leader and there is a reason why Williamson is not in charge. The articles bashing the SSPX and the pope fail to mention how much the SSPX and other bishop in the SSPX have distanced themselves from Williamson's comments. They want to make you think that somehow Williamson is the figure head for what the the SSPX stands for. That a lot of bull and it downright decentful and biggoted.

Ah, Newsweek has done it again. As with the infamous cover story on the Bible and gay marriage, the editors have chosen to run a similarly misinformed, purposefully biased and ridiculously simplistic analysis of the situation. Christopher Hitchens, one of the most vitriolic atheists of our time, is privileged to write an in-depth account about the Catholic Church and its relationship to Jews in the context of the Church trying to reconcile lost sheep back into the fold. Quick research by any layman on the internet will provide dozens of articles that highlight the fact that Pope Benedict XVI has spent much of his time reaching out to many groups, including most notably the Traditional Anglican Communion. Hitchens does not use that more germane angle for his story; instead he grasps onto one line out of the Good Friday Latin liturgy to write a long column on how the Catholic Church is returning to (imaginary) anti-Semitic ways.
The Catholic Church does not "move to the right" or move anywhere, for that matter, like a puppet dancing to the whim of the crowds' delight. The standard argument against the Church by people such as Hitchens is in fact that the Church doesn't change. How utterly backwards of a spiritual institution to be so stubborn in the face of all the scientific and philosophical advances of the last centuries! To boldly proclaim that the SOUL (which we all know to be an out-dated and preposterous concept) should be fed by the seeking of God's grace so that one day we may be in Heaven. We all know there is no life after death!
Yes, this is the person who writes an article in Newsweek on Catholic theology. It is fitting that the editors post at the beginning of the article that the Catholic Church 'doesn't get it'. Obviously, it is the editors of Newsweek who don't get it.
They do not understand that the reading public is not so dumb as to take at face value everything printed in their virtual or physical pages. Alas, they have reached one of their goals, however: I have spent the last ten minutes reading the article and writing this post. So in that cynical way, the editors have done their job. Congratulations, Newsweek. But know that it is a temporary victory. This is surely the last time I will spend any of my precious time reading your 'journalism'.

Ah, Newsweek has done it again. As with the infamous cover story on the Bible and gay marriage, the editors have chosen to run a similarly misinformed, purposefully biased and ridiculously simplistic analysis of the situation. Christopher Hitchens, one of the most vitriolic atheists of our time, is privileged to write an in-depth account about the Catholic Church and its relationship to Jews in the context of the Church trying to reconcile lost sheep back into the fold. Quick research by any layman on the internet will provide dozens of articles that highlight the fact that Pope Benedict XVI has spent much of his time reaching out to many groups, including most notably the Traditional Anglican Communion. Hitchens does not use that more germane angle for his story; instead he grasps onto one line out of the Good Friday Latin liturgy to write a long column on how the Catholic Church is returning to (imaginary) anti-Semitic ways.
The Catholic Church does not "move to the right" or move anywhere, for that matter, like a puppet dancing to the whim of the crowds' delight. The standard argument against the Church by people such as Hitchens is in fact that the Church doesn't change. How utterly backwards of a spiritual institution to be so stubborn in the face of all the scientific and philosophical advances of the last centuries! To boldly proclaim that the SOUL (which we all know to be an out-dated and preposterous concept) should be fed by the seeking of God's grace so that one day we may be in Heaven. We all know there is no life after death!
Yes, this is the person who writes an article in Newsweek on Catholic theology. It is fitting that the editors post at the beginning of the article that the Catholic Church 'doesn't get it'. Obviously, it is the editors of Newsweek who don't get it.
They do not understand that the reading public is not so dumb as to take at face value everything printed in their virtual or physical pages. Alas, they have reached one of their goals, however: I have spent the last ten minutes reading the article and writing this post. So in that cynical way, the editors have done their job. Congratulations, Newsweek. But know that it is a temporary victory. This is surely the last time I will spend any of my precious time reading your 'journalism'.

Do people reading this article ever wonder if, say, cloistered monks and nuns are worrying about this whole the-Jews-killed-Christ garbage?

I doubt it.

We should all take a lesson from these cloistered people and focus on what is IMPORTANT: our faith and prayer life! And leave everything else to the Almighty.

The Catholic Church, like most other organized religions, is the proverbial 'wolf in sheep' clothing.' While they are pout their preacjing the gospel of Jesus to the public behind the scenes they are working to consolidate their own power structure and their grip on the lives of the faithful followers by telling them they will burn for eternity if they don't bow down and accept church doctrine without question. Basically, they say they are preaching the New Testament but, in relaity, they are living in the Old one. Anyone with half a brain who knows the history of the Bible and Christianity is filled with mass killings of innocents in the name of God justified with the ideal that for not believing as the killers did they were doing God's work sending these heathens, often Christians of another faith, to Hell. It is not the belief in God that is the problem: it is the arrogance of humans who think they know God's plan and using it as a justification for murder.

Organized religion of all stripes equals mythology Religious fanatics are no different than atheists -- both groups think they know the answer without any pause or doubt when in fact they don't know the actual truth (nobody does). Arrogance about one's beliefs is a front for insecurity, self-loathing and doubt. Spirituality is and should be a personal journey. Once you put two or more people in a room it becomes a power struggle which ultimately only creates inane rules and convenient dogma. Arguing over the 'inside baseball' of organized religion is like arguing over the history of the tax code. Both are chock full of economically- and politically-motivated man-made rules that God likely doesn't care about. Have faith on your terms, treat others with respect, donate your time and money as you can to make the world a better place and you will be fine. Lennon had it exactly right.

The writer flip flops between being a left winger and a right winger.

Asking him to write about the Pope is like quoting the devil when discussing the scriptures.

was it not written that the Lord would give his only Son so that we might live? I believe that this is beyond a petty arguement between some bull headed arogants. Do people just not get it? IF Judas had not betrayed Jesus as it was foretold by the prophets and by Jesus himself, then Jesus would not have died as he was supposed to do...without the Jews doing thier part in the crowd as encouragers of having Jesus crucified, as it had been written that he would be, then we would not have Jesus as our Lord and Savior. What part of this do you people just not understand....There is NO ONE to blame, but we should be Thanking them. If Judas had not done his part then Jesus would not have died for me. Goodness, people get your heads out of your derriers! Jesus was supposed to die for our salvation and God needed all those people to orchestrate His work. Stop pointing fingers and start being grateful that we have a savior and that we have God because of it.