James Hitchcock’s article “Abortion and the ‘Catholic Right’” in the Spring 2007 issue of Human Life Review says that The Wanderer has a “seamless garment” agenda. Does this Catholic weekly put economic issues and the Iraq war ahead of the sin of abortion?
My guess is no. I believe, that like the weekly columnist Pat Buchanan whom The Wanderer publishes, the newspaper would hold their nose and vote for a W. Bush over an anti-war, but radically pro-abortion Democrat candidate.
Hitchcock makes a good point about the newspaper’s “unacknowledged internal conflict” on economic views.
Joe Sobran who recently retired does “espouses a minimalist view of the state, according to which almost every project that government undertakes does nothing but harm,” whereas Rupert Ederer, who is the economic expert for the newspaper thinks the government should get more involved in “trade, tax, and monetary” issues as Hitchcock noted in his article.
Both Ederer and Sobran have appeared to write that other issues are of equal weight to abortion.
On December 7, 2006 in The Wanderer on December 7, Ederer said:
“We need to recognize that there are Ten Commandments, not one or two. Along with the Fifth Commandment (murder of the innocent) and the Sixth Commandment (against sodomy) there is also the Seventh, about stealing (depriving the working man of his just wages), and the Eighth, about lying (a devastating war based on lying).”
On December 15, 2006 in The Wanderer on December 7, Sobran said abortion is “worse than aggressive warfare” but “. . . after all, legal abortion is going to be around for a while and the Iraq war, whatever you think of it, is urgent right now.”
Ederer would say this is the Catholic position, while Sobran would probably say this is the conservative position.
What would Pope Benedict XVI say about this positions?
On July 3, 2004, the then Cardinal Ratzinger in a titled “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion,” wrote:
“There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.”
“Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia,” ‘Ratzinger wrote,’ “when a persońs formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.”
[http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Q_n-ZGudDR4J:ncrcafe.org/node/1083+There+may+be+a+legitimate+diversity+of+opinion+even+among+Catholics+about+waging+war+and+applying+the+death+penalty,+but+not+however+with+regard+to+abortion+and+euthanasia.%E2%80%9D&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&ie=UTF-8]
Even the pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage National Catholic Reporter admitted that “Benedict [in May of this year] clearly seems to feel that a Catholic politician who knowingly and consistently supports legislation that expands access to abortion is in violation of church teaching, and thus should not receive communion.”
[http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Q_n-ZGudDR4J:ncrcafe.org/node/1083+There+may+be+a+legitimate+diversity+of+opinion+even+among+Catholics+about+waging+war+and+applying+the+death+penalty,+but+not+however+with+regard+to+abortion+and+euthanasia.%E2%80%9D&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&ie=UTF-8]
The Pope has shown that other issues, like economics, “waging war and applying the death penalty” is not proportionate to the sins of abortion and euthanasia.
The Wanderer position is, I believe, the Pope’s position.
Unfortunately some of the contributors to the paper appear to think otherwise. The problem is not that there are differing views on these other issues, but that some Catholic writers are claiming that their opinion is the official Church teaching and excommunicating other faithful Catholics who as the Pope said may have a “legitimate diversity of opinion” on this issues.
More worrisome is the “From the Mail’ section of the paper which has in recent years featured the writings of E. Michael Jones who is misrepresenting the authoritative teaching of the Church on Catholic/Jewish relations. Jones appears to have gone over to the far right wing The Remnant “Jewish-Masonic conspiracy” theory.
My great worry is that a great Catholic newspaper like The Wanderer might fall out of the Church and become a sect rag like The Remnant.
E. Michael Jones is a true intellectual whose writings I’ve admired for years. His writings in recent years have broken my heart. Intellect will not save us. Only intellect at the service of love, faith and humility in Christ and His words as well as Christ’s Church will saves us.
On the practical level, after prayer and humility, the answer for The Wanderer is to admit the “legitimate diversity of opinion” in the Church and have lively debates on these issues. If they think I and others are wrong about Jones’ opinions not being legitimate for Catholics then debates us.
I would have loved to have seen a debate between Ederer and Sobran on the governments place in society. It would be fun if Paul Likoudis and a pro-Iraq war Catholic debated in the editorial section. It is my opinion that Likoudis should take over the slot of the retired Joe Sobran.
I believe these changes would bring back some of the subscribers who canceled their subscriptions because they’ve told me the paper was “too negative.” It’s my opinion they thought the weekly was forgetting about the “legitimate diversity of opinion” in the Church.
But most of all as a long time subscriber I want to thank the folks at The Wanderer for the great service they have done for Jesus Christ and His Church. You are in my prayers.
My guess is no. I believe, that like the weekly columnist Pat Buchanan whom The Wanderer publishes, the newspaper would hold their nose and vote for a W. Bush over an anti-war, but radically pro-abortion Democrat candidate.
Hitchcock makes a good point about the newspaper’s “unacknowledged internal conflict” on economic views.
Joe Sobran who recently retired does “espouses a minimalist view of the state, according to which almost every project that government undertakes does nothing but harm,” whereas Rupert Ederer, who is the economic expert for the newspaper thinks the government should get more involved in “trade, tax, and monetary” issues as Hitchcock noted in his article.
Both Ederer and Sobran have appeared to write that other issues are of equal weight to abortion.
On December 7, 2006 in The Wanderer on December 7, Ederer said:
“We need to recognize that there are Ten Commandments, not one or two. Along with the Fifth Commandment (murder of the innocent) and the Sixth Commandment (against sodomy) there is also the Seventh, about stealing (depriving the working man of his just wages), and the Eighth, about lying (a devastating war based on lying).”
On December 15, 2006 in The Wanderer on December 7, Sobran said abortion is “worse than aggressive warfare” but “. . . after all, legal abortion is going to be around for a while and the Iraq war, whatever you think of it, is urgent right now.”
Ederer would say this is the Catholic position, while Sobran would probably say this is the conservative position.
What would Pope Benedict XVI say about this positions?
On July 3, 2004, the then Cardinal Ratzinger in a titled “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion,” wrote:
“There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.”
“Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia,” ‘Ratzinger wrote,’ “when a persońs formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.”
[http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Q_n-ZGudDR4J:ncrcafe.org/node/1083+There+may+be+a+legitimate+diversity+of+opinion+even+among+Catholics+about+waging+war+and+applying+the+death+penalty,+but+not+however+with+regard+to+abortion+and+euthanasia.%E2%80%9D&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&ie=UTF-8]
Even the pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage National Catholic Reporter admitted that “Benedict [in May of this year] clearly seems to feel that a Catholic politician who knowingly and consistently supports legislation that expands access to abortion is in violation of church teaching, and thus should not receive communion.”
[http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Q_n-ZGudDR4J:ncrcafe.org/node/1083+There+may+be+a+legitimate+diversity+of+opinion+even+among+Catholics+about+waging+war+and+applying+the+death+penalty,+but+not+however+with+regard+to+abortion+and+euthanasia.%E2%80%9D&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&ie=UTF-8]
The Pope has shown that other issues, like economics, “waging war and applying the death penalty” is not proportionate to the sins of abortion and euthanasia.
The Wanderer position is, I believe, the Pope’s position.
Unfortunately some of the contributors to the paper appear to think otherwise. The problem is not that there are differing views on these other issues, but that some Catholic writers are claiming that their opinion is the official Church teaching and excommunicating other faithful Catholics who as the Pope said may have a “legitimate diversity of opinion” on this issues.
More worrisome is the “From the Mail’ section of the paper which has in recent years featured the writings of E. Michael Jones who is misrepresenting the authoritative teaching of the Church on Catholic/Jewish relations. Jones appears to have gone over to the far right wing The Remnant “Jewish-Masonic conspiracy” theory.
My great worry is that a great Catholic newspaper like The Wanderer might fall out of the Church and become a sect rag like The Remnant.
E. Michael Jones is a true intellectual whose writings I’ve admired for years. His writings in recent years have broken my heart. Intellect will not save us. Only intellect at the service of love, faith and humility in Christ and His words as well as Christ’s Church will saves us.
On the practical level, after prayer and humility, the answer for The Wanderer is to admit the “legitimate diversity of opinion” in the Church and have lively debates on these issues. If they think I and others are wrong about Jones’ opinions not being legitimate for Catholics then debates us.
I would have loved to have seen a debate between Ederer and Sobran on the governments place in society. It would be fun if Paul Likoudis and a pro-Iraq war Catholic debated in the editorial section. It is my opinion that Likoudis should take over the slot of the retired Joe Sobran.
I believe these changes would bring back some of the subscribers who canceled their subscriptions because they’ve told me the paper was “too negative.” It’s my opinion they thought the weekly was forgetting about the “legitimate diversity of opinion” in the Church.
But most of all as a long time subscriber I want to thank the folks at The Wanderer for the great service they have done for Jesus Christ and His Church. You are in my prayers.
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