I think sometimes we can confuse matters like these and stray in to Puritanism.
I see what I would consider to be something akin to a Puritan attitude sometimes expressed by some posters on this forum, which saddens me because Catholicism is more open minded than that imho.
In my experience Catholicisim is not prudish.
The key for me is how one approaches a work of art, as much if not more so than the work of art itself (be it a book/painting/music/film etc).
Catholicism has always had an intellectual tradition that studies the culture and reflects upon it from a Catholic mindset and basis of faith.
I dont think that Catholicism should be blinkered in its approach to the world but should engage with the culture, rather than seek to avoid the world as it is.
The key is what goes on in one’s head when doing so, which is where one’s faith and the Catholic world view comes in.
I am suspicious whenever I see the word prude being a big concern. At one time, the mass media was concerned about Catholic sensibilities. Movies and TV programs were mostly inoffensive. There were standards and limits reflective of Catholic standards and limits.
But as time passed, “pushing the envelope” had to occur. The full phrase is “pushing the envelope of what people find acceptable.” Which people? Christian people. Those already engaged in alternative lifestyles tried to present their worldviews as appealing, or even superior to the then current standards.
The Catholic worldview is today generally rejected by the mainstream media and certainly the fine arts world. The “world as it is” has been formed. It did not accidentally reach this point in its development culturally.
The current reflections coming from the Church includes observations about the rise of Indifference. “Hey. What’s the big deal?” Either there is truth or there isn’t. Either there are reasonable limits on behavior or there aren’t. There are absolutes, regardless of what passing fancy the media latches onto.
I would ask you consider that at one time movies and music spoke of love and romance and devotion. Today, a young woman meets a man in a movie, they have sex, and part ways. The same on TV.
Today, the common character template is embodied in the Dysfunctional. There is no way to engage with a culture that treats love and sex as throwaway items. I suggest you read the following:
vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_29061936_vigilanti-cura_en.html
God will not force you to love Him. The Church will not force you to attend Mass. I work in the media and most of my friends are artists and writers, with a few musicians and photographers. The counterculture of the 1960s radicals has been realized in some ways. Catholics are now, in many ways, the counterculture. The barbarians are no longer at the gates. They are producing music, movies and TV programs that rarely reflect anything recognizable as having some virtue. The anti-hero has, in some cases, replaced the true hero.
I watched Frank Zappa appear in Washington, D.C. to tell our government that those words on record albums are just words. What he actually said was everyone should simply accept those words based on little more than his say so. Lenny Bruce, arrested on obscenity charges, was recently pardoned by the Mayor of New York. And so it goes.
The Church will speak clearly and remain ever vigilant.
Peace,
Ed
