Scottish archbishop excoriates the Catholics of his land, praises U.S. Catholics. An article in a UK Catholic newspaper

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https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2...ics-too-wishy-washy-says-scottish-archbishop/

When challenged by secularism, the archbishop said, many Catholics of his land avoid saying they “really believe in anything supernatural…"

“Once upon a time, Catholics longed for and worked for the conversion of others… Now many of our Catholic leaders, intellectuals and academic institutions bend over backwards to assure the gatekeepers of culture and prestige that they’re just as right-thinking as they are.”

Speaking of American Catholics, he said “for 15 years in this country, your mass media have hammered away at the Church on the abuse issue, often fairly, but often not. But most of your people haven’t wavered. They support Catholic schools. They support your Catholic charitable ministries. They love their parishes.” They may complain, but they belong.
 
mdgspencer said:
hammered away at the Church on the abuse issue, often fairly, but often not.
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I’m not sure about that. We are talking about an organization that holds itself as the source of truth. If the Catholic church can’t police itself enough that such abuse was possible, it does deserve substantial scrutiny.

I know what the likely response is…but this is not about the actual teachings of the church. Sure, but it is the oracles of those teachings that have failed so miserably and clearly can’t practice those teachings. Certainly some investigations may have been “unfair”, but certain internal actors have set the expectations of the validity of Catholic teachings.
 
He looks like john oliver, the bad comedian, with 10 lbs and 10 years
 
What? Someone from another country saying we Americans do something right? Now that’s refreshing to read.
 
There are Catholics in Scotland? That’s heartening, even if they’re allegedly wishy-washy. I really didn’t think they had any.
 
hoping4more said:
the bad comedian
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Bad? Unfortunately he does some of the better investigative journalism and is relatively apolitical compared to the other comedy news shows. You might not like his style, but the topics he covers should be of interest to most Americans. Here’s a few examples of topics from the last few months:

Shortage and under funding of Coroners and Medical Examiners
Entertainment wrestling’s excessive death rates.
Hedge fund abuse of Mobile Home residents.
Lethal Injections.
Opioids.
Public shaming.
Robo calls.
Psychics.

Even if he covers a politically charged topic, it is far from the dumpster fire drama of your least liked cable new channel.
 
Scotland is one of the more Catholic parts of the UK. About 16 percent of Scots are Catholic, compared with less than 10 percent in England and Wales.
 
I think John Oliver is amazing. I agree with 95% of the issues he raises. I can’t imagine anyone other than die hard Trump supporters (of the “he is God’s anointed prophet for this era” variety) taking general issue with his show.
 
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mdgspencer said:

Modern Catholics ‘too wishy-washy’, says Scottish archbishop | Catholic Herald​

‘We accommodate. We compromise. We avoid conflict — even when conflict is the only proper course,’ Archbishop Tartaglia wrote…

When challenged by secularism, the archbishop said, many Catholics of his land avoid saying they “really believe in anything supernatural…"

“Once upon a time, Catholics longed for and worked for the conversion of others… Now many of our Catholic leaders, intellectuals and academic institutions bend over backwards to assure the gatekeepers of culture and prestige that they’re just as right-thinking as they are.”

Speaking of American Catholics, he said “for 15 years in this country, your mass media have hammered away at the Church on the abuse issue, often fairly, but often not. But most of your people haven’t wavered. They support Catholic schools. They support your Catholic charitable ministries. They love their parishes.” They may complain, but they belong.
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This brings back memories.

In the Catholic press of the late 1970s and 1980s, I recall that the more conservative Catholic outlets in this country would cover places such as Poland, the Philippines, and various African counties, and there was an overtone of “you American Catholics — why can’t you be good and behave yourselves like these people do?”, in short, a guilt trip. I recall reading once that African Catholics were untroubled by Humanae vitae and did not dissent from it, they were far more concerned with the social teaching in Populorum progressio.

I’m not suggesting that this was wrong or a bad thing, but it was definitely “there”. So it cuts both ways.
 
We either pray for the virtues to increase in the hierarchy, or we accept civilian control of the Church. Diminishing the state of the victims not one bit, we forget that the Church has weathered far worse than what she is undergoing now. Far worse.
 
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It’s a big deal to be catholic in the UK. It is going against the grain in many many ways, not least because we have a very secular society in general. You have to really stick your neck out a lot of the time it’s not a popular thing to be.
 
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