The Zman’s latest post likens many conservative Americans to a man who is being divorced by a harridan wife, but who still sits in his lonely apartment dreaming that she will come to her senses and take him back in. But, Zman says, more and more conservative Americans are daily accepting the hard truth that America no longer loves them, and has been cheating on them for years.
That something similar is happening among Conservative Catholics struck me as I read Rod Dreher’s new post on Pope Francis and the blessing of homosexual unions. There will always be ingenious theories to explain the innocence of such “motel matches,” but Occam’s razor makes short work of these.* Something is changing, both in the Church and, it seems, the minds of more and more Conservative Catholics. More and more of the later look in their crystal balls and see rainbow flags.
Dreher taught me a new and useful word. The word is Katechon and it names that which restrains Antichrist until the End Times. There have been antichrists since the first days of Christ’s Church, but they have always been at least partly “closeted” because some restraining power kept them from being Antichrist to the max. The locus classicus is 2 Thessalonians 2: 6-7:
“And you also know what is now restraining him [the Antichrist], so that he may not be revealed before his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who restrains it [the Katechon] will continue to do so until he is removed.”
Although Paul trusted the Thessalonians to know what or who the Katechon was, Christian scholars have often disagreed. However the Catholic Encyclopedia (1936) tells us that the Katechon is simply the state or temporal power, since every state is opposed to Chaos (i.e. “the mystery of lawlessness”).
“Organized government, typified by the Roman Empire in St. Paul’s day, is according set down by the vast majority of interpreters has the restraining influence that prevents, under God’s Providence, the manifestation of Antichrist.”**
I should note that “the manifestation of Antichrist” means Antichrist coming out of the closet and being shamelessly anti-Christian to the max. As one Protestant writer describes it, the “manifestation of Antichrist” is “a plain, open, unblushing, denial of the authority of the Father and the Son, and of allegiance to them. It is Infidelity in its highest phase.”*** This writer cites 1 John 2: 22:
“The antichrist is anyone who denies both the Father and the Son.”
I should also add that it is on these grounds that this writer contradicts Protestant writers who identify the Antichrist with the popes, fairly acknowledging that, whatever other errors popes may have promulgated, no pope had yet denied both the Father and the Son.
What this writer calls “Infidelity in its highest phase,” we might call absolute infidelity to everything comprehended by what an old hymn called the “faith of our fathers.” This faith was by no means limited to our fathers’ beliefs about liturgy, ecclesiology and theology, but rather took in everything that our fathers believed was true. The ancient Greeks called this the Nomos; I call it Tradition..
I believe that Tradition is the Katechon that has been removed so that Antichrist can come out of the closet as a proud Antichrist, living the Antichrist lifestyle to the max. Laws and institutions are no better than the men who administer them, so constitutions, cannons, and catechisms are no permanent restraint. The Antichrist has, instead, for centuries been restrained by the prejudice of the vast majority of men and women, who, however unlettered and imperfect they may have been, would have see the naked face of Antichrist as a blaspheme and abomination.
I believe this traditional prejudice against Antichrist was the Katechon—the restraint—and that this Katechon has been removed by “progress” and “enlightenment.”
And I believe this is why Antichrist is now taking off the mask.
*) “Falling out of your open pocketbook / Giving you away like motel matches.” Elvis Costello, “Motel Matches,” Get Happy!!! (1980)
**) Catholic Encyclopedia, 1936, vol. 1, p. 597.
***) George N. H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, two vols. (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1884), vol. 2, pp. 701-702.
The Orthosphere 
How do you “bless” a sodomite union? That’s like trying to “bless” a brothel, or “bless” a nuclear bomb.
I would never dissuade anyone from attending a healthy Catholic parish with a pious priest. But if that parish tells the bishop we’re out of here and hands him the keys, I also wouldn’t deny that the parish retains the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Francis is an apostate, pure and simple.
The Orthodox have the good fortune to have another problem, but they still have a very big problem, and they failed the Litmus Test too.
A 2,000-year old civilization-building institution and now it’s gone. Quite breathtaking.
I think we should adapt the Marxist concept of a lumpen proletariat. In Marxism, this is the great lump-like mass of workers who have no interest in revolutionary change. We should speak of a lumpen folk, or lumpen society, that was governed by prejudice and tradition, and was deeply resistant to change. The culture revolution of the past 250 years was largely designed to dissolve this lump
What very big problem(s) do the Orthodox have apart from having punchable face performative cuckold Rod Dreher (*) as a communicant?
I ask in all seriousness. As an interested observer with less than zero theological chops I don’t quite get why everybody here not of the Calvinist cum Holy Roller (I know, I know) persuasions doesn’t hie themselves immediately off to an Archimandrite or something suitably exotic-sounding and sign up for bass singing and standing for hours. But since there exist sedevacantists on one hand and also serious erudite folk such as Father Hunwicke who come up with complicated explanations why certain of Francis’s emanations may be ignored whilst still recognising him as legitimate Pope… etc… etc.. there must be something a bridge-too-far-ish about Orthodoxy for some Roman Catholics? What is it?
* With reference to article linked, usual disclaimer about Stopped Clocks twice per day applies.
Orthodox ecclesiology is completely wrecked, and the “Ecumenical” Patriarch is a Greek ethnic supremacist who plants exarchates in other territories to keep his Ponzi scheme going.
What very big problem(s) do the Orthodox have apart from having punchable face performative cuckold Rod Dreher (*) as a communicant?
Don’t forget David BENTLEY Hart!
Orthodox ecclesiology is completely wrecked, and the “Ecumenical” Patriarch is a Greek ethnic supremacist who plants exarchates in other territories to keep his Ponzi scheme going.
One might have thought that the now hundreds of thousands of slaughtered between the two largest Eastern Christian countries in the world might reflect negatively on Eastern Christianity.
“One might have thought that the now hundreds of thousands of slaughtered between the two largest Eastern Christian countries in the world might reflect negatively on Eastern Christianity.”
Just as the First World War discredited western confessions, I suppose, when our ancestors witnessed a mad, fratricidal war that severely harmed Christendom and pushed our civilization further to the abyss’ edge?
In the current conflict, the wicked people behind it are not Orthodox Christians, and it’s likely (given their actions and openly stated beliefs) that they despise the Orthodox more than anyone else in the world. They aim (1) first to corrupt and then destroy the Ukrainian people and (2) to weaken or even break the Russians. They will fail in that second goal, but I’m worried about the first. The venomous ones have had a remarkable series of victories in destroying Christian nations.
“Orthodox ecclesiology is completely wrecked.”
If by ecclesiology you mean an understanding of relations among independently governed Christian groups, then all ecclesiology is wrecked — maybe not completely — but certainly wrecked when the people of God have bickered in schism for 16 centuries. But that is looking at the Church as a human phenomenon, and such lies far outside the focus of Orthodox ecclesiology. I suspect that you rather mean that Orthodox religious organization appears completely wrecked to someone with a Roman Catholic understanding of proper church organization.
Cue the Zazzle merchandise: “I don’t believe in organized religion; I’m Orthodox!”
“the ‘Ecumenical’ Patriarch is a Greek ethnic supremacist who plants exarchates in other territories to keep his Ponzi scheme going.”
I cannot gainsay this assessment.
To all you Francis-moaners, we’ve had Bad Bart and his sorrowful predecessors for a century now. They’ve done much, much, much harm to our people, and I’m looking forward to the day when Christians recapture the see of Constantinople. And I don’t synecdochically mean the city of Istanbul (though, of course, that will make for a fine day). That time will come. And so will the restoration of Rome. Maybe even the Jesuits.
Apud homines hoc impossibile est: apud Deum autem omnia possibilia sunt.
“I believe that Tradition is the Katechon that has been removed so that Antichrist can come out of the closet as a proud Antichrist…”
Your hypothesis sounds plausible. In America the traditional understanding is “the People rule,” but the People has no formal organized command structure. Thus it can only rule by applying tradition, but not in a consciously organized way. Since the rule is unconscious, it is not subjected to scrutiny when the underlying tradition changes (or is dissolved.)
Unless conditions become exceptionally atrocious.
@Joseph A. – Orthodox ecclesiology is based on an Imperial model that no longer exists. Constantinople and Antioch no longer exist. Alexandria is an Imperial relic – the native and natural Churches of Africa are Coptic and Ethiopian.
American bishops from the ever-multiplying jurisdictions violate the canon against one bishop for one territory consecrating One Bread, One Cup, every single Sunday. Cyprus and North Macedonia have their own autocephalous archbishops while America is just a cash cow for the “diaspora” Churches. America could not be more culturally distant from Orthodoxy. A big reason for this is the Orthodox never saw themselves as a missionary Church.
Islamist Turkey holds veto power over appointment of the Ecumenical Patriarch (the candidate, by Turkish law, must be an ethnic Greek): the Holy Spirit no longer freely chooses the EP. As the See is now only a tiny Greek ghetto, the EP starts ethnic exarchates everywhere, mostly in America.
The OCA is ignored, even by Moscow. Moscow and “Constantinople” are in schism. “Antioch” has at least six “Patriarchs” and is attempting to bridge a schism with Jerusalem on a couple of issues.
The Orthodox Calendar does not follow the actual movements of the celestial bodies, resulting in a weird and unwarranted disambiguation with the rest of Christianity. The Calendar will eventually become unworkable.
The aggregate effect of this ecclesiological mess is the bishops must spend more time preserving archaic forms and defending their jurisdictions (i.e. hanging on to their tithing pyramid) than shepherding and growing the Church. And like every other Christian sect, they have no principled defense against open borders and egalitarianism.
I will paste this link and leave:
This is a Theologian and Bible translator addressing the topic.
Moral of the story is: go read the official documents AND NOT WHAT THE MEDIA SAYS ABOUT THEM.
There’s nothing to read. There’s no way to bless a sodomite relation, just like there’s no way to bless a polygamous relation or an adulterous relation. If the Pope can err on dogmatic Christian anthropology and still continue as head of the Church, then he’s just an administrator and no longer an indispensable link in the chain of Apostolic succession.
Had you read the page, you would have read that the document NEVER ALLOWED THE BLESSING OF IRREGULAR COUPLES (DIVORCED/REMARRIED OR GAY). IT ALLOWS ONLY TO BLESS INDIVIDUALS IN SINFUL SITUATIONS.
PLEASE INFORM YOURSELF BEFORE VOMITING HERETICAL AND SCHISMATIC NONSENSE.
I think we all understand the subtle casuistry of the pronouncement, and that in a literal sense nothing has changed. If priests could not bless sinners, they would do very little blessing. The objection to the pronouncement is that it invites one particular brand of sinner to receive a blessing while flaunting the instrument of their sin (sodomy being instrumental use of a human body). This makes the priest party to a scandal in the theological sense of a spectacle that encourages others to sin. A priest can bless a murderer, but probably not with the knife in his hand.
Probably the same was said by the Pharisees when they saw Jesus eating with publicans and prostitutes.
I am no theologian, I believe that the document was a very charitable act from the CDF. One spanish commentator said that this will thwart the Schism in Germany, as they are satisfied with being able to offer this blessing. Time will tell if they obey faithfully or if they will bite the hand of the Pope.
Card. Muller has articulated a very gentle and concise letter with his concerns stating that the document seems to have some self-contradictions.
There is not a single Cardinal or Bishop in communion with the Catholic Church labelled the document as “heretical”.
For me the solution is always the same: pray the Rosary daily, and also pray for the Pope, Bishops and Priests.
Fair enough. I’m not foaming at the mouth over this, as if foam in my mouth makes the slightest bit of difference.
APC Carrier, Caps lock doesn’t make demonstrably false statements true. The document explicitly says it is authorizing blessings “for couples” and petitions God to strengthen praiseworthy elements of the relationship. It is *precisely* the blessing of adulterous and sodomitical relationships. It explicitly claims to be “innovative” and a “real development”. It is Rome that is endorsing blatant sacrilege, not we who simply that these scoundrels at their word.
Foaming at the mouth is entirely appropriate.
Oh please, popesplainers, we have seen all this before, dozens of times in the last sixty years. Not our first rodeo. The document is crap, as are the men who issued it. Get a grip. Grow up. Smell the coffee. Get your heads out of you-know-where. I’m sick of the whole lot of you, and can hardly bear being in communion with you any more. I want to scream at you at the top of my lungs inches from your smug, over-educated faces. Just stay the hell away from me. Merry Christmas.
I don’t think you need to be angry or upset about Unam Sanctam as nobody knows where it exists at this point.
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