Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Mark Shea is always good for a laugh...

I once took Mark Shea to task for a truly hateful nihilistic rant, a diatribe if you will on the subject of the death penalty and a judgement on a specific instance thereof by Justice Antonin Scalia [PDF link] of the US Supreme Court. This was standard third/third Shea stuff. (Shea's blog operates by a rule of thirds - one third sane and sensible, one third over the top and the third third pure venom, making out that the opposition are not wrong but evil.)

Just today, in the context of the drummed-up, fake outrage about Cardinal Pell's comments on the Old Testament, Shea commented that
any subculture... can, by the way fall into the same trap of epistemic closure. It's the problem that contempt always creates. When you hold an enemy in contempt, you start to believe your own press releases about how stupid they are and simply cannot believe that they hold ideas different from what your peer group constantly recirculates.
Hilariously, Shea the diagnostician of pathological polemic can apply himself to someone else's flaws and foibles but isn't at all ready to see his own. Really, physician heal thyself!

13 comments:

bill bannon said...

Aside from Shea, the death penalty treatment by the last two Popes sends the message that tradition can be turned over by a brief sortie by a Pope with a little continuity salesmanship....and virtually all Cardinals and paid authors will be silent to preserve their living. That message (tradition is disposable) is sent while the same two Popes were waxing eloquent on the needed stability of tradition in other areas. Catholicism is a geode...beautiful gorgeous center...outer crust in each century contaminated by people, by Popes, by conformism rooted in the need to be a Cardinal rather than a taxi driver in late life (the horror). Horror of the death penalty by two Popes who both opined that we can't know Judas is in hell...despite Christ's words on Judas...all dire.

Jognn said...

Regarding your posts today on Rorate Caeli --

What's the problem with Traditio.org? I just want to know what to avoid and why not to go there. I think I went there a few times in the past, over a year ago.

Éamonn said...

Hi Jognn.

I left only one comment at Rorate today; the criticisms of traditio.org came from a commenter called Uncle Claiborne. I think your question should be directed to him, as I nothing about them.

In XPto,
ÉG

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