Something for everyone

I have been quoted. No kidding. Little ol' corn-pone, backwoods hick Dogpatch of the North Jerry DePyper has been quoted on the Internet. Not once, but twice!

The first quote was no real surprise. Matt C. Abbott is a young Catholic writer (a good one), and I had e-corresponded a bit already with him in connection with issues detailed in the Roundtable post below. Matt has reproduced that first letter from Lenore and me to the Catholic Herald in an article on the RenewAmerica website. (Scroll about 1/3 down to see our letter referenced.) This is a website of Alan Keyes, and it's an honor for us to be included therein.

The other source is a bit more interesting. A site called "The Picket Line" advocates, among other things, tax resistance as one of its focal topics. In that vein, Dave Gross, quoting from my Strike Three! post below, identified me in his 30 May 2007 article as a rare "right-wing counterpart to left-wing war tax resisters". Again, I am honored, and I heartily accept the moniker.

Now, Alan Keyes and left-wing tax resisters may not represent extreme opposite poles. In fact, in an interestingly radical manner, they have much in common. But I think it's fair to claim that these two groups span a pretty wide ideological range, wouldn't you say? To be mentioned in a favorable light in two such diverse forums is gratifying indeed. Such broad appeal is seldom attained by even the big household names.

Maybe I should run for President.

Roundtable

Catholic publications: Embrace diversity of thought, or teach Catholic truth clearly?

Lenore and I recently wrote the following letter to our diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Herald of Superior, WI. The letter was printed in the May 3 edition:

In this information age, we can easily experience information overload. TV, Internet, books, all combine to create a cacophony of ideas and opinions on every subject imaginable. This may be quite suitable for political and ideological controversies, but the truth of our Catholic Faith must surely rise above such mere subjectiveness and speculation. The highest purpose of Catholic journalism must be seen in this light: to shine the light of the true Faith as a sure beacon and reliable guide in the midst of the chaotic and confusing cacophony in our world.

By publishing the left-leaning and often heretical ideas of Fr. Richard McBrien and Fr. Ron Rolheiser, the Catholic Herald is failing to achieve this high calling. Weighing their own supposed academic prowess and subjective opinions against 2000 years of consistent Church teaching and billions of believing saints, these two priests have no problem preferring the former. But such insufferable hubris is not the primary problem. To give these two a podium is to undermine one's own reliability as a source of Catholic teaching. Such has been the Catholic Herald's error.

Surely more authentically Catholic writers can be found -- writers such as Matt C. Abbott, Amy Welborn, or Russell Shaw, to name a few -- who have consistently written intelligent reflections on our Faith without departing from its truth. We call upon the Herald to replace McBrien and Rolheiser with real Catholics. Enough cacophony!

The May 17 edition contained 6 response letters, all of them opposed to ours, although we also received many favorable responses in person. Regretfully, The Herald does not include letters to the editor in its online version, so links to the written responses cannot be included here.

In light of the interest shown, this blog post is an invitation to engage in a roundtable discussion on the proper role of Catholic publications in the marketplace of ideas. Feel free to click here or on the comment link for this post (below) to read the roundtable discussion, and to add any comment you like. No comments will be edited or deleted unless they are obscene or exceedingly uncivil. The first comment is our letter as sent to The Herald in response to the 6 unfavorable responses.