"...the Catholic church accelerates its turn toward authoritarianism, hostility to modernity, assertion of papal supremacy and quashing of internal debate and dissent. We are back to the nineteenth century."In the next post he declares "civil war" is coming:
The swiftness of the decision and the polarizing nature of this selection foretell a coming civil war within Catholicism. The space for dissidence, previously tiny, is now extinct. And the attack on individual political freedom is just beginning.I pick him because he'll probably be on television later feeding the main stream media exactly what it wants to hear, and his words will echo many voices clamoring for a more "liberal" Church.
First, let me say a discussion of "civil war" is definitely a case of uncivil hyperbole and invective on this joyous occasion. Who is going to man the guns, Andrew?
Second, Sullivan argues that the Church is making a "turn toward authoritarianism, hostility to modernity, assertion of papal supremacy..." as if these are radical departures from Church doctrine. What part of Papal Supremacy does Sullivan reject? Will he nail his objection to a church door? Rejection of modernity? Of course it is, in favor of the saving of souls. As I like to joke, "yes, the Pope is turning back the clock. To the first century."
Instead of shrieking at a choice Sullivan did not desire he should be celebrating the day. After all, what did he expect? And who is he to object?
