[Important Update! 30/06/2013. After composing my posts, I have now found an official statement from L'Arche, as Mr. Vanier and L'Arche community have become aware of the confusion surrounding the CBC interview. See the official statement here: http://www.larchecommons.ca/en/national/news/clarifications_following_cbcs_interview_with_jean_vanier_on_assisted_dying_2016-06-13]
Hello Everyone,
I know that I haven't posted in a while since promoting the June 11th Latin Mass at Mary Lake. I'll have to draft a brief report on that one later when I have time, as well as a small personal report of my own I bet you are wondering about .... have great patience with this newly married husband here.
When you are just starting out in Marriage, yeah it's a bit of a drag setting up the house for living and oh yeah .... actually COOKING your own meals. A lot of luxury you have while living under Mom and Dad's roof, goes highly unappreciated. Commuting to work is also a real time sapper, when you don't have a personal laptop to do blogging work with. All this saps your time.
Now enough about me, save one more note about my lack of time to blog ... or should I say, my latest posting. A two parter, one that needed much time to compose.
Jean Vanier: Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalism and the CBC media screw things up again ...
A Few Weeks ago ...... I was almost duped into siding with the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists and calumniating and slandering in the name of the Pharisaical "Church" that exists in their heads. These word-vomitting brutes went quite wrong in the interpretation of liberal main stream media interviewing and calumnied and detracted another Catholic leader. What am I taking about? Let me explain.
In the Catholic world, there always are "heroes" that get propped up among communities for their outstanding service to the Lord, or for being its best defenders and witnesses. One early example in Church History is Tertullian, (c.150-240 AD) whom had written a number of works against heresy and anti-Christian smears against the Church in his time.
Unfortunately, there are also times that these heroes end up "missing the mark" when a particular issue, either doctrinal, theological, or moral comes up where they decide to go against Church teaching or get something wrong, and demonstrate contrary witness. In Tertullian's case, ~211-212 AD, he eventually embraced heresy himself in a form of Montanism, as well as the belief in a work of his, "De fuga in persecutione "whereby flight from persecution is condemned, implying that God's providence intended the believer to suffer. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14520c.htm). It was this break that prevented him from getting a title of "Doctor of the Church" as well as possibly, salvation in heaven, due to his un-reconciled break from the Church.
However, a new and sickening trend is cropping up in today's, highly divisive Catholic Church: Idol and hero worship worthy of violating the 2nd commandment, according to one's theological-political preference, and the rapid and quick dismissal of such heroes when they differ even slightly from the "narrative" one wants. This is happening both on the liberal side of the Church and the Conservative/Radical Misrepresenting Traditionalist (RMT) sides of the Church, with our Holy Father, Pope Francis. This post on Fr. Allan J. McDonald's Southern Orders blog sums this anti-Christian and contrary phenomenon to the Church's witness, with an accompanying video.
Still, The RMTs are notorious for this, cheering on any hero, cleric or laity, who strikes against the "Modernist" (read: corrupted and Not Matt 16:18 protected) Church and its supposed heresiarch, Pope Francis. Also, should one of their heroes veer off just even a teeny bit from the Latin Mass only, strict doctrinal obedience or nothing Church in their heads, many of them will cry out with anger and rage, and dump their heroes like yesterday's expired grocery meat. Others may still defend said heroes, but it is likely with intention of "saving face" or proving to the public including (Arch)diocesan authorities, "Look at me. I'm not a Radical Traditionalist. I defended this now dejected hero unlike the other crazies. I'm not one of them and hence there is no need to question my orthodoxy (in as much as you can ignore my other sin crimes against Jesus,) or stop the Latin Masses in my area if you are a bishop/pastor."
In the last few weeks, the RMTs once again committed a spiritual hate crime, a crime I am truly flabbergasted to witness, as the target's supposed rejection the RMTs are claiming, would violate his own Faith and his primary work of charity. But what sickens my soul even more on this occasion, is that joining the RMTs, and providing their main fuel for mob lynching, are now literal, professors or teachers within "orthodox/Conservative" Catholic institutions, and other normally "sane" Catholic bloggers. These people, tend to be of the best, brightest, and most Faithful laity, in our church, with an online presence or teaching the minds of young Catholics. Sadly, they are become allies of the RMTs, akin to Saruman in Lord of the Rings, who abandoned his wizard order of light to aid Sauron and his minions of evil, even boosting Sauron's orcs with magic to create the brutish and powerful Uruk-Hai.
While Sauron abused his talents and magical powers for evil, these people, are now lending their "magic" of thoughts, words, and deeds, to the hate train of their more radical, ultra-right brethen in the Church, despite not using the outright bile and vitriol of the RMTs in their compositions. They think that it's also ok at times to lambaste the faithful for straying from orthodoxy, including any Pope in public. They think that it's ok to bring spiritual issues and condemn their wayward brethen, and the Pope, when necessary according to their opinion, not TRUE necessity, or a last resort to employ necessary fraternal correction, a la St. Catherine of Siena. They are contributing to the "pollution" of the liturgical, moral, and theological environments of our Church, not realizing they are becoming enemies of the Church and like the RMTs themselves, only with more "peaceful" words.
To quote a fellow blogger of mine, David Wanat of If I Might Interject, (though this applies to all Catholics, not just the Pope,) they are becoming part of the "I'm with Stupid" (herein, I.W.S.) faction of the Church:
"... there is a new faction rising which seduces the orthodox Catholics by way of making professions of loyalty to the Church and Pope—with a twist. This is the faction that professes their obedience and loyalty to the Pope, [or their Catholic faith and practice of it in areas such as liturgy and daily life,] but treats him [and other "less orthodox" "c"atholics] like a burden must endure every time he opens his mouth or writes something. I call them the “I’m With Stupid” Catholics. These Catholics spend more time trying to criticize what the Pope [and other "c"atholics have]said, than they do showing how the Pope’s words are Catholic.
They might not accuse him of heresy as the radical traditionalists do, [with laypeople and other clerics not necessarily being immune,] but they do believe they need to lecture him [and others] on what the Church teaching is. That’s not helpful and it’s not loyal either. I say this because such complaints leave the reader with doubts about the Pope’s orthodoxy, knowledge, intelligence, or sanity. One does not build up the Church by tearing down the Pope, no matter how polite one is about it ...."
Might I also add that it creates a "fortress" mentality of the reader of their content, that everyone including their family members and parents, just don't measure up to being "TRUE" "C"atholics, and so they are to be ostracized in the person's life or converted to the reader's (and eventually, the reader's absorbed) Catholic orthodoxy, in a "do or die" manner. The I.W.S. crowd will usually not advocate this approach verbally/in writing, but it is implicit in their attitudes, having an dark effect on the spiritual formation of their audience.
So, just who is the target of all this Trad Hate, and now, "Ortho-Catholic"/I.W.S hatred? The individual of concern is Jean Vanier.
Jean Vanier and L'Arche Community ... betrayal of his core values?
Briefly speaking, Jean formed what is now the L'Arche community/charity, which has group houses/communities in a number of countries, that specialize in giving mentally challenged adults communities where they can not only be cared after, but where they are treated as more than permanent 'kids to babysit' or simply 'patients' to be sedated/neglected/discarded etc. akin to the mentality of nursing homes (not the homes themselves necessarily, but as dumping grounds for people the family cannot care for, or doesn't care for at all, releasing them of a "burden" off their shoulders.) L'Arche actually allows these challenged individuals to be loved and respected for their existence, exactly as to what Benedict Emeritus XVI's has stated about what true LOVE is, in his Principles of Catholic Theology. L'Arche also allows for certain of those individuals to work in their local civil communities, while giving them a stable living environment.
Because of the marvelous work that Jean Vanier has done with regard to challenged individuals, he has been praised and lauded many times over for this model of love and community, and has been given high honour outside, but especially inside, the Church for his work. Example are abound in my Archdiocese of Toronto, as well as in other counties/areas of Ontario. Catholic high schools have been named after him, in areas such as Richmond Hill, Muskoka region, and Milton, ON.
What the Radicals and their now I.W.S. allies are claiming, is that this hero, has turned his back on the Church and his charity work in the moral issue of euthanasia. This is quite the raging issue in today's world, as a number of countries have already mandated it, and it is leading to "healthy" people who do not fit the criteria to a T being executed in its name. In Canada, [as of June 15, 2016] legislation for legalizing euthanasia [has been passed] through the House of Commons in parliament, in bill C-14, to legalize euthanasia. Our Eminence, ++Collins, as well as other bodies of medical professionals and other figures, valiantly [fought] to, at the very least, have the bill amended so that it does not violate the religions and consciences of people who adhere to religions that value life from birth till death, as well as the medical professionals working privately and publicly in health care, and most importantly, the dignity and respect of patients, regardless of the immense pain and suffering they may be undertaking in their illness.
During discussion of the bill, RMTs and their new "Ortho-Cath" allies, made claims against Vanier, which sprouted from an interview given by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). One particular faculty member, a John Paul Meenan (herein, JPM,) of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry's Bay, ON, relayed a scathing, detracting and/or calumnious essay/article to increasingly Radical Traditionalist news outlet, LifeSiteNews (of which their change in "outlook" to merit the Radical Traditionalist title will be discussed in my second posting.) After, his screed was then relayed by RMT blogs, implying that Mr. Vanier has formally turned his back on the Church, supporting Euthanasia.
What the Radicals & Ortho-Caths are Saying ...
I came across this lynching through my blogger feed, and first thought based on the Radical Traditionalist bloggers' reporting of this, it was just another attack on someone who they perceive as "enemies" of the Church. However, seeing that source was NOT some little media outlet of the RMTs, but the CBC, I then feared the worst that this was, one of two times the broken clock strikes correctly in a day, and was losing grip on my self-vow to not stand with these anti-Catholic RMTs.
I decided to play detective and go backwards, just to make sure I wasn't coming to false conclusions, like RMTs are wonton at making. The secondary source happens to be LifeSiteNews. Their article straight out declares in its by-line, "Jean Vanier supports legalizing assisted suicide in CBC interview" (only linking for the sake of the source of the claims, NOT that I personally support LifeSite News.). The LifeSiteNews article starts to prove its titular claim, by stating at the beginning of the recorded interview from the actual program, As it Happens, "... Carol Off asks him directly whether he is in favour of the proposed assisted suicide law, and Vanier avoids answering directly, but later in the interview, he confesses on his own recognizance that he is in favour of a law.... Vanier in his own words, after a nuanced preface: "Shouldn't we have some legislation to permit this? I say yes, but let's put in safeguards..."
Now, being clever by thinking of potential critics like myself who stand against the ethos of their media outlet, the author of the LifeSite News article, JPM, decided to put in an immediate counter to those who actually research the original source material of the CBC interview, by saying, ".... Curiously, this snippet does not show up on the CBC's own written transcription, for reasons I cannot discern. A few moments later, as they end their discussion, Ms. Off asks Vanier if he would ever consider having his own life ended: "That is certainly a very personal question, and I would say no...But I have never lived intense pain..." Presuming that under the influence of such 'intense pain', he might avail himself of this option? Or that others may? ...."
JPM or the editorial staff at LSN, asked Vanier directly for clarification on his words, and Vanier states, "I stand by everything that I have said. The main thing is in any case to support life and to avoid all situations of suicide that originate in a situation of depression and solitude." However, JPM follows up by saying, "So, we may presume, that Dr. Vanier thinks there are cases, outside of depression and solitude, wherein suicide, assisted or not, should be permissible, even aided by law and physicians under the law? This is what Vanier apparently means when he goes on to clarify:"If the correct sedative or medication has not been found one cannot oblige someone to live through an unrelenting agony." Finally, Vanier ends off his clarification by declaring that Pope Francis continues to tell us that everything cannot be regulated by a law and there are always exceptions." The last sentence is according to JPM, "... referring to the recent exhortation Amoris Laetitia (and other declarations by the Pope) wherein the Holy Father warns against a strict, casuistic reliance upon the 'law', particularly the laws governing marriage."
So then, it seems that our "valiant" hero Mr. Vanier, is now 'gutter trash' to the once admirable Pro-Life movement, Radical Traditionalists, and their new allies, the "Ortho-Caths"/I.W.S's alike. Does he truly deserve to be out-casted by the Church, according to these lay 'Crusaders' of the True and "Trad" and/or "Ortho-Cath"/I.W.S. legions?
My next post will be to answer that question with a firm and resolving, NO! The follow up post to this will tackle the errors and flaws/biases that make these detractors' claims have "reasonable doubt" to take from courtroom jargon. That will be for your reading, tomorrow.
Part 1 Concluded.
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Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.
I'm honored that you found my article worth quoting. God Bless
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