For those of you viewing traditional Catholic blogs (read: including those from Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists, my replacement term for TBBs, as one of them is using TBB as a badge of honour. BTW, RMT is my term, and it's a badge of disgrace,) there's been smattering of posts about pro-life advocate Mary Wagner. She got arrested in the Advent season for protesting inside an abortion clinic in Toronto.
I haven't been covering this because, in this blogger's opinion, the coverage has been mainly one-sided from LifeSiteNews, but more so, two bloggers who are RMTs and quite close allies with each other, and not from true journalists (including Catholic ones,) or bloggers who speak with authority, true respect, and thought on matters with the Mind of the Church in Toronto and/or Ontario (e.g. Fr. Raymond de Souza.) The coverage has become incessant in quantity, not of critical thinking, and bears a sensationalist "make un-harmonious noise" quality, vs. inspiring towards action. Also, this blog is more of a liturgical blog. However, I will address the RMT elements in the coverage of this issue.
The coverage of Mary's arrest until the article at the bottom of this post, gave more credence to the Holy Father's words last year in the America journal about micro-focusing on Abortion and other such causes. I will be a Glad Trad and give Francis the benefit of the doubt in what he said. He wasn't insulting those who do such work. He is not stupid about this moral evil and Traditional Catholic causes (unlike the sentiments of the Radicals and the RMTs,) and likely gets that a lot of Catholic youth are pro-life. He was likely tacking abortion in this interview from the perspective of making something else a sacred cow or going to extremes for something, over the whole totality of practicing the Catholic Faith. In fact, he has spoken out harshly against it, even accusing Europe of being a `grandmother` of sorts, likely thinking of contraception and abortion in mind with that `grandmother` speech. One can even think along the lines of extreme ``Martha-ism`` like his speech to clergy this past Advent.
If you want more depth to understanding that spiritually crippling mentality, I recommend the work of Benedictine Tertiary oblate, Mrs. Elizabeth Scalia, the "Anchoress" online. She`s even wrote a book about it called ``Strange Gods.`` for sale on her site.
However, with regards to the coverage of Mary's case, perhaps the Pope's words do apply here in those bloggers` cases. Christ seems to be shoved aside here for the sake of being inordinately angry at her imprisonment, bearing anti-law enforcement sentiments, and even using Mary's situation for the sake of launching another RMT assault at the 'corrupt, post-Vatican II Church and its bishops,`including out Eminence of Toronto, Thomas Cardinal Collins.
Not to mention, one of the two bloggers` coverage has gone far from the limits of being journalistic or highlighting the injustice of Mary Wagner, with the reigniting of personal feuds with a liberal, heretical priest by mentioning him by name, and local Catholic journalist/media personality Michael Coren, who has stated in his latest Cathoilc Register article of how Mary`s supporters are attacking him personally. These two bloggers are part of that cabal. At least the true supporters of Mary, the Polish people in the motherland of Poland, are going about things properly and showing support that one can clearly define as Catholic, and not laced with vitriol. Such personal vendettas are detracting from the importance of the main issue.
On the issue of bishops, even a commentator in one of the main blogger's postings has stated the following, which rings true for this current scenario (albeit seems to have been used for Toronto pro-life's past in the 60's-80's):
"Working WITH bishops always works better than denouncing them in print." [Or in this case, online text on your blogs.]
The anger inherent in the coverage of the issues combined with the quantity of posts and its clear, bias .... is quite above what is necessary to cover this situation. Further, the accusations launched by these two bloggers, again one more than the other, is quite exaggerated with an obvious bias.
So, reader, you or one of my major detractors/slanderers will likely say something with the mentality of, `Well I am not being silent! I will scream it to the hills until she is free! You are a Spawn of Satan Julian!`` If you want to do that, fine, go do it on your blogs, but do realize it actually might not be helping her cause. That won`t make even the more ``devout`` Catholic want to contribute to the pro-life cause, and also is embarrassing Traditional Catholics, as if we are these crazy pro-life zealots who scream obscenities in print and verbally (vulgar, and non-vulgar) like those pro-death counterparts. If anything it damages the Traditional Catholic movement as well as the abortion movement too, out of pure sensationalism.
Personally, I wouldn't go so far as to do what Mary Wagner did, walking into an abortion clinic knowing of the laws and that it will end up in arrest. Such action should be a LAST resort, when all other civil and diplomatic means have been executed. Civil disobedience, even though there is a portion in our Catechism, is NOT the first strategy to employ against a moral situation or offence. Has one ever heard of prudence and temperance, of which prudence is the highest of the Cardinal virtues governing temperance, fortitude, and justice?
I must also state there are numerous other organizations and even religious orders that are doing pro-life work in the Church that are tackling the problem head on. Examples are Campaign Life Coalition (with its youth wing), the Aid to Women organization in Toronto, National Campus Life Network (NCLN), and the holy Sisters of Life. I even have acquaintances that are active officers in these organizations and have had the pleasure to have traveled to Ottawa for the March for Life with the Sisters alongside my companions at Newman Centre @ U of T.
To me, these organizations/groups are better local options or means to take part in the battle against abortion. If I wanted to be gung ho as a Catholic, I'd join with one of my colleagues and devote myself with as much fervor as they do. Oh, there are also areas NEAR the abortion clinics you can pray and speak to patients and hand out literature to, you know. Just ask some of those organizations how to do it. To me, these organizations and the March for Life, are making a greater impact and presence on the Pro-Life Movement, flush with young vibrant people, than these kinds of efforts. In fact, if you glance at the blogosphere, the naked truth is that every year, the amount of people at March for Life Ottawa increases!!!
So, allow me to end this little episode in Blogger-land by showing you what an example of high quality, proper Catholic journalism with the mind and heart of the Church on the issue is. Deborah Gyapong of the Catholic Register and other journalistic publications in Canada, has reported on Mary Wagner's imprisonment and done proper research and evaluation, including interviewing an eye-witness the day of her imprisonment. Her work has finally been released by a notable (read: balanced to conservative) catholic, mainstream media source called the "B.C. Catholic."
THE ARTICLE MAY BE FOUND HERE: http://bccatholic.ca/component/content/article/1-latest-news/4646-mary-wagners-opposition-to-abortion-lands-her-in-prison-again.
It has been finally picked up by a major Catholic media source in Canada. One could say that the blogosphere's major gripes of "It's not getting press!" has been addressed. I would only hope that the coverage at this point forward becomes less of a griping and pushy nature, and more of modest updates on the situation. I, here as S.U.D., will not be covering such an issue in future. Abortion isn't one of my major focuses of this blog, though something of my friends who are involved in pro-life work might cross over (e.g. from Campaign Life Coalition) and I will happily promote my Glad Trad friends' work or efforts if need be on here.
Finally, I reiterate: It is a major embarrassment and shame that these bloggers, who are self-appointed leaders in the Latin Mass circles in the Archdiocese of Toronto and surrounding it, even actual leaders with positions in the Latin Mass, have once again chosen to waste their positions of "authority," time, and energy, into turning something true and valiant, into something personal and feeding some sort of beast, a beast that isn`t Catholic. By feeding these beasts, I am in disbelief that these people are representing "Traditional Catholicism." News flash, they are not, and do not, represent what Traditional Catholicism is truly about, and even young Catholic adults in the movement do not want to identify with this behaviour, not just myself. Then again, the expression is ``the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.`` Something good is easily turned into something evil when twisted with prideful vice. I think Michael Cored in his article above for CR says it well:
``Could there be something personal, even needy, about all this?
Michael may not be right on everything in the Catholic Faith, but in this case, his arguments are actually being bolstered due to the bloggers` behaviour online. He`s asking the strong questions and even nailing some things on the head. The quote above, is one of his proper questions he is asking, and is right-on in doing so. His question, is a great summation of my sentiments and commentary, in one sentence.
Now, that`s my twoonie in all this, and that`s all I`ve got to spend. I've got better ways to use my time as one involved (but never sickened in obsession) in participation in Traditional Catholicism, such as making posts on ... oh! Altar serving and the Latin Mass! There's still that Low Mass for one server and Acolyte post calling my name ....
Pax Tibi Christi. Julian Barkin.
P.S. Comments are off. I expect some blow back on the blog-o-sphere of the detracting and slanderous kind from my enemies. I await and expect your cannon fire. Don`t try anything with my e-mail either or my allies and friends.
