Father Feeney and the Bloggers, Part II

This is about where I left off in the last Ad Rem, with my (slightly edited) “blogger swan song”:

  1. Father Feeney’s statements on Judaism were very strong, yes. So were the statements of St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and a host of other saints on that subject. A great modern apostle of the social Kingship of Christ, Father Dennis Fahey, wrote extensively concerning Jewish-related issues with a penetrating depth. He, like Father Feeney, is calumniated as an “Anti-Semite.” His beautiful piece “On Anti-Semitism” is something we consider an apt expression of our thinking on that subject. We have a Jew who works in our office (named Cohen — “priest” in Hebrew). His Father, Israel, was a convert catechized by our Chaplain, Father Jarecki, and baptized in an emergency baptism by Brother Francis, my Arab Superior! See Robert Cohen’s Letter to the Keene Sentinel.
  2. Despite the leading statements and shameful innuendo of some persons on this blog, our Center is not a hub of anti-social or unlawful activities of any sort. We do not harbor “pistol-packing priests,” or, for that matter, martial monks, ninja nuns, or paramilitary quacks waiting to take over Richmond in a Catholic jihad. Any time I have challenged bizarre calumnies of this nature, exactly zero evidence has been put forth by those who make them. Traditional Catholics are often accused of harboring strange conspiracy theories. In this matter, it is our opponents who have crafted the most bizarre conspiracy theories. Contrary to these theories, we have dedicated priests, prayerful religious, a chapel filled with big, beautiful families for Sunday Mass, and lots of energetic youth learning wholesome truths in our school. We’re sinners, each one, but we are trying to live a decent, normal, and vibrantly Christian life.
  3. As a corporation, Saint Benedict Center stands up to all the state and federal scrutiny necessary to remain a recognized non-profit with a 501(c)(3) status. This implies legal compliance, ethical standards, and a high degree of financial accountability. Further, we go to great pains and expense to pass applicable state and / or local fire, water, and safety inspections. We also successfully maintain a registered New Hampshire public water system, heavily scrutinized by NHDES. Besides all that, we teach an unvarnished moral code. Reckless comments on a blog notwithstanding, our eighteen-year history in Richmond carries the record of a responsible and law abiding organization. Clearly, we are being put in a false light.

Blogs are very convenient places for people to deposit baseless accusations. As with the twisted headlines of the National Enquirer, there will always be people lacking enough in critical faculties to believe it all without a rational critique. If this present exercise in journalistic anarchy proves anything, it is what fallen human nature is capable of when faced with creedal certitude, moral absolutes, and those who stand for them.

We are hated because of our unflinching Catholic orthodoxy and unyielding adherence to the Divine Moral Law. The former contains “harsh truths” that the world hates; the latter makes painful demands of fallen human nature. We are against atheism, heresy, schism, abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and contraception. We are for social, moral, and ecclesiastical normalcy. In short, we want Jesus Christ, the most gentle Monarch, to be King of men and nations, including our own. Today, a group of people like that, with real convictions, will be labeled a “cult.” So be it. While we still have the freedom to defend our Faith in the public square, we will do so. When that becomes a hate crime, we may get arrested for it. In all these things may God be glorified.

The next Ad Rem will likely take more than a fortnight to be published. God bless you and may Our Lady watch over you.