Yesterday we noted that Qatholic and Qhristian belief, devoted to the word of Trump, not to truth, has a magical and ever-shifting view of reality.
So, for instance, if Trump declares COVID to be a hoax, then hoax it is for Qhristians and Qatholics, until it suddenly is not:
In the same way, Qatholics and Qhristians believe only what Trump and his designated disseminators of the Secret Knowledge tell them about current events. All else is Fake News. So when we get reports from people who actually live in Portland about what is happening there, Qatholics and Qhristians refuse actual knowledge and instead only accept what designated deliverers of the Hidden History of our Time, such as Sean Hannity, tell them is real:
Qatholics and Qhristians simultaneously deny Trump ever lying or behaving like a childish ass, yet always glom on to every credulous attempt by the media to hail a “new tone” from Trump when he periodically makes a minor effort to act like an adult for five minutes or so.
This leads to a kaleidoscopic and ever-changing understanding of what is real. For a while, Trump was pushing his magic cure hydroxlchloroquine. Then he seemed to back off (because it’s actually dangerous as real doctors pointed out). But then, some quacks from the Cult made a film pushing it and Trump tried to promote it the other day. Twitter and other social media immediately moved to take down this deadly and dangerous quackery. Qatholics and their ilk, who only listen to Trump, not science, cried “Censorship!” and helped spread the quackery. Now, of course, the documentation on the quacks behind the film is coming out, and Qatholics and Qhristians face the uphill struggle of denying these batshit crazy people are batshit crazy:
Qatholics claim to “support the troops” but defend Trump when he mocks POWs and spits in the faces of Gold Star families. When vets march with Black Lives Matter they call them terrorists instead of listening to them. Indeed, Qatholics and Qhristians don’t believe in listening to anybody outside their sect. They tell people what they think, believe, and want to do, not listen. For Qatholics, their enemies (which are most people except for other Trump worshippers) are involved in a vast conspiracy.
Trump feeds that conspiratorial mindset constantly. It’s why QANON is what passes for a Magisterium and a sensus fidelium for Qatholics and Qhristians. So whether it is Pizzagate or Benghazi or the Sandy Hook conspiracy or David Hogg the alleged “crisis actor” of Parkland or George Soros or this KKKlassic piece of anti-semitic filth from a GOP senator playing to the bigots in his base in Georgia…
…what you can always count on with both Qatholics and their Qhristian allies is the conviction that their secret hidden knowledge gives them the inside track on shadowy forces at work to persecute them and necessitating their support for Whatever Means Necessary to defeat their shadowy enemies.
Qatholicism, being the smell and bells version of theocratic Qhristian idolatry marketed to conservative Catholics, bears more than a passing resemblance to conspiratorial Fundamentalist apocalypticism that sold well in my youth.
Catholic faith, while it definitely teaches such matters as Judgment Day and the Second Coming, tends to prudently offer very few dogmas beyond the old summary:
He shall come in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
That’s pretty much it as far as what Catholics have to believe about the End Times. But Qatholics, like Qhristians, have all sorts of elaborate theories requiring all manner of doctrinal purities the Church never heard of. In addition to sundry quack visionaries, theories, and apocalyptic scenarios of dubious provenance, you are required to vote GOP, to condemn the “Pachamama idol”, to attend the Extraordinary Form, reject Vatican II, despise felt banners, disbelieve in climate change, and combine mockery of Black Lives Matter with Reactionary aesthetics:
There are, in fact, a host of codes and shibboleths you must navigate like a minefield in order to be a Good Qatholic. All sorts of things trigger Qatholics and fill them with fear and suspicion if you don’t frown or laugh mockingly at designated enemies or observe the correct pieties, matter how stupid they may be. Take this specimen of stupid, stupid Qatholic piety:
If you do not pull your chin and agree that bishops are part of a seductive satanic plot because they ask you to show a little freakin’ consideration to sick people, you are suspect. If like me, you laugh this selfish narcissism to scorn, you are clearly a heretical enemy.
At the same time, if you are an intelligent, gifted and faithful Catholic like Gloria Purvis, but you dare to suggest that the Church’s teaching on the dignity of the human person needs to be followed when it comes to America’s disgraceful record on race, you are anathema to Qatholics and you have it coming when somebody yanks your show off the air. It’s rather simple: for Qatholics, what matters is not the teaching of the Church, but whatever the Cult of Trump needs to be real right now.
Because both Qatholic and Qhristian ideology (not theology, it has none) is incapable of any empathy with human suffering except its own, it tends to order itself around the selfishness of the Leader (certainly the most selfish President and among the most sociopathically selfish humans in history). Their god’s promise is “You can be like me!” It is, of course, a complete lie. He sees his cult as prey, not as equals. He preys on their adoration and, when they become useless or a hindrance to him, as things to be eaten and discarded. This is why he leaves a trial of bodies behind him, both literally (in the 150,000 dead American killed by his incompetent neglect) and figuratively (in terms of the endless henchmen and cronies he hires, rejects, and savages).
This morning, it is why Herman Cain, having devotedly attended his Qhristian god’s Nuremburg Rally in Tulsa to own the libs, is dead from COVID while the god to whom he offered himself as a human sacrifice has not even bothered to tweet a word of consolation. The Cult gives all. The god takes and takes and gives nothing in return.
His cult dream of being him, of mystical union with their god in a paradise of selfishness. But of course, in Trumpworld above all, only one hand can wield the Ring–and he does not share power. But the Cult’s capacity for self-delusion is nearly inexhaustible. Only one thing seems to break through it, the personal experience of suffering. So Trump only cared about COVID when it started to affect “his people“. And “his people” have had to learn as fools learn–from experience–that reality is real and not what Trump and his pack of liars say it is.
But such learning is still rare in the Cult because the mark of Qatholic and Qhristian faith is pride, not humility. And so we can expect the conspiracy theories, lies, quackery, magical thinking will continue indefinitely, because what pride cannot and will not do is learn anything since learning is a confession of ignorance, an admission of weakness, and a sign that we might need somebody’s help. When someone appoints himself the savior of both the Church and of America, he can’t afford to admit that he is a fool.
So he remains a fool until the painful grace of God breaks into his life and brings what we foolish sinners so often require because of our own stubborn stupidity–a severe mercy.
May God give whatever medicine our sickness requires for our ultimate healing through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Advertisement
32 Responses
Well, mark, since you’re on the subject,Father Joseph Illo is also on that subject. If you don’t know who he is, he is both Trump and Mrs. Grundy, rolled into to one shiny ball of happy. He had catholics in SF in an uproar a few years ago. Now he is busy explaining that the world has shut down because they hate Trump.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/amp/SF-priest-calling-fears-of-COVID-19-overblown-15443702.php
Illo has been on my radar for quite a while. I honestly think the guy thrives on the negative attention. I remember him making a big ruckus about altar girls after Pope JPII said that altar girls are fine. When the traddies (before they were called traddies) had a fit about that, (including my own Dad)it was one of the last straws for me. They lost a bunch of credibility. It’s sad because I know a really nice Catholic family that has been sucked into the hyper conservative movement that are friends with Illo. They travel a distance to get to his masses. I don’t even try to change their minds because I know it will cost us the friendship. If they praise mention him I change the subject.
There were signs of what was coming 20 years ago. A little while before the altar girl kerfuffle happened, I remembered an uncomfortable conversation I had with my friend’s husband. We were standing in front of the school waiting for our kids to get out. He kept looking at one of the other Moms with irritation. He finally said, “doesn’t that bother you?!” I was confused. Up until then I thought he and his wife and kids were just this nice, adorable, hippyish-Catholic family, with *gorgeous* kids. (I *wished* I could be a “hippy” Catholic!) He went on a small tirade about what she was wearing (tank top and shorts) going on and on about how inappropriate she was and how she dressed that way a lot. I told him that I thought she was beautiful, and that there is nothing wrong with the human body (West Marin gets really warm too.)
I came away from the conversation changed in my opinion about him. I still considered him a great friend but his outburst was simply ugly, and bitter in tone. For me, the only thing inappropriate was the conversation. It altered my opinion, because up until then I thought he was this really chill guy who was a great Dad, and good husband. (He is still all of those things!) But it didn’t make him sound virtuous at all, it just smelled to me like he had guilty hang ups and was scrupulous. “Custody of the eyes” is fine, but the trad mentality can’t find virtue in admiring beauty and simply moving on. Their cult manages to make everything guilt-ridden and dirty. It would seem strange that they admire a man like Trump, but maybe they think it’s normal for men to think the way Trump thinks about women because they have reduced attractive women to an occasion of sin. Strange, and grotesque but just like the Devil to suck the goodness out of a gift from God.
Sad.
@ taco
I think you have your friend down pretty well. It’s much the same mentality that the Muslims have when they insist that women must look like black traffic cones, less the men be excited by the side of an ankle or a lock of hair, and not be able to control themselves.
I was aware of Illo and the altar girl kerfuffle a few years ago. A friend of mine maintains that the reason star of the sea school closed was primarily because of Illo. So many parents pulled their kids out because of his attitudes towards anybody that wasn’t him, wasn’t rad trad, and wasn’t super orthodox must be looking for occasions to sin.
When I lived in the big city I went to Extraordinary Form mass for a while. I liked it for itself. But I was a little uncomfortable there, as it was 100% white & very affluent, and this was in a Texas city at a parish with multiple Spanish masses. Every single homily was about how the EF calendar differs from and is superior to the OF calendar. Every. Single. Homily. Nothing about, oh, I don’t know, performing works of mercy, preaching the good news, etc. Just us-vs-them-ism and smug self-satisfaction.
Later on I went to mass at an Anglican Use parish. They processed in with the Ignatius Press Bible held aloft. The homily was all about the evils of cafeteria Catholicism. (This was a while back, before the Trump Era.) Talk about preaching to the choir. You could cut the self-congratulation with a knife.
At any rate, for a while I got to where I knew every little thing that’s supposed to happen or not happen in mass, and I got extremely agitated when something wasn’t done the way it should be done. I’m autistic & tend to fixate on things like that. I got to where I had to live in a nice little traditionalist Catholic bubble. It was terrible.
Now I live in a town where we just have one big parish and we all go to mass together. It’s mostly Mexican because the town is mostly Mexican but there’s people of all ethnicities and races. It’s catholic with a lowercase c & very messy. Thank God.
Not that we don’t have our own problems. A few years back we got a priest who was fixated on sexual sin. At the beginning of every mass the lectors had to get up and say: “In order to show reverence and avoid being an occasion of sin to others, we ask that women keep their shoulders and backs covered and avoid low, revealing necklines.” Which got every single parishioner thinking about boobs right before mass. For *some* reason, the lectors did *not* ask men to show respect and avoid being creepy perverts by not ogling ladies in the communion line.
This priest would always have his buddy, who was on prison ministry, substitute when he went out of town. One time he subbed for our son’s school mass. He got the fourth grade class up to the altar, gave them an unctuous little talk, handed them all prayer cards with his personal e-mail address, and told them to think about what he’d said and send him an e-mail to get in touch. No school or parental permission, no supervision, nothing. (This guy had bounced around parishes. There were all kinds of red flags. Weird, self-justifying stories about him doing favors for young “friends” figured largely in his homilies.) The school was totally fine with all this, which is part of the reason why we pulled our kids. My wife complained to our priest, who told her, no way, this guy is my good friend. So she called the archdiocese abuse hotline, where a secretary tried to laugh it off but the person in charge took her seriously. The priest never came back. I’ve since looked him up. He’d been moved to another diocese. Yes, that s**t is still happening.
Anyway, one Saturday our own priest called the bishop, said we needed a replacement for the Sunday masses, and took off. He left the priesthood and got married. Good riddance! We’re still recovering from that guy.
Ben, Fr. Illio has proven himself to be a self important show boat culture warrior. He alienated most of his parishioners and school staff immediately upon arrival. A priest but not representative of all priests. This is similar to saying Louis Farrakan’s views represents all black clerics.
@ Linda
I don’t take him is representative of all priests, anymore than I took the late father ring as representative of all priests. I just refused to work at his church, and turned down a few jobs because of it.
Illo was on the front page of the chronicle today, and he seemed to fit in perfectly with Mark’s article. A few days ago, I was upset about the wedding held at Saints Peter and Paul, Which was also mentioned in the article.
I’ve met a number of priests. Most of them seemed like pretty decent people. I never judge any group by a few of its members, unless the group is entitled the Hey We’re A-holes Club. Then I am willing to take their word for it.
Often the most outspoken traditionalists make me feel ashamed to be somewhat of a traditionalist myself. It also sometimes makes me feel resentful towards the Church in general for fostering an environment where this sort of radical traditionalism could develop in the first place – that is, from the very beginnings of the liturgical reform, the leadership had every opportunity to handle those wanting to retain the old Mass in a pastoral way and instead chose to do pretty much everything possible not to. There were opportunities to foster a more varied and healthy traditionalism that the hierarchy simply didn’t exercise, and now they sow what they reap. The old Mass will never go away because it offers a kind of mystical, contemplative, and spiritual experience that the new rite was specifically designed *not* to have, so it seems to me the Church needs to figure out a way to make it work.
I did find Mark’s mention that attending the old Mass is a “requirement” of Qatholics puzzling, though, as I’ve met an enormous number of “crazy conservative” Catholics who were perfectly happy at the Ordinary Form singing “All Are Welcome” while saying only real Catholics vote Republican.
You’re right that the hierarchy’s mishandling of the transition to the ordinary form alienated many Catholics who would harden into the Catholic far-right, but Humanae vitae strained the rupture.
I share your appreciation for traditionalist aesthetics and consider it tragic that rad trads hijacked the extraordinary form.
jj
Religion is so foolish. If we stop believing in God, then we can all behave rationally. Secularization will not unleash a bunch of esoteric religions. /s
https://www.corax.com/bookshelf/chesterton/oracle-of-the-dog.html
“The dog could almost have told you the story, if he could talk,” said the priest. “All I complain of is that because he couldn’t talk, you made up his story for him, and made him talk with the tongues of men and angels. It’s part of something I’ve noticed more and more in the modern world, appearing in all sorts of newspaper rumors and conversational catch-words; something that’s arbitrary without being authoritative. People readily swallow the untested claims of this, that, or the other. It’s drowning all your old rationalism and scepticism, it’s coming in like a sea; and the name of it is superstition.”
He stood up abruptly, his face heavy with a sort of frown, and went on talking almost as if he were alone. “It’s the first effect of not believing in God that you lose your common sense, and can’t see things as they are. Anything that anybody talks about, and says there’s a good deal in it, extends itself indefinitely like a, vista in a nightmare. And a dog is an omen and a cat is a mystery and a pig is a mascot and a beetle is a scarab, calling up all the menagerie of polytheism from Egypt and old India; Dog Anubis and great green-eyed Pasht and all the holy howling Bulls of Bashan; reeling back to the bestial gods of the beginning, escaping into elephants and snakes and crocodiles; and all because you are frightened of four words: “He was made Man.”
“He was made Man.” is forgotten. Rituals, symbols, Latin, robes, words, Eucharist on the tongue, and doctrinal purity and what not, which are just hints and help to get to “He was made Man”, have become the end. It’s like fighting and killing over the typography, font and colors of the map, instead of making progress to your destination
Well Monsignor Pope seems to have gotten his wish. I hope he didn’t infect too many others on his way to self imposed martyrdom. Yes, Ben, some of these guys are complete menaces.
https://m.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/be-not-afraid
Read this entire thread. It is perfect. https://twitter.com/DawnofMercy/status/1288896541244235777
His behavior is worse than I thought. I wish this reckless menace a full and speedy recovery. And a speedy recovery to the people he infected through his sinful neglect. Let’s hope he’s held accountable.
Dawn Eden Goldstein is a wonderful witness.
@ linda mostly, and neko
I meant to comment on this yesterday, but I ran out of time. I’ve read pope’s column from your link. And now I find out that he is sick, and probably spread this to a bunch of other people. There was so much very subtle evil in his column, like so many right to lifers who will move heaven and earth to protect the fetus of some woman 2000 miles away, but I don’t give a small ggooddaamm about the people who are here and now. As always, the line from Prince Farquad in Shrek comes to mind: “some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.“
But that is the obvious evil. I want to look at the subtle evil. He commented several times about “cowering in fear“. I don’t think most people are cowering, and I don’t think they are living in fear. They are rightly concerned about catching a disease that may or may not kill them, or may or may not leave them with lifelong disabilities breathing and having a functional heart. So, rational people take sensible precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones. He is trying to shame people for feeling something that they are not feeling. In short, he is gaslighting them.
Yesterday, my husband did an x-ray on the woman who was absolutely terrified because she had contracted Covid. She had every reason to be. She felt awful, and he could see on her x-ray that her lungs were at the beginning stages of the worst that Covid could bring. He did what he could to comfort her. She had a right to be afraid, seeing as she had a husband and children. Was she sick because she listen to someone like pope, or was she sick because someone like pope infected her as he was walking around fulfilling his political agenda and ignoring common sense? WE will never know. What I know is that my gay husband, Denounced by people like pope and a host of others as being less than human, is risking his life and my life by going to work every day. His death or my death are not acceptable sacrifices to the Trump agenda.
But perhaps even worse, Screwtape style worse, are several references to the need for everybody to go to church, and pray to the God who created this virus, who did nothing about this virus at all, despite all of the prayers in all of the world. It’s not too difficult to read between the lines, if one is so inclined. He is worried about the money for the church drying up. If the butts are not in the pews, the money is not in the collection plate. But what he is really worried about is that if people stay away from church, they might find out that they don’t need to go to church at all, and that they have better things to do with their money and their time on Sunday morning. And then where will all of his power over other go?
I’ve said this before many times, and I’ll keep saying it until the day I die, hopefully in about 20 or 25 years, even though I am turning 70 tomorrow. The Christian right support of the REpublican party is being thoroughly IN the world, not OF the world. It is all about power, money, and religious dominion. And then the age of Trump, it is about revenge. And a man like trump is the perfect avatar for that, because revenge is what he lives for against everyone who has ever slighted him.That’s what narcissistic bullies With daddy issues do.
And all of this coming from a man called POPE. The irony is too sharp.
See this is why is sucks being an atheist sometimes. I can’t even pray for you and your husband (and that poor woman)!
All I can do is ask you to thank him for me and wish you both live long and prosper. And of course we the liberal left will always stand by you, in saecula saeculorum, amen!
@ neko
I will thank him for you. And thank YIU for the good wishes.
By the way…Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear BEN…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!
@ neko
Thanks for the birthday wishes. When did i become my grandfather? How could that happen?
@ bensnewlogin Haha you’ve still got the young dynamo in you!
Exactly. A certain type of self congratulatory church goer that accuses others of living in fear while behaving recklessly. Selfish, petulant, dangerous virus spreaders, who need to be confronted.
I just sent an email to a member of the creation care ministry I chair at my parish. We had meeting via Zoom on Thursday to discuss safe, online ways to promote care of our common home during this time. One member, a 75 year one man who I’ve known for years and has a history of trying to bully the pastor and others (mostly women), ranted throughout about ‘living in fear’, talk over and shaming others. A literal tantrum, rolling his eyes, walking away when others spoke. I finally had to cut him off to allow others to speak.
Yesterday I received a long gaslit pseudo apology email, much as you describe. Menaces in both style and substance. I sent the following reply:
“I hope we can move forward with a new communication style. Your thoughts and separate truths deserve to be heard but are only a part of a whole. Truth matters. Our meetings will not be devoted to or sidetracked by personal arguments and political agendas. Next meeting, I will offer clear communication guidelines. Otherwise, it is wasted time.
Please do send your ideas about outdoor worship for consideration. But we will continue to abide by the facts. The coronavirus is real, social distancing and staying in place helps to prevent its spread, reckless behavior promotes its spread, and we are bound by current archdiocesan guidelines at present. These are facts, not fear. Given those realities, I believe that we can work together to put forward a fruitful Season of Creation calendar.”
Bless you and your husband.
Thank you linda for your good wishes. Believe it or not, even though we have never met, those good wishes from you and neko mean a lot to me. 😘😘😘😘😘
I would have been tempted to add in to your reply to this gentleman: “i’d like to slap you silly for your attitude, but i have to wash my hands.” Not very pastoral, i know.
I lost close family to the GOP cult decades ago which is currently the even crazier as the trump cult. It’s maddening & heartbreaking. NOTHING seems to penetrate. They steadfastly refuse to learn or listen. I have asked them to watch and listen to trump’s words & actions w/o any outside/”Liberal” interpretation or commentary. I get anger & shouts of “we’ve heard enough of your BS”.
I hear every crazy trump cult idea: he’s not perfect, but neither was King David or Cyrus or Constantine. God is working with & thru him. The Democrats just want to destroy him. The Dems are Socialists who want to give everything away for free & give more to the gays & pay for abortion.
Their minds are thoroughly poisoned & corrupted.
Calls to be opened minded & seek truth are waved away with disdain because they already know the truth.
It is so sad & stupid for devout daily communicates to fall for the Orange Obscenity who respects none of their professed values and embodies all the sins & selfishness & malignancy the world can produce.
It is so sad & so stupid. I have no idea what to do.
@ sean
I am a fellow atheist. I have long thought the people create their gods in their own image. People don’t read the Bible and think that they are going to be “that guy”. They are already “that guy”, and read the Bible to justify it. I suspect that they pick their political leaders the same way, because what you described as the Trumpanzees is exactly why they vote trump, regardless of the disaster he has created. He’s their guy. He’s like them. I have heard more than a few people say that they see themselves in Trump, or that trump really understands them.
I wish I knew! And it will not go away with Trump. IF he even goes away.
And in other Qnews – Viganò is at it again -.he accused Pope Francis of heresy, corruption and being Accepting of homosexuality. (https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/catholic-archbishop-accuses-pope-francis-of-heresy-corruption-and-turning-a-blind-eye-to-homosexuality)
And in further news – Bill Montgomery one if the co-founders of Turning Point USA and ardent anti-masker has passed from COVID. (https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/pro-trump-group-deletes-image-mocking-masks-after-co-founder-dies-from-19/).
I followed the link on Viganò. Remind me not to do that again. The filth coming out of his mind is enough to convince me that there are some rather large skeletons hiding out in a series of closets. But then, I went to the Facebook page of Premier Christian. I Perused the headlines for a While. Remind me not to do that Again, also.
I didn’t mean to “shock” your sensibilities – I cannot in any way comprehend what us going on in Vigano’s mind, I do wish it would stay there, though. I actually looked up the interview itself and had to drink several beers to clear my mental pallet
@andy
Oh, my sensibilities were not so shocked, but thanks for caring. I long ago gave up being super surprised at what comes out of some people’s mouths. Sincere but completely misguided? Grifting? Power mongering? Incapable of seeIng how they present themselves? not caring? Delusional? Poisoned by hate or despite Or bad parenting? Who knowsL it just taught me to look at what they are saying, look at what they are doing, and look at what they say they are doing, drawing my own conclusions.
The Qatholic deity is named “Q”.
The Qatholic deity is Donald Trump.
Like the Star Trek character would ever have anything to do with a raving death cult.
Mark, in my opinion what you describe is a form of mental illness.