Fr. Z's Blog

You might trot over to Fishwrap (aka National Schismatic Reporter) and read the epitome of a spittle-flecked nutty.

Michael Sean Winters (aka Wile E. Coyote of contemporary liberal Catholicism) is unhinged on this first full day on which we called Donald Trump “President-Elect” and Hillary Clinton “Loser”.

Look.  I might have preferred the election of a different candidate, but when it came down to the actual choices, … well… I’ve spoken my piece about the criminal Party of Death candidate.

Here is a sample from the Fishwrap Fainting Couch.  Make popcorn and watch the meltdown.  Mind you, my motive here is more than mere delectatio morosa:

Shock. It is the emotional reaction that has accompanied Donald Trump’s campaign from its start and it reached its climax last night. The country has administered a severe disaster to itself. The trappings of democracy cannot obscure the moral enormity, nor ameliorate the sense of disgust: This is a dreadful thing that has happened to America, but it did not happen the way an earthquake happens or a tornado happens. This self-inflicted wound was chosen.

It is futile to try and predict what a Trump presidency will look like. The thought of Attorney General Rudy Giuliani sends a shudder down one’s spine. I am not a psychologist but I don’t need to be: Mr. Trump has advertised his preference for unpredictability. The man who claimed he knew “more than the generals” about ISIS now looks at the landscape of American politics and media and has received the self-assurance that he knew more than all of them, he knew he would win. This will not diminish his sense of self-importance nor induce a sense of restraint. He will not now suddenly learn the human necessity of declining to cross the bounds of decency.

If the country had elected Jeb Bush tonight, or Paul Ryan, I would be worried about certain public policies I think are important. In both cases I would also rejoice about the improved prospects of other policies. This is different. Part of the difference comes from the knowledge that a foreign power, no, a foreign adversary, played a conspicuous role in this election. This fact did not receive the attention it deserved, a worrying sign that we have already begun to become accustomed to the shock.

The president-elect delivered a conciliatory and even gracious speech last night. Do not be fooled. He rode to victory by stoking many of the worst sentiments in human nature and he awakened a beast. The beast will continue to want to be fed and when his advisors tell him not to continue agitating those base sentiments, he will scorn them. It is no secret that he already despises the Republican establishment as much or more than he despised Hillary Clinton.

[…]

For my part, I await comments on the election from ACTON INSTITUTE.

Meanwhile, look at Hell’s Bible (aka New York Times) on the exit polls.

I wonder how this broke down between Catholics and catholics.

Let’s go back to Fishwrap, where there is an editorial.

They ask an important question.

We’ve come through the most bitter, toxic and demoralizing presidential campaign in modern history. Though the votes have been cast and a winner declared, the republic has been seriously wounded, divisions have deepened and widened, large swaths of the country have drunk deeply of the toxic brew of intolerance and hate, or dismissiveness and denigration.

[NB]What are we Catholic Americans to do?

The divisive issues, tensions and attitudes that were magnified on the campaign trail will not dissipate soon. The key to Donald Trump’s victory was his promise to bring change to Washington, to blow up the status quo. Nothing in his campaign leads us to believe that he can bring disparate parties together. Trump won the campaign, but unknown is how he can govern. He does not even have the full support of the Republican congressional leadership. Republicans, now in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, will have to act much more responsibly than they have in recent years when their sole agenda was to oppose President Barack Obama. What the next four years will bring cannot be predicted.

Our one hope is the belief that our Constitution and the American people are strong enough to weather this storm. This country has at critical times in its history rallied together, overlooked differences and pulled through crises as bad and even worse than what we face now. And to be clear, the crisis we face is not the election of Trump, per se, but a broken political system and a divided nation.

We would like to say that as Catholics — a church with nearly equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans but many common agendas because of our social justice tradition — could play an important role bringing healing to society, but regrettably, Catholics seem as divided as society in general.

[…]

HEY FISHWRAP! LOOK IN THE MIRROR!

The Fishwrap is one of the reasons for the division among Catholics!   They peddle constant dissent and confusion.  They foment disaffection and disunity.

What are Catholic Americans to do?

First, let’s not whine.

I suggest that we must renew our Catholic identity through a constant review of the content of our Faith from sure sources, through a revitalization of our sacred liturgical worship in harmony with our tradition, through deeper personal conversion, examination of conscience and use of the Sacrament of Penance, through unwavering dedication to our vocations.

What are we to do?

Let us be Catholic, not catholic.

Let us be faithful and courageous in the public square and in our private spheres.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and rekindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.