Tea at Trianon: Church and State

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Church and State

Scott Richert's article came out a few days ago but I was away. So here it is. Mr. Richert correctly observes:

The widely held, apparently self-evident, assumption that the pro-life movement is the creature of the “religious Right” has blinded even most informed observers to the unexpected and intriguing fact that, for some on the Catholic part of “the Right,” the life issues are no longer paramount, if they ever were. Share

1 comment:

Vara said...: Mr Hitchcock is completely and absolutely off-base and WRONG in his comments. I have had the blessing of meeting many good Catholic people at pro-life events and rallies. Pro-life issues certainly were (and ARE!) VERY important in their constellaation of values.

Rank-and-file Catholics never were a comfortable part of the Republican coalition (unlike Evangelicals, for instance). Not only did one see sn opposition to the current war in Iraq (and the earlier "war" in Kosovo, one must say in all fairness and justice, this Orthodox Christian says "thank you" for that!), but also an oposition to Republican corporatist and globalist policies. Not only John Paul and Benedict, but also Leo (I am thinking of the social teachings here) lives on in the popular Catholic consciousness.

Indeed, if you were to ask this outsider her opinion on what is important to most Catholics, I would list the following:

1. Pro-Life

2. Anti-Military Adventurism (not anti-war, for most Catholics are ready to bear arms in a just war)

3. Pro-family initiatives

4. Anti-immorality (a stance against pornography, deviant sexuality, and licentiousness)

Hitchcock, Novak, et al are uncomfortable with the above list because neocons are actually VERY liberal in their social attitudes. However, I believe that the instinctual and deeply-held pro-life values of common Catholics offends them, for it impedes them in their alliance with their neocon confreres. Did not Apostle Paul tell us, "Do not be yoked unequally with unbelievers"... Hmm... something to think about, indeed!

Vara; September 25, 2007 at 9:58:00 PM EDT