Tea at Trianon: Christ or Celebrities?

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, June 7, 2016

Christ or Celebrities?

From Mary Jo Anderson:

Pope Francis recently added a celebrity gloss to his special project, Scholas Occurrentes (Schools of Encounter), when he honored George Clooney, Salma Hayek, and Richard Gere as his arts ambassadors to help build a “culture of encounter.” The award of the Olive Medal of Peace to these actors drew surprised responses. And rightly so.

Scholas is an organization born in Argentina, whose mission is to school-aged children the world over. It operates under the authority of Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, also an Argentine and chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS). It was Sorondo who arranged for the participation of Jeffrey Sachs, a global proponent of abortion and population control, at the Pontifical Academy’s climate change workshop in 2015. When the inevitable criticism of this collaboration surfaced, Sorondo defended it. Critics pointed to the use of children as “change agents,” where students are taught to embrace popular globalist agendas and policies, often contrary to the values of their own parents and sometimes even the Church.

Scholas promotes an “encounter of peace” in 430,000 member schools and educational associations in 190 countries that span religions, cultures, and ethnicities. The hope is that via shared interests in sports, arts, and technology the next generation will “encounter” each other, enjoy greater social integration, and create a more peaceful world.

Five months after Francis’ election, Scholas Occurrentes was designated as an “International Organization of Pontifical Right.” Since then, Scholas has built a very strong presence on social media – part of the technology component – as a means of connecting groups. There is a Facebook page, a busy Twitter account, and large YouTube channel featuring many encounters with Pope Francis. The Holy Father will publish a book later this year with answers to questions that teens submit to him through Scholas online platforms and Google “hangouts.”

In his remarks to the Scholas last week, Pope Francis urged his guests to “Help the world recover the language of gestures.” A handshake and a smile add to the words that we communicate. And, it might be said, so do the “leading figures” and ambassadors chosen to represent an initiative of the Catholic Church. “Important values can be transmitted by celebrities,” said Lorena Bianchetti, a representative of the event.

But what does George Clooney symbolize for a pontifical educational effort? Recently Clooney, like Pope Francis, criticized Italy for not accepting more Syrian refugees. This shared concern for refugees may be the basis of Clooney’s invitation and award. The celebrity spends part of the year in Italy in his 22-room, $50 million villa on Lake Como, where, so far, he and wife Amal have not yet transmitted the value of welcoming a refugee family.(Read more.)
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