Tea at Trianon: A Catholic Code of Charity in Communications

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

Thursday, March 30, 2017

A Catholic Code of Charity in Communications

And this goes for Facebook, too! From Vultus Christi:

No one can deny that blogs, forums, and various social networks, all of which have an immense potential for good, can become hotbeds of the sins of gossip, detraction, calumny, rash judgment, scandal-mongering, and discourtesy. Is it not time to formulate an international CCCC, a Catholic Code of Charity in Communications? Perhaps someone with the prestige of a Father Z, or the giftedness of our friends at OnePeterFive could get behind such a proposal and effectively launch it.

So-called “Catholic” internet venues can become a near occasion of sin when writers allows themselves to discuss, analyze, and magnify the lapses, weaknesses, and sins of others. Even an occasional perusal of “Catholic” blogs and website reveals —often in the comments— examples of a wanton lack of charity, of bitter sarcasm, and of razor–like innuendo. Such things do not build up the Body of Christ. Does not Saint Paul present us with the standard of Catholic blogging?

For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy, whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline, blog on these things (Philippians 4:8).
Once formulated, a a Catholic Code of Charity in Communications could be proposed to every blog, forum, discussion group, and social network of Catholic interest. Those responsible for the same would be invited to make a public online commitment to support and uphold the CCCC. The commitment would encompass all that appears on a given internet venue, including the comments posted. (Read more.)

julygirl said...: Somewhere along the way society has evolved into the individual being convinced their opinion is the only one that matters and a sense of entitlement and disregard pervades. The main culprits of this attitude seem to be those who proclaim their 'open-mindedness' and 'tolerance'.; March 30, 2017 at 5:49:00 AM EDT