There ought to be an Index
Devil in the details.
Imagine an average Catholic, unfamiliar with the net, deciding to surf the web looking for good Catholic websites. Imagine that Catholic stumbling upon some of the more extreme “Catholic” sites, not knowing the difference between a trad site and a sedevacantist site - or those that fall in between. The average Catholic can easily become confused by the material and opinions these sites offer. If you have ever read some of these sites, you would know what I mean. Mrs. Parkes from the UK blog Catholic Mom of 10 has posted about some of the things she has run across in this genre of weblogs. The upshot is, I don’t think she will be revisiting them anytime soon - Mrs. Parkes is wiser than some priests in this regard.
There are several sites that are definitely schismatic and/or sedevacantist, collectively posting wonderful Catholic practice and devotions, yet not infrequently accompanied by an assortment of conspiracy theories contemptuous of Rome. Then there are more traditional sites, supposedly in line with Rome, that heap aspersions on everything post-Vatican II. (It’s kind of creepy how infectious the negativity and lack of charity expressed in these sites can be.) Often times in so doing they cast suspicion upon everything the Pope and the Vatican says and does. One site even criticzes the Pope for wearing sunglasses!
It has made me much more conscious of who I link to in my blogroll, knowing that who I link to may indeed misrepresent the Church and and the faith. (This applies to dissident Catholic sites as well. A blog is a blog is a blog - but the people reading it may not understand that.) There once was an Index of forbidden books in the Church, with the belief that what one reads regarding the faith may indeed harm the faith of the readers. It’s not a bad idea for Catholic bloggers to consider.
It took me awhile to figure this out. I’m just a simple, average, Roman Catholic man.
[Warning: Some of the sites I link to above are not in union with the Holy Father, though they might claim to be "more Catholic" than he is - which happens to be a terribly presumptuous claim.]
September 29th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I cannot understand what reason any Catholic would have to criticize Pope Benedict.
September 29th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Dear Terry,
I regularly read Catholic World News (http://www.cwnews.com) for their news coverage. They do allow for commentary. Unfortunately, it is there that some of the misinformation comes out. Recently, they mentioned that Pope Benedict XVI had praised the prophetic gifts of his predecessor, Paul VI. Quite a few have entered into a tirade over some of the items you have intimated above.
September 30th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Terry: I agree that the host has a responsibility to his readers to recommend quality websites. If you are going to be a Magisterium Catholic website then you should advocate sites that are. If you have recommended sites that aren’t then they should be clearly marked as schismatic, dissenting, anti-Catholic etc.
September 30th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Cath - Yes, I have been a tad cavalier in my links.
September 30th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Terry, I’m sorry, but if you’re thinking of Athanasius’ blog when you said “though they might claim to be “more Catholic” than he is - which happens to be a terribly presumptuous claim”, you’re being silly. It’s a satire, and he has explained it! You know how Protestants and some liberal Catholics act like you are some “goody two shoes” for trying to do all the good Catholic things like say a daily rosary and go to daily mass, by making fun of you, saying “What, you think you’re more Catholic than the Pope?” as a put down? I’m a very good friend of Athanasius, a fellow school teacher, and throughout his entire teaching career, he has been “branded” as “trying to be more Catholic than the Pope” which is stupid, because trying to be a good Catholic means trying to be the best Catholic you can be (unfortunately, teaching the Catholic Catechism straight out of the book was one of the things that first earned him that put down). The Pope’s personal holiness or “catholicity” has nothing to do with your own journey to heaven, but for some reason he IS used as a judging stick by non-catholics and some silly people to judge how other catholics are doing. If the Pope doesn’t have time to say a divine mercy chaplet every Friday, but I do, does that make me more Catholic than the Pope? No, that means I have time to do something extra, but that kind of stuff has gotten both Athanasius AND myself called more Catholic than the Pope, by people who think that we shouldn’t try our best. After all, if the Pope doesn’t do it, why should we? Why shoot for the stars when you could make it to the moon?
That was long winded, but I hope you understand the satire. And by the way, Athanasius has an explanation on his blog for why he has that on his banner.
September 30th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
No - I link to Athanasius in my blogroll - I have a great deal of respect for him and like him and his site very much, I understand his heading which says that and know the satirical aspect. I was referring to some trad people I know who have said that and mean it in a way that denigrates the Holy Father - one or two once were Catholic. My apologies if it seemed I was slamming Athanasius - if I had been referring to him I would have linked the reference, as I did the other sites.
October 7th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Okey doke;) If I haven’t said so already, I love your blog. It has inspired many self-reflections of late. Keep up the good work Terry!
October 25th, 2007 at 6:31 am
the link to the pope and sunglasses was actually funny - and it lead to a picture of JPII trying on Bono’s …
I think it’s good that we see the human side of the pope every now and then