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Having watched the opening salvos of the great Easter Week Catholic Twitter war of 2020 for 2 or 3 days, I want to offer an observation: those of you who follow people like me, @timotheeology, @DavidRobertGor1, & @TaylorRMarshall do so, presumably, because you appreciate that 1/
we fight for the truths of the faith, and against the corruption in the Church. We bring a passion to our work. Hopefully we articulate things in a way that moves people to think differently (and presumably, this is why we have audiences at all.) 2/
You'll see us (or the people following us) using metaphors suited for combat. "Fight" & "battle" & "war" & so on. If someone says we are engaged in a "battle for the soul of the Church," nobody bats an eye.
And that's all fine and good. BUT... 3/
And that's all fine and good. BUT... 3/
The minute we have an argument about something, people start scolding and clicking their tongues about "infighting."
Folks, did you want guys who are red blooded enough to tackle these issues or not? If you wanted a tea party with frilly lace, go hang with Jesuits. 4/
Folks, did you want guys who are red blooded enough to tackle these issues or not? If you wanted a tea party with frilly lace, go hang with Jesuits. 4/
Men argue. Men get angry and yell about things they care about. I was raised around a table where men of the family and various friends sat around and argued about politics and religion, and guess what? It got heated sometimes.
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5/
Sometimes, guys need to duke it out. As the Mandalorians would say, "This is the way." I think of this humorous example of two friends arguing over a character in the Wizard of Oz. This is what guys do. Deal with it:
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The question isn't "do we fight" but "are we sincere, honest, forgiving, & of good will?"
If you let ego get in the way, you're toast. If you can't ever admit you were wrong or took things too far, we can't be friends. Men own up. They apologize. They shake hands afterwards. 7/
If you let ego get in the way, you're toast. If you can't ever admit you were wrong or took things too far, we can't be friends. Men own up. They apologize. They shake hands afterwards. 7/
Stop asking us to be your trained pittbulls who only go after the bad bishops, the corrupt pope, the priests you come running to us to complain about who are doing something fruity in your parish. You want us to confront everyone but each other. It's silly. So stop it. 8/
I don't like every other Catholic commentator out there. I think some of them are huffing their own fumes. Some put their own brand or status above what my high school theology teacher taught us: "Go after the truth like rabid dogs." That man, God bless him, painted a picture 9/
of Catholic scholars and saints and council fathers who did mortal combat over where to place a comma in a sentence of a degree, because, as he pounded into us, "Truth is a matter of semantics." I've never seen a group of 11th & 12th grade boys treat theology like a combat /10
sport before, but he brought that out of us, and we LOVED it. It's why I fell in love with the teachings of the Church, and their defense. It's why I am still doing this 24 years later.
If you're not onside with the real battle, the only one that matters, I'm probably going 11/
If you're not onside with the real battle, the only one that matters, I'm probably going 11/
to call you out. I'm going to say things like, "It's only infighting if we're on the same team." Some of us are absolutely on the same team, and we're having a disagreement about something that matters. Passions flare because of a concern for souls. As they should. 12/
I hope -- I really hope -- that we can all come out of this as friends. Sometimes that happens, and sometimes it doesn't. This is where character comes into play. We may all have a common enemy, but we have to find common cause. Without the second thing, we divide. 13/
So even though I haven't been that active in this debate, I'll throw my hand in: if I've said something rude, if I've been unjust, if I've failed in charity against anyone involved, I'm sorry. Our coalition is dwindling, & even though I think unite the clans is a pipe dream...14/
...we have to try. The enemy has control of the papacy. The enemy runs the Church. And the small minority of people who have the gumption to oppose the coup have been sifted since the ascendancy of evil in Rome. The shepherd has been struck. Let's avoid being scattered. 15/15
