The guy in the picture is Pope Clement XIV. Most folks don't know much, if anything, about him. Frankly, there aren't a whole lot of positives to bring up. He's mostly remembered for suppressing the Jesuit order back in the 18th century. Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI have expressed reservations over the Society and its orthodoxy in recent years.
Georgetown is a good example of the public collapse of the order. Rod Dreher mentions the most recent illustration, namely an entire event structured around discussions of sexuality that bear little resemblance to Catholicism. Here are a couple of the presentations:
Jenny Block reads from her memoir Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage and Tristan Taormino reads from her book Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships. Their readings will be followed by a question & answer and discussion about monogamy, non-monogamy, and the state of love and relationships today. This event is co-sponsored by Georgetown University Pride as part of their Sex Positive Week and by Whole DC.
TORN ABOUT PORN?
This event will is important to open dialogue around pornography and how it affects our lives. It is important to be open to discussion about arguably alternative forms of pornography that are not supposed to be exploitative, but rather radical and empowering. The question of the day: Can pornography be sex positive?
How lovely.
Before the hate mail comes in, I'm not saying that all Jesuits are bad or that the order itself is bad. I am a huge fan of Sts. Ignatius, Peter Canisius, Robert Bellarmine, and Francis Xavier. I also like more modern guys like Frs. Vincent Micceli and Mitch Pacwa. It seems more and more, though, that these guys are the exceptions now, rather than the rule.
Two popes in a row have been concerned enough to bring it up in public. I don't think I'm imagining things here.
No comments:
Post a Comment