Anarchoblogs

I thought that the above quote from Lord Acton was the most appropriate for our times, even more so than his famous "power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Acton is very much like the Bible; often quoted but rarely read. In recent times conservatives have tried to claim him as their own, but the more intelligent denizens of the conservative world recognize that he was actually a classical liberal. Thus they hope to claim him for their so-called commitment to liberty which is more honoured in the breech than in reality. I know, I know. There are conservatives who actually have an ideological commitment to liberty, but in order to try and carry their views into politics they have been content to ally themselves with the most illiberal segments of society. In our times the example of liberals/socialists/anarchists allying themselves with Leninist thuggery are few and almost insignificant outside of the USA. What is not insignificant is the tendency for classical liberals/libertarians to ally themselves with social conservatives of varying degrees of thuggery. As Acton says;

-Lord Acton

I have already posted on Garry Wills' book 'Papal Sin' in which Wills, as a dissident Catholic, lays out the system of deceit that underlies the modern Papacy. The book is broad-ranging, going back all the way to Augustine versus Jerome, but one point particularly grabbed my attention. After his farcical attack on the modern world in his 'Syllabus of Errors' (1864) Pope Pius IX was not satisfied with the totalitarian control he had attempted to impose on the Catholic Church. His next step was a Church Council, Vatican I, that he plotted to have his "infallibility" recognized at.

To say the least Pius' manoeuvres were conspiratorial in this case, and he managed to have his declaration accepted even despite the fact that a majority either rejected it totally or felt that such a declaration was ill advised at the time. Here is where the Anglo-Catholic Lord Acton comes into the book, and it must be said that he had a more active historical role than that of a quote mine. Moving from country to country Acton solidified the opposition to Pius. In the end he failed, but the struggle was heroic. If there were only one reason to recommend 'Papal Sin' this glimpse into Acton's life would be it. The man was far more than the common quote from him. As Acton said of his opponents;

"There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it."

Amazingly enough I finished reading two books on a single day. There are two more rather technical books that I am still reading, but probably few would be interested in them. The first book I finished was the collected fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. I've already mentioned said book here. The second book is Garry Wills' 'Papal Sin'. You can read it yourself here at Google Books. I hope the referral is right. I often make mistakes in long addresses.

I have to say that the book surprised me. From the title and a brief perusal I expected this book to get into the gritty details of medieval and Renaissance Popes with all the neat stories about simony, nepotism, sexual impropriety and political treachery. Nope. The network of deception that the author heads for began in the 19th century with Pope Pius IX. There is, however, more than enough dogs' dinner in the last 1 1/2 centuries to satisfy the most ardent critic of the Papacy.

Wills is hardly the most ardent. He is still a very devoted Catholic, whatever his heretical opinions. He denies the 1870 Vatican I promulgation of Papal Infallibility from the point of view of Church tradition in addition to the thuggish schemes initiated by Pius to gain the acceptance of his infallibility.

I must say that I enjoyed this book immensely, especially considered the recent death of my Sister Ann who was a nun with heterodox opinions. Wills begins his book with chapters showing the "bad faith" and lies of the Catholic Church. He saves his own reformist opinion for the latter chapters where he contrasts the views of the Church Father Augustine to modern Papal opinion.

Along the way he scatters gems such as the fact that the apostles were married; that there were no priests in the very early times of Christianity and no bishops until even later. He emphasizes the democracy of the early Church and suggests that this should be a model for today's Church.

What can I say here as an ex-Catholic and an atheist for over 45 years ? This book is obviously addressed to other Catholic believers. It makes an appeal to the "winter soldiers" who continue to resist foolish Papal pronouncements.I would recommend it for believers as an eye openers to the fact that there can be dissent in the Catholic Church. Perhaps even unbelievers could profit even more by reading this book. It may allow them to formulate their objections at a higher level.