Stop Reprogramming Our Sheep!

Last Updated on: 29th April 2020, 10:22 am

The Rt Rev Patrick O’Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster, has complained about educated members of the Catholic church asking too many questions and not following the church’s teachings.

“What we have witnessed in Western societies since the end of the Second World War is the development of mass education on a scale unprecedented in human history – resulting in economic growth, scientific and technological advances, and the cultural and social enrichment of billions of people’s lives,” he said.

“However, every human endeavor has a dark side, due to original sin and concupiscence. In the case of education, we can see its distortion through the widespread dissemination of radical scepticism, positivism, utilitarianism and relativism.

“Taken together, these intellectual trends have resulted in a fragmented society that marginalizes God, with many people mistakenly thinking they can live happy and productive lives without him.

I’ve taken 0 university courses, but I’m doing just fine without God and the guilt that comes with listening to his earthly representatives I.E people like you, thank you very much.

“It shouldn’t surprise us that the shadows cast by the distortion of education, and corresponding societal changes, have also touched members of the Church. As Pope Benedict XVI puts it, even in the Church we find hedonism, selfishness and egocentric behavior.”

Here comes my favourite part.

The bishop said that influential Catholics had set a bad example and corrupted the faith of those who had not gone to university.

That line of thinking explains a lot, and not just about religion. An educated populous is a dangerous thing to people in positions of so-called authority, and though they may claim otherwise, it’s really the last thing they want. The good Bishop can say all he wants about supporting people bettering themselves through education, but the rest of his words tell the real story.

“This failure of leadership has exacerbated the even-greater problem of the mass departure from the Church of the working-class and poor,” he said. “For example, the relentless diatribe in the popular media against Christianity has undermined the confidence of the ordinary faithful in the Church.”

That’s what happens when you aim your message at the easily manipulated. Those people are hearing messages from people other than you, and you don’t always win.

Bishop O’Donoghue has produced a report, Fit for Mission? Church, examining the current problems facing the Church and designed “to enable Catholic men, women and children to resist the pressures to compromise, even abandon, the truths of the Catholic faith”.

He says that he supports Catholics receiving a university education, but urges they should be “better-equipped to challenge the erroneous thinking of their contemporaries”.

I sure hope this report has some real answers in it that go beyond the standard these other people are wrong because me and the lord say they are so ask me no questions crap we usually get. If you want your faithful to combat false thinking, tell us why it’s false, and make your point with facts instead of fear. If you can’t do that, maybe you need to ask a few questions yourself.

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