Hi all,
This thread reminded me of
this talk given by the Archbishop of Granada, Spain, Javier Martinez. (Keep in mind, the talk is posted in the Second Spring website, which, as the name implies, is very much dedicated to Vatican II and JPII's new springtime. This publication follows the Communio school of theology, which, for our purposes, should only interest us insofar as they name the correct enemy: secular reason/liberalism/modernism/the enlightenment/or whatever else we want to call it. Please forgive me for posting it here, with all its references to von Balthasar and de Lubac, but it really is one of the best critiques of our time that I've found anywhere. As St. Paul says, test everything and hold on to what is true...)
Most interesting is the idea that if we try to change the political landscape using the tools of liberalism, we will only end up being sucked into its way of thinking. Better for us to be Christians and seek conversion of sinners, rather than political power, as our predecessors did at the fall of the Roman Empire.
Our enemies learned their lesson well when they tried violent revolution in 1789, 1848, 1917, and 1936 in various nations, but only truly succeeded when they attacked culturally worldwide in 1968. (See Pat Buchanan's
Death of the West for details on the Frankfurt School that led to this cultural revolution.)
So the lesson for us should be that it's not enough to have Catholic politicians. It's a Catholic culture that should develop first, that will eventually create a Catholic state. And for that we must overtake the high ground of education, media, entertainment, and (unfortunately) the Church itself, which the enemy currently holds.
As for what a Catholic nation would look like, see Chapter 6 (Re-imagining the Christian State) of Fr. Aidan Nichols' book
Christendom Awake, as well as
this great article by noted monarchists Charles A. Coulombe.
Anyway, that was my two cents. Thanks for reading this, my first post, and I hope I didn't bore you.
