Thursday, June 30, 2011
2:21 PM
Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be. Put not your trust in princes: In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth: in that day all their thoughts shall perish. Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God. (Psalms 145:2-5)
Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods*, and the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse. (Exodus 22:28)
*'gods' has often been interpreted here as magistrates, judges, or priests
I had had my share of fallen stars, just as any other teenager does, when I was talking one day in 1999 with a fellow disciple of Father Malachi Martin.
'Rachel, it looks bad.'
'Meaning?
'It looks like he was living with that woman in an intimate way.'
'The New York Times is hardly a paragon of truth, and even they did not dare say it outright. They merely implied she was his companion.'
'Rachel,' she said gently, 'Would it shake your faith if Father Malachy was guilty?'
'No it wouldn't. And he's not.'
Then came Robert Kaiser's book, Clerical Error. 'It really looks like he may have been a great sinner,' many said.
'He's still the man who helped me, and in any case, he's not guilty.'
Even if Kaiser's ex-wife had collaborated that madman's account, or if Mrs. Livanos had claimed to be his mistress and produced photographic evidence, I would still not have believed it. There's something to be said for detachment from our heroes, but there is also something to said for loyalty. Even though cynicism is, alas, often justified, in the case of persons, it may be that, as L. M. Montgomery observes, love has 'the truer vision.' Therefore, the devotees of the renegade Jesuit and priest forever, will inflexibly maintain his saintliness until contradicted by his own shade. Even then, I do not think we will do much more than shrug.
Still, it is good to see that he is defended, and by those who knew him for many intimate years.
Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods*, and the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse. (Exodus 22:28)
*'gods' has often been interpreted here as magistrates, judges, or priests
I had had my share of fallen stars, just as any other teenager does, when I was talking one day in 1999 with a fellow disciple of Father Malachi Martin.
'Rachel, it looks bad.'
'Meaning?
'It looks like he was living with that woman in an intimate way.'
'The New York Times is hardly a paragon of truth, and even they did not dare say it outright. They merely implied she was his companion.'
'Rachel,' she said gently, 'Would it shake your faith if Father Malachy was guilty?'
'No it wouldn't. And he's not.'
Then came Robert Kaiser's book, Clerical Error. 'It really looks like he may have been a great sinner,' many said.
'He's still the man who helped me, and in any case, he's not guilty.'
Even if Kaiser's ex-wife had collaborated that madman's account, or if Mrs. Livanos had claimed to be his mistress and produced photographic evidence, I would still not have believed it. There's something to be said for detachment from our heroes, but there is also something to said for loyalty. Even though cynicism is, alas, often justified, in the case of persons, it may be that, as L. M. Montgomery observes, love has 'the truer vision.' Therefore, the devotees of the renegade Jesuit and priest forever, will inflexibly maintain his saintliness until contradicted by his own shade. Even then, I do not think we will do much more than shrug.
Still, it is good to see that he is defended, and by those who knew him for many intimate years.
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About Me
- Jacobitess
- Warsaw, Poland
- Domine, spero quia mundum vicisti. Lord, I trust that Thou hast overcome the world. Panie, ufam, żeś pokonał świat.
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