Demeaning John Paul

This is perhaps a good time to remind ourselves of the carping the late Pope faced from the forces of secular orthodoxy, one of the most visible being Marquette’s own Daniel C. Maguire. In a 2003 article, Maguire asserted that

Two areas especially signaled his inadequacy as a world moral leader: his demeaning view of half the human race — women —and his obsessive concern with what can be called pelvic orthodoxy.

Maguire, of course, has his own pelvic orthodoxy: the view that any kind of sexual behavior anybody wants to engage in is fine, and that the Church should condone it.

Jewish columnist Jeff Jacoby correctly characterized the mindset of people like this when he discussed liberal attacks on the Pope:

Some of these reproaches were the standard PC litany. “The pope’s apology for discrimination against women is welcome but difficult to square with his continued opposition to abortion and birth control, and to women in the priesthood,” editorialized The New York Times. “Regrettably, he made no mention of discrimination against homosexuals.” The pope, in other words, should have apologized for being Catholic. (Boston Globe, March 16, 2000)

John Paul did indeed often apologize for historical wrongs committed by the Church, but he would never apologize for being faithful to Christian doctrine.

The Pope outlasted, and prevailed over, Communism and Liberation Theology. He didn’t outlast secular liberalism, but his legacy may well do so.