Katherine Kersten raises a hornet's nest

A number of Minniapolis Star Tribune readersreaders take issue with this column by Katherine Kersten

I particularly like this doctrinaire watch-dogging from this Foolable:

the implication that Archbishop Flynn is out of step with the former pope is simply wrong. Criticism of capitalism's effects on low-income people throughout the world was one of the most consistent themes of John Paul's papacy.

I do not question that Kersten can publicly disagree with the archbishop and remain a good Catholic. I do wish she would acknowledge that it is she, not the archbishop, who is dissenting.

I still laugh when I hear Foolables cry "dissent" over doctrine that calls for the Faithful to address matters prudently, and thus can disagree with one another and even with our Pope and Bishops and still remain Catholic. It's funny because they never seem that concerned about dissent when addressing doctrine on intrinsic evil such as abortion or euthanasia--except to erroneously lump capital punishment into the mix.

Meanwhile, Ms. Kersten addresses that unspoken fundamental that complicates every Foolable's effort to totalitarize "Social Justice":

If the proposition that high taxes benefit the poor is correct, the luxury boat tax that Congress passed in 1990 was the perfect tax. It sought to raise revenue by targeting only the richest Americans, who could well afford to pay, and slapping a 10 percent tax on fancy boats.

Problem was, the rich didn't pay the tax. They just went to the Bahamas to buy their boats. But the tax devastated the domestic boat-building industry. Tens of thousands of working-class people -- shipyard workers, carpenters, janitors at boat stores -- were thrown out of work. Congress hastily repealed the tax.

The lawmakers who proposed the luxury boat tax may well have been motivated by compassion. Unfortunately, reality trumped wishful thinking. In the end, these officials hurt the very people they intended to help.

Those that cry out "Catholic Social Teaching" when calling for higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for services to the poor sometimes forget to add subsidiarity to their list of CST principles. That's the one that calls for federated associations to exercise mastery in their own field and receive assistance, not bureacratic interference, from higher authorities. Civic groups, affiliations of charities and churches, regional government policy and the like could all work in concert to assist the poor. The State doesn't have to play Daddy Warbucks with other peoples' money! When they do, situations like what Ms. Kersten described are more likely to take place.

Archbishop Flynn has certainly voiced the party line of the USCCB. That line may not consider the ramifications of fallen people's incentives. This doesn't mean he should not speak out, as another snarky reasonable reader points out:

Katherine Kersten's May 26 column was not only informative, but illustrates why politicians should stick to politics and theologians should stick to church issues.

While Mr. Adams may be right that His Excellency's grasp of economics leaves something to be desired, he's dead wrong on say ing the Archbishop should stick to "church issues". It's that kind of religion-is-a-private-affair nonsense that has brought our society into freefall by our reasonable elites.

What Archbishop Flynn has done is prophetically cry out for justice for the poor. That his chosen method will not get the job done is almost irrelevent. It's one thing to acknowledge that an undertaxed economy will become more efficient--and this means more jobs. It's another to see to it that no one is left behind. Are the powers that be in Minnasota working in some manner to achieve that, as best they can? In fact, are we as a society?

The last thing that we Fools should do is to rely on that phrase "prudential judgement" the way Foolable dissenters rely on the phrase "freedom of conscience". Are we interested in showing solidarity with the poor or not? How will our prudential judgements and use of subsidiarity accomplish that?