Anti-Catholicism: The Fashionable Anti-Semitism of the Left

It's still fashionable for Reasonable pundits to trot out the tired old stereo-types, especially if they're condemning the Foolishness of those that take the Magisterium seriously.

Michael Carmichael's screed is exibit A.

Mr. Carmichael sees Opus Dei members infiltrating every knook and cranny of government. They're clearly under Papist marching orders to unite with those awful Christian Fundamentalists and overturn everything Reasonable people ought to hold dear. Why, they helped re-elect George Bush in 2004, after all! Horror of horrors!

Pinch your nose and take a closer look:

A controversial Catholic organization*, Opus Dei is now widely known from the bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, a novel by American author Dan Brown, soon to be a major film starring Tom Hanks that will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

In 1928, a Catholic priest who acquired a doctorate in law, Josemaría Escrivá founded Opus Dei in Spain. Escrivá's juridical attitude to religious doctrine permeates Opus Dei and is the source of its attraction to members of the legal profession. Opus Dei received massive political support after the fascist victory in the Spanish Civil War. Generalissimo Francisco Franco protected and fostered conservative elements within Opus Dei by appointing eight ministers to powerful positions in his government. In Spain, Opus Dei is still regarded as a potent political force. In 2002, Escrivá was canonized.

Why, then, is an Alito membership in Opus Dei of major significance? In addition to his activist record on the federal bench and his conservative ideology, Alito is deemed to be a menace to the balance of power as well as the constitutional rights of Americans. Judge Alito's affiliation with Opus Dei may be a factor in the strident opposition from Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, both progressive Roman Catholics who do not approve of the influence of religious dogma on political ideology. The majority of Americans believe in the separation of church and state, while many religious conservatives such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell would transform America into a theocratic state. Robertson and Falwell are staunch supporters of Judge Alito.

While the Moral Majority, the 700 Club and a growing bloc of Christian Conservatives have wielded a great deal of political influence in America, two years ago these protestant fundamentalists formed a coalition with conservative Catholics to re-elect President George Bush. In 2004, the Vatican intervened directly into the US presidential election to endorse their champion, George Bush(emphasis mine).

Ad homenim attacks, "gotcha!" guilt-by-associations and yawn-inducing non sequitors infect this reeking example of paranoid mouth-foaming at its finest. I would suggest that Mr. Carmichael drill some holes in his tin hat to let off some steam, but, of course, he wouldn't listen. I'm one of those Fools that's in on the conspiracy, after all.

If he had pulled this Protocols-of-Zion-esque attack on any other religious community, the condemnation from Reasonable commentators would have buried him. But since he attacks "conservative" Catholics and Christians, it's all good. After all, Fools deserve whatever they get.

Well, I'm laughing all the way to the Supreme Court. The Opus Dei, Vatican-instructed automaton Judge Alito will be confirmed. Senators Kerry and Kennedy suddenly stand along in calling for a Democratic fillibuster of the SCOTUS nominee. I guess the Agenda is just going to have to do without the support of the Judiciarium.

Maybe these Reasonable mouth-foamers can convince everymen that their worship of Moloch, Individual Absolutism and pursuit of the One Thing that Matters are really sensible things.

Yeah, right!

Closet. Broom. Door.