Neo-Conservative, Neo-Catholic

"The Catholic tradition—even the wise Pope Benedict—still seems to put too much stress upon caritas, virtue, justice, and good intentions, and not nearly enough on methods for defeating human sin in all its devious and persistent forms," wrote Michael Novak, in his critique of the latest papal encyclical — The Pope of Caritapolis.

Of course, we are free to take issue with this or that non-magisterial statement from a pope (who, after all, is only a pope). The disturbing (but unsurprising) part in the statement, from a man with a history of arguing against popes in defense of American imperial wars, is its advocacy of "methods for defeating human sin in all its devious and persistent forms."

It follows that for Mr. Novak, bombing A-rabs is one of these methods. How eerily similar is Mr. Novak's call to George W. Bush's vow to "eliminate Evil from this world."

Are not "caritas, virtue, [and] justice" (let us ignore the snide and uncharitable allusion to "good intentions") the very "methods for defeating human sin?" And will not "human sin in all its devious and persistent forms" only be defeated with the General Judgment?

I've always been wary of using terms like "Neo-Catholic" or calling into question the faith of my brothers over political questions, but what is an eschaton-immanentizing call for "methods for defeating human sin in all its devious and persistent forms" if not a "new gospel?" Mr. Novak is a loose cannon (quite literally) with the American Church.

[link via Catholic and Enjoying It!]