How Anti-Catholicism Became A Liberal Trademark

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Are you a Liberal? Well then you must be an Anti-Catholic. At least that's the new expectation of your buddies on the Left. "Catholic-baiting is the anti-Semitism of the liberals." So wrote the poet Peter Viereck. In truth it probably is the last remaining acceptable prejudice. Of course, it wasn't always that way.

Once upon a time Liberals could be counted on as the defenders of Catholic minorities in predominately Protestant countries, like the USA for example. Not so anymore. Today, Liberals are expected to despise the Catholic Church, it's leaders, and everything it represents. "The only good Catholic is a bad Catholic." So says the Liberal Left today, as it showers with praise Catholic dissenters like Senator Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. While it simultaneously scorns faithful Catholics such as Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Catholics who oppose Church teaching are considered "enlightened" and "sophisticated," while those who defend Church teaching are called "bigoted" and "fundamentalist" as well as "down right dangerous." You see the trend here? This is the new status quo. It's been this way for a long time. While not everyone who self-identifies as "liberal" automatically displays such blatant anti-Catholicism, it is the expected norm on the Left, and those Liberals who do not march in lock-step are the exception to the rule.

So how did it happen? How could a movement (Liberalism or "Progressivism"), which once identified with poor Catholic immigrants, turn into such a hate filled and intolerant anti-Catholic machine? The answer can best be found in modern Liberalism's embrace of moral relativism. It began sometime early in the last century, and by the 1960s it had firmly taken root. This has inevitably led to the Left's bitter turn against the Catholic Church and anyone who would defend her (even those poor Catholic immigrants the Left once supported). Why? Because in a time when the Left has embraced moral relativism, nothing is more offensive than a religion that says not all "truths" are equal, that not all religions are equally true, and that not all morality is relative.

You see in an age of moral relativism, embraced by the Liberal Left, an interesting dichotomy has developed. Relativism claims to treat all moral views equally. However, that does not hold true toward those moral views that reject relativism. In this case, Relativism demands retribution, and that its opposition be crushed. So as Pope Benedict XVI pointed out, while he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, Relativism has become a sort of "dictatorship" of the worst kind, one which demands that all be treated equally, with Relativism as the unquestionable absolute final authority. One can question any religion, any politics, any societal norm, but not Relativism. Relativism is above question, and those who dare to question it must be put down at all cost.

It's an illogical contradiction you see. The Liberal, having embraced moral relativism, says there are no moral absolutes, EXCEPT of course the absolute moral statement that there are no moral absolutes. To say there is no real morality is of course a moral statement, and the irony is that those who make such statements do so within the social framework of a Christian civilization that gave them the freedom and safety to make such statements in the first place. For to say there are no moral absolutes is to say "thou shalt not murder" is not always true. It is to say that certain addendum could easily be added depending on the situation. "Thou shalt not murder - without a good reason" could be one such example. Thus the same moral relativism espoused by Liberals could easily be used to justify killing them in the name of relativism. Why not? If it's all relative, who's to say it's wrong?

Of course The Catholic Knight does say it's wrong, because The Catholic Knight is NOT a moral relativist. Such an argument is pure insanity, but that is the nature of moral relativism itself. Let me be perfectly clear, lest some fool accuse me of advocating murder, the killing of a human being (outside of self defense) is ALWAYS WRONG, at ALL TIMES, and WITHOUT EXCEPTION. That is moral absolutism, and thankfully for Liberals, that is what The Catholic Knight espouses, along with the Catholic Church, Christianity in general, and many of the world's organized religions. So thanks to the pope, his supporters, and others like him, Left-wing Liberal Relativists are free to make such ridiculous assertions as "there are no moral absolutes" without fear of their own idiocy being used against them in some violent way. (Of course, that may all change once Islam takes over western civilization in about 50 years.)

So as Liberals espouse moral relativism within the framework of a Christian civilization, that still protects them from the inevitable conclusions of their own ideology, their hatred toward anyone who would espouse moral absolutism intensifies. This is coupled with a nagging question that plagues them. "Since the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s has given us a society where marriage is no longer necessary, and sexual morality is virtually a thing of the past, why have we not yet attained Nirvana?" A similar question could be posed about many other things as well, such as the redistribution of wealth for example. Of course, no Liberal is going to ask this out loud, but the question must be nagging them at least at a subconscious level. What do people do in uncertain times like these, when their own ideology is above question? They scapegoat of course, and since they view everything that came before their relativism as anathema, and the Catholic Church espouses such antiquated ideas, then of course the Catholic Church must be the problem. So it is scapegoated, just like the Jews have been scapegoated throughout history. Is it the least bit surprising to see that history demonstrates a recurring theme of anti-Catholicism linked to anti-Semitism at the same periods of time when the future looks bleak and uncertain? That would indeed seem to be the case, for whenever societies start to attack the Jews they simultaneously attack the Catholic Church. The attacks are often different, and the people involved are sometimes different, as it would seem that different socioeconomic classes seem to attack different groups in different ways. One thing that remains constant however is scapegoating. Anti-Semitism is currently on the rise in Europe, and this comes at a time when active participation in the Catholic religion is at an all time historic low. Of course now with the excessive and disproportionate media coverage of clerical sex abuse, the Catholic Church itself is becoming the scapegoat.

This scapegoating of the Catholic Church however fits the template of moral relativism all the more. Not only does it provide an easy answer (or excuse) for why our Liberal society has not achieved the Nirvana that was expected, but the morally absolute teachings of the Catholic Church are also conveniently offensive to anyone who holds a morally relativistic point of view.

Left-wing Liberals began adopting moral relativism sometime in the early 20th century, and the concept became synonymous with Liberalism (or "Progressivism") by the 1960s. It was at this time their attitudes toward the Catholic Church began to change and became increasingly hostile. Today we are steadily moving toward a point when Liberalism and anti-Catholicism are practically one in the same.