It

It

The following is based on an amusing and insightful column that first appeared in The National Catholic Reporter in December of 1982. The title of the column was “New light on ‘it’ and other mortal sins,” and the author was Kieran Quinn. The main reason we are discussing the article “second-hand,” aside from the difficulty in obtaining reprint permission (the author held the rights and is deceased), is that Quinn actually named ‘it.’ We are not so bold because, as Quinn pointed out, ‘it’ is “indelicate, even embarrassing.” Nonetheless, the topic must be broached because, as pointed out in our Mission Statement, no topic is off limits here.

The purpose of Quinn’s essay was to meditate on the fact that ‘it’ is no longer a mortal sin. Mortal sins, if you need reminding, are the very serious ones which, if not formally forgiven by confession (nowadays called reconciliation) before you die, condemn you to Hell for all eternity. If you find this hard to believe, unearth a copy of the Baltimore Catechism.

That ‘it” was no longer a mortal sin reflected a change in theological perspective following Vatican II. Theologians shifted from a focus on isolated acts to an assessment of one’s life as a whole. As a result, you now had to be “a complete degenerate, a ne’er-do-well of epic proportion, a 24 karat gold plated s. o. b.” to be accused of mortal sin.

Another exception from mortal sin for traditionalists who like to focus on isolated acts is the principle of full consent. The idea is that full consent of the will is a requirement for mortal sin. If you don’t give full and unreserved consent to the sinful activity, then it can be no more than a venial sin, the less serious type of sin. This exception has been around for a long time and is even included in the Baltimore Catechism. It has been widely employed in the post-Vatican II era by those seeking to escape condemnation for ‘it’ and other “indelicate” activities.

The amusing part of Quinn’s article was his description of the harrowing experience endured by pre-Vatican II adolescents when navigating ‘it’ in the confessional. In close-knit communities, everybody knew everybody, so the priest on the other side of the grill knew who you were by the sound of your voice. You couldn’t bring yourself to be explicit, so you said you did “something bad.” The priest leaned in like a raptor sensing prey and asked when it happened. You said, in a voice as soft as possible, “at night.” That sealed the deal. If you managed to choose the right priest (a subject explored at some length by Quinn), you were advised to “put a rosary under your pillow,” and then given your penance. Quinn says he tried the rosary strategy. It didn’t work.

Now for the insightful part of the article. After chronicling the change in theological perspective and his own harrowing personal experiences with ‘it,’ Quinn came to the following conclusion: “If you take seriously what moral theologians say on any subject, especially in the (deleted) sphere, you ought to have your head examined.” Common sense is a much better guide.

And that is just about all there is to

It.

 

Movie Reviews 3

 

Movie Reviews 3

One of the best movies to come down the line in a long time is “The Quiet Girl” (2022) (In Irish, subtitles required). It was nominated for an Oscar in the Best International Film category but lost to “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Nonetheless it raked in a slew of international awards, deservedly so. The plot involves a young emotionally starved Irish girl who goes to live with her aunt & uncle to take some of the pressure off her mother who is pregnant and currently dealing with a large Irish brood and a ne'er-do-well husband. The aunt & uncle lost their only child in a tragic accident and apparently can't have any more. They pour out their love on the girl and she blossoms. If you know anything about story-telling, then it’s a cinch that this idyllic state of affairs can’t last. That's as far as we can go with the plot without spoiling things. Suffice it to say that the ending is emotionally wrenching while at the same time hinting at the resilience of the young protagonist. Kudos to Catherine Clinch who makes her film debut at age 11 and delivers a magnificent performance as the young girl. This is a quiet little gem of a movie that slowly sucks you in and then breaks your heart. You'll need at least five hankies.

Another winner is "Nostalgia" (2018). It stars Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Catherine Keener, and Bruce Dern, among others. It was described in an advertising blurb as "a mosaic of interconnected stories built around the central theme of loss and memory." Nothing much happens; it's not plot driven. There's only one event of note about three quarters of the way through. We won't tell you what it is because it's the only notable event, so you can't miss it. The movie's focus is on character and the issues noted above. It's about the meaning we find in the material objects that define our lives and the difficulty we often find in parting with them because of their special meaning for us. It's also very sad, so if downers bother you, be warned. Outstanding performances by Burstyn and Keener, but that's what we've come to expect from them. Also, a wonderful score from a relatively unknown composer, Laurent Eyquem. It's the kind of movie that echoes in your head for a long time after seeing it.

"My Sailor, My Love" (2022) is also a good one. Howard is a former sailor, now a widower living alone on the coast of Ireland. His adult daughter, Grace, hires an elderly caretaker, Annie, for her father. Howard resents Grace’s interference, so his relationship with Annie gets off to a very rocky start. After a while, however, they develop feelings for each other. When Grace finds out, she is upset. The meat of the film is the working out of this tangle of emotions. Solid performances by the three principals, James Cosmo (Howard), Brid Brennan (Annie), and Catherine Walker (Grace). Geriatric romance plus difficult father-daughter relationship. Roger Ebert thought there should have been less of the former, more of the latter. The two themes sort of come together at the end, which goes for the jugular. If you don't find it mawkish, then you will be in tears at the end if you're human.

 

Political Mystery

 

A Political Mystery

Today we attempt to solve a political mystery: How was Donald Trump elected to the presidency for a second term?

His election to his first term is no mystery. The Democrats attempted to foist the consummate insider, Hillary Clinton, on the electorate. But the electorate was fed up with business as usual. They wanted a new direction. Trump represented change, novelty. When the electorate is fed up, they crave that kind of stimulation. All that was known about Trump was that he was a rich businessman (and therefore qualified to be a Republican candidate) and a somewhat obnoxious television personality. He’ll shake things up. He promises to make America great again. Give the guy a chance. It doesn’t take much to sway the electorate when it is disgruntled.

And so it was that as election evening ground onward inexorably, the liberal media on all channels (Fox news excepted) began to perspire profusely but could not bring itself to utter the unspeakable. That is, until Jonathan Karl of ABC told his colleagues that they had better get used to the idea that Donald Trump was going to be the next president.

No, Trump’s first-term election is no mystery. But his second-term election is, in spades.

After four years of bitterness, divisiveness, obnoxiousness, a shaky economy, and a complete mishandling of the Covid crisis, Trump was handily defeated by another consummate Democratic insider, Joe Biden. Trump’s reaction was to deny losing and try to pressure the Georgia state election officials to throw enough votes his way to carry the state. When that didn’t work, he tried to prevent the election from being certified by inciting his supporters on national television to march on Congress. They did much more than march. Surprise, surprise! Trump disavowed all responsibility for the trashing of the Capitol. All feasible options exhausted, he finally opted to vacate the White House on inauguration day.

Now that he was out of power and vulnerable, the bitterness that Trump left behind came back to haunt him. In the ensuing months, several women came forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual behavior. In some cases, his responses could be considered defamatory. One of the women sued him for defamation and won. New York officials accused him of defrauding the state of hundreds of millions of dollars, took him to court, and won. Federal officials accused him of mishandling classified documents and prepared to take him to court. Georgia officials accused him of attempted election interference and did the same. He was legally besieged. The cases ground on over the next four years.

You might think that someone in his position wouldn’t stand a chance of being reelected. But Trump didn’t see it that way. Apparently, he decided that the only way to escape the doom that was headed his way was to regain the presidency, and that would make all the bad stuff go away. So, he commandeered the Republican party (not hard to do, it seems), got himself nominated, and launched his reelection campaign.

An objective observer could be forgiven for thinking he had little chance of winning. But that proved not to be the case. In the run-up to the presidential debates, most polls had the election too close to call. We might delve into the reasons for that on another occasion. The important point is that with the race so close, it was independent voters who would decide the outcome.

Once again, on election night, as the evening wore on, things trended Trump’s way, and in the end, he won all of the swing states and the presidency, handily. How did he do it from such an unpromising starting position?

There have been some quite sophisticated conspiracy theories emanating from the liberal end of the political spectrum. But paranoia is no more attractive in liberals than in conservatives. So, we won’t go there. Besides, there is a much simpler explanation. Occam’s razor applies.

That brings us to the event that, in our opinion, handed the election to Trump. That event was the first televised debate. To remind you, the race was very close heading into the debates, and the independent voters would decide the outcome. The first debate starkly exposed Biden as cognitively challenged. His rambling incoherence was on display for all to see. Even Trump, silently thanking the gods, remarked that he didn’t know what Joe was trying to say, and Joe probably didn’t either.

Two things happened here, and they were decisive for independent voters. First, the Democrats were offering a cognitively impaired candidate for president. Second, they, along with most of the media, had tried to cover it up. But there was no hiding it in the debate. It was mercilessly exposed. You can take your pick on which of those factors had the greater impact on independents. What was clear was that Democrats were capable of massive fraud and lying on a scale to match anything the Republicans could offer.

The Democrats compounded their problem by continuing to push the cover-up. Their candidate was tired, their candidate was recovering from an illness, etc. etc. Eventually they saw the light and jettisoned Biden for Harris, but it was too late. The electorate had been insulted and it didn’t sit well with independents. Even Trump’s inane campaign, with its typical load of lies and bluster, couldn’t wash the bad taste out of the mouths of voters.

In other words, it wasn’t anything Trump did that secured his second term. It was the stupidity and lust for power of the Democrats that delivered the victory.

So that’s the theory. What’s a poor voter to do? Bearing in mind that third parties never win and that either of the major parties will lie, cheat, steal, or commit any other sin to gain power (the drug of choice these days, along with fame), the best advice that can be offered is to use the brain that God and evolution spent millions of years to give you and try to discern which candidate is the lesser of the two evils. Sorry we can’t be more optimistic.