Over the National Schismatic Reporter, Michael Sean Winters has responded to something I wrote HERE.
Winters is mostly wrong about things, but he occasionally right and, when he is, I have happily said so here.
Winters opens with a little snark – fair enough – and then gets into it:
Zulhsdorf [sic] then opines, “Let’s see how the editors of the National Schismatic Reporter (akaFishwrap) and The Bitter Pill (aka The Bitter Pill… er um… The Tablet) report on this one… if they mention anything about it all.” Well, I am not an editor, but I do write for both NCR and for the Tablet, so I will take the bait.
I’m reminded of the story of Paddy the Irishman who sees a crowd around two guys beating the tar out of each in the street. When he pushes through the onlookers he shouts, “Is this a private fight or can anyone join?”
The rest of Winter’s response is actually not as dreadful as you might expect, though I sense that, after stating that “I do not think a catholic can, in good conscience, support abortion…” his “… but we can have many and varied positions on how to confront the evil of abortion, always alert to the fact that in the political realm, sometimes politicians pay lip service to a goal” is pretty much an appeal to the sort of seamless-garment approach used by some to excuse those who shove unborn under the bus for the sake of various social justice goals.
I’ll also give him points for writing:
I see this in my own life as I have gradually shed those attitudes and beliefs that were in contradiction with the Church’s faith. I have come to understand that when my initial perspectives are at odds with the Church, I should give the benefit of the doubt to the Church.
Would I have preferred “religious assent” or “submission of mind and will” rather than just “benefit of the doubt”? Sure. Still, if this is the direction he’s heading, I’m all for it. As you might expect there’s also a ‘but’ involved immediately after. Coming from a writer for the non-Catholic weekly Fishwrap, this is not bad.
Bottom line: I wrote. Winters responded. That’s a start.
BTW… if you do go over there, be sure to check out the comments under Winter’s piece. They’re a hoot!
