That may be true, but it utterly disregards the destructive actions of the Catholic Church itself as a primary cause of the problem.
Our enemies only exploit our own folly, and blaming them without first undergoing critical self-examination is a fool's approach. -- Ernie P. On Aug 24, 2011, at 12:50 PM, [email protected] wrote: > from the site : > The Catholic Thing > > The Anti-Church of Antonio Gramsci > > By : George J. Marlim > > > > August 24, 2011 > In recent months, mob unrest has been on the rise throughout Europe. Overpaid > and underworked bureaucrats and other entitlement classes have taken to the > streets in Greece and Spain threatening to topple their governments if they > must sacrifice any financial or welfare benefits to help save their countries > from fiscal and economic ruin. In Britain, indignant students have wreaked > havoc outside Parliament because the government, to balance its budget, has > dared to increase college tuition to $5,000 a year. > > Lately, gangs of British hoodlums have rioted and looted neighborhoods in and > around London. They have broken into shops and assaulted passersby to steal > the material goods they believe they’re entitled to have. Prime Minister > David Cameron, reacting to the turmoil, rejected the social justice crowds’ > excuse that poverty is the culprit and blamed it on a culture of laziness, > irresponsibility and selfishness: “We have been too unwilling for too long to > talk about what is right and what is wrong.” He added: “We have too often > avoided saying what needs to be said about everything from marriage to > welfare to common courtesy.” > > This is the same Cameron who a few months ago publicly announced that > “multicultural” diversity policies have failed because they have been > destroying the language and cultural foundations of Britain, have segregated > minorities, and heightened social discord. > > Britain is one of many Western nations suffering from the effects of > “diversity” policies. And no one should be surprised by this crisis because > the blueprint for destroying Western culture – designed by the Italian > communist Antonio Gramsci – has been in circulation for almost a century. > > Gramsci (1891-1937) was born in Sardinia, studied philosophy at the > University of Turin, became a member of Italy’s Socialist Party and editor of > L’Ordine Nuovo (The New Order). Shortly after founding the Italian Communist > Party (1921), Gramsci, fearing imprisonment by fascist leader Benito > Mussolini, fled to the Soviet Union. > > In Moscow, Gramsci shocked his hosts by daring to dismiss Marxist nostrums on > dialectical materialism, economic determinism, and the violent overthrow of > capitalist systems by the proletariat. Instead, he argued that Marx’s > “Worker’s Paradise” could not be realized as long as Christian culture had a > hold on the masses. For Gramsci, the number one enemy was the Roman Catholic > Church, not capitalism. > > Realizing Stalin was not happy with his unorthodox views, Gramsci returned to > Italy and in 1924 became leader of the communist delegation in Parliament. In > 1926, Mussolini ordered his arrest and a mock trial sentenced him to a > twenty-year prison term. Gramsci spent the remaining nine years of his life > in his cell writing critiques of Marxism-Leninism and drafting plans > communists could follow to conquer the West. > > Unlike some anti-Catholics today, however, Gramsci was well versed in > Thomistic philosophy. He warned Marxists that Christian workers were not > defined by capitalist oppressors but by their faith-based culture. Hence, he > believed, Marxists who violently seize power, eliminate private property, and > govern by terror will ultimately fail. > > In the post-World War II period, the Polish people were to confirm Gramsci’s > contention. Communist tyranny only intensified their devotion to Christ and > his Church. And it was the Church led by a Polish pope that brought down that > totalitarian government. > > Gramsci advised Marxists to achieve power by democratic means and then to use > it to destroy Christian hegemony. “Gramsci’s principle,” French journalist > Jean-François Revel pointed out, “was that [Marxists] must begin by > influencing the culture, winning the intellectuals, the teachers, implanting > itself in the press, the media, the publishing houses.” Somewhat > surprisingly, Gramsci pointed to the Jesuits’ response to the Reformation as > a model: Marxists had to create a cultura capillare (“capillary culture”) > that would infuse itself into every nook and cranny of the body politic. > > Radical leftists in the United States, Europe, and Latin America have adopted > Gramsci’s methods and have made a point of infiltrating churches, > universities, and media outlets. Ecumenical movements and peace and justice > commissions have grown and have marginalized basic Catholic doctrine. > University curricula teach that all cultures must be equally respected – even > the ones that directly contradict Christian values. In the name of human > rights, secular humanist organizations have promoted policies that have > eliminated Judeo-Christian moral restraints. > > Liberation theology based on Marxist doctrines and cloaked in Christian > vocabulary became a force in many third-world nations. Though it retreated > somewhat after the fall of the Soviet Union, it remains the basic social > template among radicals. Malachi Martin observed that “Liberation theology > was a perfectly faithful exercise of Gramsci’s principles. . . . It stripped > . . . any attachment to Christian transcendence. It locked both the > individual and his culture in the close embrace of a goal that was totally > immanent: the class struggle for socio-political liberation.” > > Today, Catholics are witnessing the effects of Gramsci’s “anything goes” > strategy. In Europe, Catholic Churches are empty on Sundays. Fewer than 10 > percent of baptized Catholics attend Mass. In 2009, 37.4 percent of all > European children were born out of wedlock – up from 17.4 percent in 1990. > The number of births is significantly below the replacement rate. In fifty > years the majority of the populations in the heart of old Catholic Europe – > Italy, France, and Spain – may well be Muslim. Crime is also rampant. Between > 2002 and 2008, violent crime rose in France by 15 percent, in Italy by 38 > percent. > > > Pope Benedict XVI has wisely warned that the replacement of the West’s > Christian roots with moral relativism has ushered in a “confused ideology of > liberty [that] leads to a dogmatism that is proving ever more hostile to real > liberty.” Because Gramsci’s heirs have “developed a culture that in a manner > hitherto unknown to mankind excludes God from public awareness,” the Holy > Father fears that the West may be entering a new Dark Age in which man exists > solely for the benefit of a divinized state and will be stripped of his > God-given human dignity. > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
