Assembling the Pieces: "Moral Entrepreneurs" Enter the Picture

In the last few days, there have been a number of "push-backs" from various individuals reacting to the attack on the Pope, including a fascinating observation from a sociologist and 'convergence' theories from the very Jewish David Goldman ("Spengler") of First Things, and Michael Voris.

(By the way, this is NOT just a "Catholic" issue. Goldman and Voris both explicitly tie the future of the US into the attacks on the Vatican, and the "Moral Entrepreneur" thesis is easily read to include the various Socialist/Progressive attacks on US capitalism.)

Fr. Zed quotes the sociologist Massimo Introvigne :

The current discourse on paedophile priests – considered from a sociological perspective – represents a typical example of "moral panic". The concept was coined in the 1970s to explain how certain problems become the subject of "social hyperconstruction". More precisely, moral panics are defined as socially constructed problems that are characterised by a systematic amplification of the true facts in the media or in political discourse.

[One immediately thinks of the "Global Warming" brouhaha, which certainly fits the definition above. There's also the "Health Insurance Executives Are Killers" issue, and any one of the "Chemical Killers" such as DDT...]

Two other characteristics have been cited as typical of moral panics. First, problems that have existed for decades are reconstructed in the media and political accounts as new or as the subject of a recent dramatic increase. Second, their incidence is exaggerated by statistics plucked from the air which, while not confirmed by academic studies, are repeated by the media and inspire persistent media campaigns. [Note this well:] Historian and sociologist Philip Jenkins, of Pennsylvania State University, has emphasised the role of "moral entrepreneurs" in the creation and management of panics whose agenda is not always revealed. [Trial lawyers. Companies seeking elimination of competitors through "licensing"schemes. Rent-seekers.] Moral panics do not bring any good. They distort the perception of the problems and compromise the efficacy of the measures which should resolve them. After a harmful analysis inevitably there comes a harmful intervention. [Garbage in, garbage out. See, e.g., the utterly insane ruling that the 8th Amendment to the Constitution requires sex-hormone treatments for Wisconsin prisoners.]

...Why are old and very often well-known cases being exhumed in 2010 on a daily basis, always attacking the Pope? This is paradoxical if one considers the great severity of then Cardinal Ratzinger and of Benedict XVI on this very theme. The moral entrepreneurs who organise the panic have an agenda which is increasingly clear and which is not essentially the protection of children. This is a time when political, juridical and even electoral decisions in Europe and elsewhere are being made about the abortion pill RU-486, euthanasia, the recognition of same sex unions. Only the voice of the Pope and the Church is being raised to defend life and the family. The reading of certain articles in the media shows that very powerful lobby groups are seeking to silence this voice with the worst possible defamation—and unfortunately an easy one to make—that of favouring or tolerating paedophilia. [You don't have to be too imaginative to figure out the cui bono implications in that paragraph. It's the Culture of Death and its promoters.]

Goldman, of First Things:

...It is hard to avoid the impression that the nihilists have a sense of empowerment as never before.

There’s something ugly in the air. The two central institutions of the West are the Throne of St. Peter and the Oval Office. That is not an exaggeration, for the Catholic model in Europe and the American model are the two modes of life that the West has developed. When Catholic universal empire failed with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, and was buried by Napoleon, the United States emerged as an alternative model; the non-ethnic nation founded on Christian principles albeit without an explicit tie to a particular Christian confession.

For the first time in history the barbarians have breached the citadel; to have Barack Obama in the White House is the cultural equivalent of electing Madonna to the papacy. America, the source of a civil religion that held together the world’s only remaining superpower, is committed to its own self-demolition. Nihilists around the world are in a triumphant mood and believe that it is time to mop up the remnants of their enemies everywhere.

Obviously the 'enemies' include the Catholic Church. Goldman is A/K/A "Spengler," an international banker in a former life (and a guy who is pretty knowledgeable about music, by the way.) He is not just some religio-flag-waving twit in NYC.

Finally, Vorhis, embedded in this post at Cavey's place. In the video Vorhis also notes that the Catholic Church is 'an obstacle' to ObamaSocialism--a very influential obstacle, indeed--and that Church must be dealt with.

How?

Divide the Church and conquer Her. Watch that vid; it's only 3+ minutes, and Vorhis clearly and quickly lists the evidence.

Just remember, you Prots and Jewish folk: it ain't only the Church which is taking the incoming hits here. It's also (directly or indirectly) the US.