Chaos: Coming to a Country (and a Church) Near You

H.E. Thos. John Paprocki delivered a speech to Chelsea Academy.  Here we find this nugget and fearsome warning:

...Given my patron saints, you might not be surprised to learn that my favorite movie of all time is the 1966 classic, “A Man for All Seasons,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, about the life of Saint Thomas More, played by the British actor Paul Scofield. The screenplay was written by Robert Bolt. In one particularly pertinent scene as it relates to the theme of my topic for this Chelsea lecture, Thomas More is having a conversation with his predecessor as Lord High Chancellor, His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, the Archbishop of York. Cardinal Wolsey is seeking More’s help in drafting a letter to the Holy See regarding the desire of King Henry VIII to divorce the Queen, Catherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn.

Challenging More’s reluctance to help, Wolsey says, “You’re a constant regret to me, Thomas. If you could just see facts flat on, without that horrible moral squint, with just a little common sense, you could have been a statesman. . . . Now explain how you as Councilor of England can obstruct those measures for the sake of your own, private, conscience.”

Thomas responds, “Well . . . I believe, when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties . . . they lead their country by a short route to chaos.”ⁱ The implication is that conscience, by contrast, will save the world!...

The number of U. S. politicians and high-level bureaucrats who have forsaken their own private consciences for the sake of their public duties is very large, indeed, but the headliners are ex-Speaker Pelosi, FBI Director Wray, AG Garland  and 'President' Biden.  (I assume that Wray and Garland actually have a conscience.)

So if you've thought that this country is more chaotic than it used to be, say, in the '50's, you're undoubtedly right.  Don't doubt yourself on this one.

By the way, there's another very important subtext here.  Bp. Paprocki has been having a not-well-disguised duel with Cdl. McElroy over the topic of "conscience," too.  That's not a surprise, given that Francis I gave +McElroy the red hat and Francis I loves chaos.

Pray.  And Buy More Ammo.