Pray that Men Do Not Disappear

 Eric Utter has an interesting piece at the American Thinker today calling out the breathless assertions of an Atlantic writer, Daniel Panneton, who has just discovered that the Church often refers to itself as the Church Militant. Oh my, are Catholics declaring a new Crusade against the sacred government? Utter says that Panneton should calm down in his article entitled Atlantic Writer Claimst the Rosary Is An Extremist Symbol.

Atlantic contributor Daniel Panneton recently wrote an op-ed in which he stated: "Just as the AR-15 rifle has become a sacred object for Christian nationalists in general, the Rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or 'rad trad') Catholics." Say what?

In the article, titled "How the Rosary Became an Extremist Symbol," Panneton claimed that "on this extremist fringe, rosary beads have been woven into a conspiratorial politics and absolutist gun culture. These armed radical traditionalists have taken up a spiritual notion that the rosary can be a weapon in the fight against evil and turned it into something dangerously literal." Yes, only "extremists," clinging to their God and guns, believe in free speech and assembly and the right to defend oneself and one's family. And the fight against evil.

Panneton went on to claim, "[T]he rosary — in these hands — is anything but holy." Thanks for clearing that up, pal. Being a little judgy, aren't we, Panneton?

Note that the Church Triumphant refers both to the saints in Heaven, but also to the fact that Christ has already won the battle with the devil. He has triumphed over death, and has made all those who believe in him fellow sons and daughters of the Almighty God. The Church Penitant should be our constant attitude, for we are all sinners, and must continually seek His forgiveness, which he freely gives to those who seek it.

But we are discussing the Church Militant. The Church Militant was first mentioned by Cyprian (210-258 AD) in a letter to Cornelius. It refers to those currently living. It has always been metaphorical, but does refer to the fact that the Church is always marching forward. While it is God, through the Holy Spirit that converts people to faith in Him, the Church stands ready to receive them and nuture their faith, and teach them through word and deed. We often express this with hymns like "Onward Christian Soldiers," or "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."

I would also note that throughout the Bible, God convinces people to do His work by persuasion. It is Islam that converts people with the sword.

Panneton breathlessly writes:

In mainstream Catholicism, the rosary-as-weapon is not an intrinsically harmful interpretation of the sacramental, and this symbolism has a long history. In the 1930s and ’40s, the ultramontane Catholic student publication Jeunesse Étudiante Catholique regularly used the concept to rally the faithful. But the modern radical-traditionalist Catholic movement—which generally rejects the Second Vatican Council’s reforms—is far outside the majority opinion in the Roman Catholic Church in America. Many prominent American Catholic bishops advocate for gun control, and after the Uvalde school shooting, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, lamented the way some Americans “sacralize death’s instruments.”

Militia culture, a fetishism of Western civilization, and masculinist anxieties have become mainstays of the far right in the U.S.—and rad-trad Catholics have now taken up residence in this company. Their social-media accounts commonly promote accelerationist and survivalist content, along with combat-medical and tactical training, as well as memes depicting balaclava-clad gunmen that draw on the “terrorwave” or “warcore” aesthetic that is popular in far-right circles.

This passage conflates metaphorical Catholic language with what is a Leftist wet dream. The Leftist want badly for conservatives to start a civil war in the worst way. They believe they would ultimately win such a war. I remain doubtful that they would, but I am certain that a hot war would not be a good thing for either side.. Kurt Schlichter's new book We'll Be Back: The Fall and Rise of America explains all this in detail from someone who has been ringside to such civil wars ans an Army officer. 

Panneton further denigrates what he considers a masculinist culture in conservative Catholisism.  What he seems not to realize is that masculine virtues have always been part of the Catholic faith since Christ walked the Earth.  They are embodied in Biblical teaching.

I am a Lutheran, and a conservative one at that. So some Catholic politics is obscure. However, what I can descern from reading Catholic publications like Crisis Magazine is that there are a considerable number of Catholic laymen and some prelates who believe that Vatican Council II, whatever the intentions, was userped by those in thrall to Satan.

 These are not necessarily political conservatives, but they are Catholic conservatives. They desire to worship using the Traditonal Latin Mass, which, understanding that the Bible has not changed one whit, why should the Mass change? They also point to changing Catholic teachings, which again, if the Bible has not changed, why should Catholic teachings change. Oh, and Jesus was never a pacifist. The Bible teaches that we should defend our lives and the lives of our loved ones, something our Founders recognized and put into our Bill of Rights.

Eric Utter recognizes that Panneton is a Leftist radical and probably your typical metrosexual pantywaist.  He asks us to pray the Rosary that true men do not disappear.  I have never prayed the Rosary because Luther came along after Guttenburg invented the printing press, so no need for a mnemonic device.  Still, if he would show me how, I would pray with him.

Edit:  Mia Cahtell, at Townhall.com has looked into who Daniel Panneton is. The article is titled The Atlantic Contributor Espousing Anti-Catholic Hatered is an 'Anti-Hate' Expert. It paints Panneton as a nut. Figures.  The guy sees white supremacists and the far right under every bed and rock.  Sad.