My friend, the journalist Christopher Altieri, says his least favorite form of writing is what he calls “ink on ink”. That is, a form of writing where one publication comments critically on something in a rival publication. I think Altieri’s instincts are sound but I am going to make an exception. Because every once in a while you read an opinion piece from a well-known public intellectual in a major publication that is so reckless you have to pause for a moment and ask yourself if what you are reading is satire.
Such was the case when I read a recent essay by Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, in Commonweal entitled “Will Trumpism Spare Catholicism?” Normally, I would not comment on such a poorly written essay, but this is in Commonweal, one of the oldest and most influential Catholic journals of opinion out there (and one I generally like). And the author has become one of the leading media voices in the American Church these days. There are also, as we shall see, issues at play that transcend the particular problems with this piece, which is why it is important to dissect its faults.
Faggioli is apparently concerned history is repeating itself with the current support Donald Trump seems to have from many conservative Catholics. But what historical parallel are we discussing here? in a nutshell, Faggioli is claiming just as there emerged in 1964 a growing connection between Goldwater conservatism and conservative Catholicism (which Faggioli calls the “Goldwater/McIntyre axis” after the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles who was alleged to be pro-Goldwater and a racist), so too today do we see a new political alliance emerging, only this time it is what Faggioli calls a “Trump-Bishop Strickland axis”. Faggioli’s claims are feverish, to put it mildly:
“But the ‘Trump-Strickland’ axis isn’t just political. It mixes ahistorical, magisterial fundamentalism in militant Catholicism with nationalistic impulses masquerading as concern for the “forgotten” common American (white) man. … The current axis poses greater danger because Strickland apes Trump in promoting a more strident, even violent, representation of conservative/populist concerns. Both basically ignore any authority but their own.”
In the original essay, which was later edited, Faggioli alleges Bishop Robert Barron and his Word on Fire ministry are also a part of this new political axis of evil. More on that in a bit. But the deeper import is clear. Faggioli wants readers to fear self-described “orthodox” Catholics because they are part of an alleged movement which he loosely calls “Trumpism”. He worries out loud that American Catholicism will not be spared the ravages of this ill-defined thing which, though he never defines it, is held to be of decisive importance.
But the mask comes off early in the essay when Faggioli frets over this new alliance since it portends very bad things ahead for the Church and America once the benign alliance between Biden and Pope Francis goes away. He asks, with a clear tone of anxiety, “what will happen when Biden and Francis are gone?…”
From Larry Chapp in Catholic World Report
Dare to dream
We all know that Bishop Barron is a right-wing extremist.
(Rumor is he actually believes in Jesus and what the Bible says. And, look at the militant word “fire” he uses for his ministry.)
Just ask any enlightened progressive who knows Church teaching needs to change with the times.
We need more devout Catholics like Saint Joseph Biden and Governor Newsom.
Don’t forget Fr. James Martin. He’s practically the second coming of Jesus.
I swear leftist Catholics like Faggioli don’t have true religious belief. They are Marxists who map their leftist political ideas onto Catholicism. So of course they think that true believing Catholics who are conservative are politically motivated rather than religiously or metaphysically motivated. The left doesn’t belong in charge of anything, not government, not schools, not universities, and not the Church. Unfortunately, they control all of those things.
Is there no decent person this Faggioli won’t trash? He hates Bishop Strickland because he came out against the deviant “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence”, so now he is going to trash Bishop Baron unless he kisses up to Biden who performed a “homosexual “marriage”. If Strickland is so “racist”, why does he have admirers like Jessie Romero? I remember when Fred Martinez, who started the Guadalupe Prolife Society, wrote about the true “Axis of Evil”. Fred got it right. Faggioli has got it wrong, wrong, wrong.
To make things clearer the Fred Martinez to whom I refer is NOT the one that was called “Two Spirits”, and the Jessie Romero I mentioned is from the Virgo Potens Website.
Could you give links?
You will have to do your own homework as some of Fred Martinez’s writings are now hard to find online because of censorship by the left, and he might have passed away. I still have his signed book called the “Axis of Evil” in my collection somewhere. It was sold at Our Lady of Peace Shrine in Santa Clara, CA, when Msg. John Sweeney was the pastor there. Sometimes he wrote articles on Bishop Rene Gacia’s website, “Abyssus Abyssum”. (spelling ?) I do not like typing on laptops as I make too many typos.
I applaud you use of a non-online source.
What did the book say about the “Axis of Evil”? I will try to find it.
I was interested if you had a link for the “Faggioli hates Strickland” because he came out against the Sisters PI.
And the Bishop Barron needs to kiss up to Biden? Has he written that or just speculation?
Are you talking about a book called The Hidden Axis of Evil: The Clintons, Sex Abuse and the Aborting of America by Fred Martinez copyright 2004?
Yes, to Hidden Axis. I was typing from memory and did not remember the full title..
And no, to Speculation. Those were my thoughts having lived through the Clinton decades myself
Bishop Gracida’s website is ABYSSUS ABYSSUM INVOCAT/DEEP CALLS TO DEEP.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/41828/villanova-historian-says-chaput-cordileone-and-strickland-are-devout-schismatics
I found this link so it has been going on long before Sisters issue.
But it has made me wonder: Was the Vigano letter the precipitation of the Strickland thing?
I read something somewhere that he was just an ordinary bishop (no pun intended) like all the others and then during a Holy Hour he had a moment where his vision for his diocese changed. I was thinking that was 2016. The Vigano thing started in 2018, I think.
If he sees a dangerous Trump-Strickland-Barron axis, he doesn’t see well.
The original article is much more about Catholicism and Christianity than the second article (the one on this page) which is more about US politics.
“Will Trumpism spare Catholicism?” really is not about Trump.
The original article is about both.
All these articles seem disjointed.
I was wrong. There are four articles. The original was a January 11th article in NYT “Donald Trump is Connecting with a Different Type of Evangelical Voter” with the subheading “They are not just the church-going, conservative activists that once dominated the GOP”
I hit the paywall so I cannot read the article.
The second article is in Commonweal “God or Trump? How Trump liberated the religious right from religion.”
It says about the first article:
In a January 11 front-page story published just before the Iowa caucus, the New York Times described these Evangelicals who no longer go to church and instead religiously follow Trump, who never goes to church.
Then he says this (which I assume are his thoughts rather than NYT’s but I cannot be sure.
Given that Trump’s appeal is all about resentment, something like this was bound to happen. Like elite education, biblical morality was just one more thing about which Trump’s followers could be made to feel bad or looked down upon. So many of them are enraged at being judged, even by the Sermon on the Mount. I was a stranger and you welcomed me? That sounds like Biden. Even if such biblical morality is by now much weaker than it once was, it is still there, as an irritant. Trump relieves his followers of this sense of shame. By elevating a leader who violates every commandment, MAGA has become a new religion—and like any other new religion, it has created a burst of energy. The old Evangelical Christianity was not quite the right vehicle for Trump. Its replacement is better because it excises the moral element altogether.
This is Pew Research showing that some Christians who go to Church also view Trump favorably.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/15/5-facts-about-religion-and-americans-views-of-donald-trump/
I think that Faggioli has a suitable name.
It’s Italian for “beans”. Do you hate beans too?
I am sure that like many men who support the Democratic party, he is quite a Faggioli.
Not beans but Beech (as in trees), the fruit of which are Bitter Nuts.
Donald Trump’s supporters are called MAGA Republicans. Faggioli’s supporters should be called FAGA Democrats.
How can you even equate the two?
What does Fagioli have to say about Biden being a fake Catholic for supporting abortion? Nothing. Therefore dismiss Fagiolii as a political hack.
Oh no. Next thing you know, they’ll be calling Archbishop Cordileone, Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Mike Schmitz, JPII, Peter, Paul and me dangerous evil traditional extremists, DETEs!
‘Goldwater conservatism’? Goldwater was a 33rd Degree Mason. https://masoniccollection.co.uk/blog-section/blogart4
“What will happen when Biden and Francis are gone”?
Oooooh…I dunno, maybe sanity will return to both 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the Barque of Peter?
Trump? The guy is pro-choice and pro LGBTQ. He is not going to save us. Yes he is better than the other one but remember that the lesser evil… is still evil.
The Church accepts an incremental approach. While we should never lose sight of the goal of protecting all children, returning abortion to the states allows some states to protect their unborn and their mothers. Our fellow Catholic Mr. Biden demands that abortion up through birth be legal in every state. That is a far worse evil. Honesty compels us to acknowledge the truth that Mr. Trump is leading a retreat on abortion. I will “hold my nose” and vote for Mr. Trump (and encourage others to do the same), my second to the last choice for president. And, let’s pray for the conversion of both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump.
“Incremental approach”— to the horrifically selfish murder of innocent, helpless unborn children, in their mothers’ wombs? What “church” do you honestly belong to and support? Is stating that you are a true Catholic and true Christian– and would NEVER vote for and support anyone who publicly supports Baby Murder for any reason– is that “too extremist?” Or is that actually what Jesus Christ calls for us to do, as Christians? Which unborn children– at which month, or which developmental stage– or which types of children (mentally or physically ill, deformed, or handicapped?) — is it “excusable” to murder? When I was a young woman, Christian Morality was taught correctly– no lies, no baloney. Abortion was absolutely illegal– and absolutely inexcusable, and unthinkable. You excommunicated yourself automatically (latae sententiae), if you procured an abortion– and killed your own child. It is even in Pope St. John Paul II’s 1983 revised Code of Canon Law– Canon 1397. We need pregnancy and adoption centers for unwed mothers– not Baby Murder clinics.
Voting is not black and white. Both presidential candidates support abortion. Are you not going to vote, then? There are times when voting for the lesser of two evils is the best moral option. I bet you’ll vote for Trump even though he’s a scoundrel, an opportunist, a self-promoter, a liar, a swindler, a philanderer, an adulterer, compromised, and pro-abortion and pro-gay-marriage. I’m going to vote for him too, despite all those serious flaws, because Biden is worse.
No. I’m not voting. Voting is not going to solve anything. Trump can’t slow this down. Even if he wins, he’ll last 4 years and then he’s out and we’re back to square one.
“Revolutions are frightening, but election campaigns are disgusting.”
— Nicolás Gómez Dávila
I have no respect for people who don’t vote. They think they are superior, but they are just posing.
The goal, as noted above, is protect all children. So, are you going to vote for Biden, who wants to impose abortion until birth upon the entire nation?
If firefighters respond to a burning daycare, or school or home, they strive to save all persons. Yet, if they realize they cannot save them all, they try to save as many as they can. They don’t stand on the sidewalk, watch the structure engulfed in flames and wring their hands, “If we can’t save them all, we’re not going to save any!”
Texas and some other states currently protect most preborn babies. If Biden wins again, he’ll impose abortion until birth upon those states. Let’s keep fighting for all precious children, in every state and every nation. And, let’s save those we can.
To Biden worse and save the children– Voting is a responsibility. Your first duty in all things in life– is always to Almighty God. What if we lived in the era of slavery in America– and what if every single candidate was a supporter of slavery laws– and hunting down runaway slaves, and throwing in jail, those who help runaway slaves? Or what if you lived in an American colony where Catholics, their priests and bishops, and the Catholic Mass was totally forbidden by law– and the laws supported a Protestant church (Puritan, early Episcopal church of Washington’s era, etc.) for which a tax for the church and its clergy was collected? What if all the candidates were in a Mormon state like Utah, in the 19th century– and promoted polygamy and Mormon beliefs? What if all the candidates were working hard to get a law passed to enshrine gay “marriage” in the U.S. Constitution, in today’s era? All through history, there have been many unjust laws. You have several options. You can move away, in some cases, to a different state or colony– or to a new country (move to Canada, to French Catholic Quebec, back to England, or to Europe, where there are no slaves, etc.) And if you cannot move away — never cast a vote for Satan’s choice. Write-in a candidate on a ballot, speak, write, tell others, gather a group to promote your views on justice regarding an important issue. But never cast a vote for a candidate who deliberately promotes Satanic evil and sin.
The goal is to save all children. Yes. agreed. ButSacramento is going to let you kill your child up to birth anyway so even if Trump wins how have we slowed the child sacrifice exactly?
“Man matures when he stops believing that politics solves his problems.”
– Nicolas Gomez Davila
Political groups must seek to serve God, family and country. If they don’t, they are Satan’s minions. You should indeed leave a ballot section blank, if there are no Godly, decent candidates. I have done that for many years, and have complained to the Elections Dept. and political parties about their terrible evils, ruining our cities, shtates and entire country. I have also occasionally written-in a candidate. This is an evil era, ruled by Satan’s Death Culture.
Political groups may exist to serve the country.
Serving God might be someone’s reason to enter politics.
Serving the family might enter into that.
But political parties are organizations that work to get people into elected government positions.
Vote for whoever you want but make sure that you have read the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 plan for the next presidency if Trump or anyone they support is elected. Of course, Trump is his own man and may not do what they want.
Trump is not yet the nominee. He is the presumptive nominee. Same with Biden.
I don’t trust anything that lib Catholics say. I don’t care whether they are ordained or lay, how many degrees they have, nor what office they hold. If they are lib, they are wrong.
This doesn’t surprise me. I worked with several people who graduated from Villanova University. They were totally indoctrinated with Marxism. I regard Villanova as a CINO (Catholic in Name Only) school.
Faggioli and the other progressives appreciate blacks and browns to the extent that they endorse the radical narrative that is to be imposed on them and their children. Once they go off the reservation, all bets are off as far as the noble cloak of DEI goes. Keeping their numbers down with abortion and suppressing the rest with policies that guarantee dependents on their white superiors is the strategy. The good news is that there is a growing base of brown and black Christians that are having a Red Pill moment.
off the reservation???
Breaking news: Bishop Barron threatened Commonweal about Faggioli’s stupid article, and Commonweal removed the offensive paragraph about Barron. But they inserted a snide editorial remark about removing that paragraph, saying that Barron probably thinks it’s scandalous to be associated with Trump. Barron fired back again and said he is going to sue Commonweal for libel.
Good for Bishop Barron!
This seems to think it is unlikely to work:
https://www.ncronline.org/news/bishop-barrons-word-fire-again-threatens-commonweal-over-article-about-trumpism#:~:text=A%20media%20organization%20led%20by%20a%20prominent%20U.S.%20Catholic%20bishop,former%20President%20Donald%20Trump's%20political
I think it is good that someone is holding an internet entity accountable for what it writes but this article shows why it is not likely to work.
Everyone that posts online (or speaks or writes) about someone else should be factual or better yet, just not do it.
I am looking into internet and other writings by and about Bishop Strickland.
To put it facetiously, all the world is a com-box. There are a lot of mis-characterizations, both positive and negative. There is a lot of attribution of motives and a lot of inaccuracy.
Cardinal McIntyre was under siege by communist interlopers whose subversive tactics naturally included the race card. (This included an entire order of nuns). His biggest race accuser was the radical Fr William DuBay who, after getting suspended, got married, fathered a child, divorced, then came out as gay.
Goldwater was a member of the NAACP, a state desegregator, half-Jewish, anti-communist, and extremely pro-liberty. That didn’t stop communist frauds like Martin Luther King from smearing him with the trusty old race card routine.
Faggioli is an Italian immigrant. Like LA’s Gomez, his grasp of American history is tenuous.