ANALYSIS
August 22, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – As Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn noted in his exhaustive research on leftism, there were two main political thrusts to the French Revolution hidden behind the ubiquitous and high-sounding slogan of liberté, égalité, fraternité. One was the sexual politics exemplified by the Marquis de Sade’s horrifyingly perverse ideological leanings. The other was the embrace of a leftist definition of equality. Such was the success of two foundational ideological tenets of the French Revolution that by 1968, the slogan of French “revolutionaries” had become Egalité! Liberté! Sexualité!
Gradually, a very large segment of the secular West and too many within the Christian Church capitulated to the sexual revolution envisaged by de Sade–which brings us to where the Catholic Church finds itself today: Exposed as an institution whose hierarchy has allowed the systematization of homosexuality and sexual predation. The abuse, which has been going on for decades, has been most recently revealed by a Grand Jury Report on sexual abuse within dioceses in Pennsylvania.
The systematization of the de Sade revolution in sexual morality within the Catholic Church is perhaps no more clearly revealed than in a mural commissioned by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia.
The mural bears an uncanny similarity to the scurrilous cartoons of French Revolution depicting orgiastic entanglements of the flesh. It also appears to be a mockery of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment.” In Michelangelo’s work, the sins of mankind are judged by a stern-faced Christ, the Judge of all mankind. In Cinalli’s work, Christ is portrayed as nonjudgmentally lifting all up to Heaven.
Despite the obvious homoerotic overtones of the mural, the archbishop, who was responsible for the hiring of the artist who painted the mural, says the work is merely an evangelistic message: All are saved. The prelate himself is depicted embracing a man whose buttocks are exposed by an updraft lifting his loincloth. The man’s face is strikingly similar to traditional depictions of Christ the Savior.
The artist, Ricardo Cinalli, is an avowed homosexual who sees the homoeroticism of the mural not as an evangelistic message, but as Matthew Hoffman points out, as demonstrating “the notion that man has ‘freedom’ in this life and even in the next, apparently to engage in whatever sexual behavior he deems appropriate.”
The mural is important as a case of art imitating the sexual politics now so thoroughly incorporated in Catholic structures. In fact, the far-left sexual politics depicted in Paglia’s mural were also promoted by the archbishop in the official sex-ed program published by the Pontifical Council for the Family—headed by none other than Paglia himself.
Hoffman writes:
“In July of 2016, still under the direction of Paglia, the Pontifical Council for the Family issued a new sex-ed program that includes lascivious and pornographic images so disturbing that one psychiatrist suggested the archbishop be evaluated by a review board in accordance with norms of the Dallas Charter, which are meant to protect children from sexual abuse.”
“‘My immediate professional reaction was that this obscene or pornographic approach abuses youth psychologically and spiritually,’ said Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons…As a professional who has treated both priest perpetrators and the victims of the abuse crisis in the Church, what I found particularly troubling was that the pornographic images in this program are similar to those used by adult sexual predators of adolescents.’”
De Sade might well have approved of both the mural and the sex ed material. It’s pertinent to recall that while he was incarcerated in the Bastille, he wrote the 120 Days of Sodom. The book relates the story of 36 teenagers who are given over to men who rape and torture the youngsters. De Sade, it should be remembered, was actually advocating for such perversion. It also should be noted that some of the hideously lurid details in 120 Days of Sodom resemble the kind of psychological and physical tortures Catholic priests are reported to have employed in their seduction of youngsters and young adult seminarians.
What conclusions may be drawn from the current crisis within the Catholic Church?
First: Today’s Catholic church is in danger of capitulating to and actually fostering contemporary progressive sexual mores as promoted by the LGBTQ movement rather than insisting on universal religious and moral principles it has upheld for two thousand years. It has failed to see it is embracing syncretism rather than orthodoxy; it has absorbed the radical sexual culture of the left rather than repudiating it.
Second: The capitulation of the Church to perversion that is clearly anathema to its core moral principles means it sets up no contrasting position of moral authority to the world, the flesh and the Devil. By allowing the perversion of church culture, the Catholic Church is losing its ability to speak to the rot in secular culture.
Third, the Catholic Church must shoulder great responsibility for the fruits of secular sexual culture. It’s voice on the issues of same sex “marriage” and sexual morality are now considerably muted. In fact, segments of the Catholic church openly support the LGBTQ agenda, using the church’s spiritual authority to advance causes openly opposed to orthodox Catholic teaching. It is not too much to say some in the church, like Father James Martin — who is currently welcoming LGBTQ Catholics at the World Meeting for Families — are in the vanguard of a movement that is infiltrating the Church.
Is it fair to ask if the church’s structure, riddled as it is with predators, may be allied with the burgeoning spread of pedophilia and homosexuality? In fact, according to recent reports, priests within the diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania actually operated a child porn ring. Isn’t the consequence that secular pedophile rings may operate with impunity, knowing full well the church will not blow the whistle?
The Catholic church is the world’s largest Christian institution and wields enormous influence on every continent. The systematization of homosexuality and pedophilia within the church inevitably causes a reasonable observer to ask just how strong the connections between perverted clergy and secular pedophile and sex trafficking rings are.
At the very least, it is highly unlikely that those within the Catholic Church who are engaged in homosexual practices and pedophilia will be among those protesting sexual deviancy of any sort. There will instead be profound silence and marked unwillingness to confront deviancies condemned by church doctrine. It is valid to wonder why the pope himself has been tepid in his response to the release of the report on the Pennsylvania dioceses. Thus far, he has not addressed the systematization of homosexuality and pedophilia within the church. His most recent letter characterizes the sexual abuses as mostly “in the past,” and instead focuses instead on his usual target of clericalism; that is, the division between laity and the priesthood.
There is no greater betrayal of the innate trust of children than to abuse them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is no greater betrayal of young, idealistic seminarians than to callously initiate them into homo-erotic practices and elevating those who accept the casting couch as a way to better positions while ignoring those who take their vows of celibacy seriously.
At the same time, let’s be perfectly clear: There is absolutely no place for schadenfreude among Protestants, large numbers of whom belong to Protestant Main Line denominations that have embraced same-sex “marriage” and homosexual activity among their members and clergy. They should keep silent.
More orthodox Protestant denominations might reconsider the tendency to attack sometimes self-created heresies and instead confront the infiltration of the sexual revolution within their own churches for what it is; namely, the heretical corruption of core doctrines of the church, including Christian teachings on human identity and sexuality.
The Catholic hierarchy has had many opportunities to reform the church. It has failed miserably to do so. If there is a chance of reform left at all, church leaders must act swiftly and with draconian severity.
The church could and must immediately defrock all priests involved with sexual abuse, not transfer them or send them to rehab centers. The pope, who ultimately is responsible for the guidance of the Catholic church, must deal severely with those within the Catholic structure who continue to perpetrate a culture of perversion and abuse or who maintain complicit silence. Some are not sanguine about the prospect that Francis will deal decisively with the systemic rot within the Church whose doctrines he is supposed to unequivocally uphold.
Last, the pope could effectuate a rather small but significant beginning of systemic reform by insisting Paglia is removed from the Vatican post he occupies, and by seeing to it that the archbishop’s mural is destroyed. As long as it remains as a visual blessing of the sexual rot that is destroying the Church the Holy Father has vowed to protect, Jesuitical rationalizations of perversions will be encouraged.
At the writing of this article, the mural is still there.
Fay Voshell holds a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Her writing has appeared in many online magazines, including National Review, CBN, The Christian Post, RealClearReligion and Russia Insider. She may be reached at [email protected]