Hans Küng triumphant

Taylor Marshall's new book (Infiltration) is a flash in the pan. However, it highlights the fact that the ongoing debate between the RadTrads and mainstream Catholics is insoluble because both sides are right and both sides are wrong. Both sides appeal to the same flawed template. Within that template, there's no solution.

On the one hand, mainstream Catholics are right that Vatican II is here to stay. More broadly, since Pius XII, there have been irreversible changes in the direction of Catholic theology. Mainstream Catholics are on the winning side. RadTrads are fighting a futile, rearguard action. The vision of Catholicism they wish to revive is defunct. 

On the other hand, the RadTrads are right in pointing out that post-Vatican II Catholicism is, in key respects, a different religion from Tridentine Catholicism or anti-modernist Catholicism. In addition, having a clergy increasingly dominated by sodomites, including sodomites at the helm of policymaking positions, will inevitably change the direction of their denomination. As it stands, the Catholic church is undergoing inexorable theological drift. 

Both sides cherry-pick what Catholic sources they privilege as authoritative. They pluck their sources from different cherry trees in the Catholic orchard. 

You can see the divisions in the diverse reaction of Catholic apologists and academics:

1. Some Catholic apologists and academics openly and defiantly excoriate Pope Francis and his entourage. 

2. Some Catholic apologists privately feel the same way, but have retreated into silence, holding their breath that a heavenly Hail Mary pass will reverse the situation. 

3. Some Catholic apologists have become doglike defenders of the Francis pontificate. They understand that they will put themselves out of business if they simultaneously champion Catholicism in theory while they tear it down in practice. But behind the scenes, they must also realize that they are gambling on the Catholic church not becoming a clone of the ECUSA. What if they lose the bet? Do they have an escape route if the process of liberalization continues apace?

4. Some Catholic academics are delighted with the direction of the Francis pontificate. They are unabashed modernists. They want the Catholic church to become a clone of the ECUSA. 

What we're seeing under the Francis pontificate is the belated triumph of Hans Küng. At one time he was on the losing side of the battle. Banished to Siberia. Now, however, the balance of power has shifted. He's been rehabilitated. His vision has been reinstated. He's having the last laugh. Although it hasn't gone as far as he'd like, it's tilting in his direction. He lost the sprint but he's winning the marathon.