Ebonmuse

Lest we believe that right-wing evangelical Protestants are the only ones who want to take over the United States of America and turn it into a theocracy, I recently came across this charming site:

http://www.catholicism.org

This is the website of an ultra-conservative Catholic group in Massachusetts that proudly refers to themselves as the "Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary". Their primary mission, it seems, is to uphold the belief that only Roman Catholics can be saved. Among other things, they have edifying essays on the topic of why aborted infants are doomed to Hell, on the prophecies of Fatima, and on why they think the Pope is infallible even though they refuse to conduct Mass in English, as has been the church-approved practice since Vatican II. But most noteworthy of all is the following little blood-chilling excerpt (from http://www.catholicism.org/faq-misc.html):

I must admit I find considerable consolation in the fact that this is a tiny group - if you actually look at their membership pages, there are only about ten or fifteen of them. Still, it's interesting to know that the spirit of the Middle Ages is still alive and well today.

Alethias

They are not the only ones but I think they are the most likely to succeed. I also anticipate the American Catholic church throwing their support behing the conservative protestants in the next election. They have common goals, and the enemy of their enemy is their friend.

It's beginning to look to me like it'll get tougher and tougher to be an Atheist Patriot.

SoT

Ebonmuse

And yet what else could show that we need atheist patriots more clearly?

Ponzi

If the Catholics ever get close to that sort of power, won't the Protestant fundies start attacking them? It shouldn't be too hard for the good old Catholic vs Protestant hatred to resurface.

Seeker630

You're quite correct of course. It'll at least be fun selling tickets and popcorn to the show when they start butchering each other again.

anthrosciguy

Yes, the Peaceable Kingdom these groups would create would soon be a bloodbath. One mention by the Catholics about being Christians would bring the first "no you're not!" from the Protestants and the whole thing would turn into a massive slapfest.

Magnus Armstrong

bombfest.

CaptDave

Groups like this are great. They're way too small and radical to actually accomplish anything but they serve as an excellent example of why church-state separation is needed.

Dick Springer

This organization was founded in the mid 1950's by Father Leonard Feeney, who was an Oxford-educated Jesuit and former Catholic chaplain at Harvard. He urged Catholic students to drop out of Harvard because their souls would be endangered if they stayed there. He made many public statements that were crudely anit-semitic and maintained that there was no salvation outside the Catholic Church. He bacame a public embarassment to the church and was removed from the Harvard chaplaincy and silenced. He continued to rant, and, I believe, was excommunicated.

He founded his own cult, all of whose members lived together and dressed alike in black. The group had enough money to acquire a fleet of identical black oldsmobiles. They would appear en masse every Sunday afternoon on Boston Common, where he would conduct services and rant, primarily against Jews but also against Protestants. Large crowd would collect, including some old Catholic ladies who would cross themselves, but many more who came just for the show. He had some regular Jewish hecklers whom he knew and attacked by name. He maintained a high level of anger, with the veins in his neck and forehead standing out as he denounced "hawk-nosed kikes." All of this was incongruous with his extremely effeminate manner.

It is very discouraging that this group of crazies is still around fifty years later.

One other comment. People with nostalgia for the pre-sixties era have poor memories.

Ebonmuse

Interesting indeed - thanks for the information. It seems that every major religion has its own Fred Phelps. Still, this group is probably small enough to be harmless, and as CaptDave said, they do serve the useful purpose of being a walking advertisement for church-state separation.