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Mr. Karamazov's avatar

I'm with JD on concern for factionalization within the Church. It's not a good thing. I also have no idea how to get out of the situation we find ourselves in. The reality is that much of it is rooted in real divisions in how Catholics (and Americans in general) see the faith and the world. It's easy to blame a YouTube celebrity for it all, but that's a cheap short cut. Those YouTube celebrities are zeroing in on REAL divisions that exist (it's also a cheap short cut to assume they're doing it all for money or clicks or whatever...perhaps they really believe what they're saying?).

One thing that won't solve the problem is to ignore it - to just sweep our differences under the rug and focus on the slowly diminishing things we do agree on. This is what the Church has been doing for many decades now, and it's a contributing factor in getting us to the point we find ourselves in.

Two things at least are a prerequisite to even to talk to each other. 1) Stop assuming the person you disagree with has bad motivations. Assuming motivations is the quickest way for those who don't already agree with you to completely tune you out. And remember, nobody has perfectly pure motivations. Focus on ideas and actions. 2) Get more comfortable with disagreement. Everybody (including me and you) is wrong about something. Someone's view on masks or the TLM or whatever shouldn't be the lens through which you see the totality of a person.

I look forward to seeing how the Pillar can thread this needle of not ignoring our differences yet not let them dominate every discussion.

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Alicia's avatar

Happy Anniversary!! Your reflections about the division and dissension in the US Church is spot on, and one of the reasons the Pillar has become so dear to me. Hearing faithful Catholics who are really trying to find truth in charity, even though that doesn’t stick to a neat (and crowd pleasing) “left” or “right” narrative is a true blessing. Pleased and proud to support your work.

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