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“ Just three weeks ago, Simone Biles was celebrated in the Catholic press as an exemplar.”

I think that’s pushing it. In the stories I read, her Catholicism was one detail among many. As for the harsh reaction she’s gotten to her public support for abortion rights I suspect it’s caught up in the disappointment of much of the American public with “letting her team down” in the team event last month.

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I don't know how you all have the fortitude for social media or most media in general (present company absolutely excluded). You must be made of stronger stuff. My brief forays into social media have all ended at the same place: desolation, anxiety about things of this world, and the dark joy of gossip and opinion sharing. Absolutely toxic to my interior life but addictive to the point I need to just absolutely refrain.

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I’m a proud ultra-Catholic and “sinister religious nutter.” Or maybe I’m just Catholic….a rare breed these days.

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Aug 13, 2021Liked by JD Flynn

Thank you for the interesting profile on Matt Simpson and goalball. One thing that stuck out to me, and it may have just been a throwaway line and I'm reading too much into it, is that it said that they've spent a lot of time in the film room. I'm genuinely curious how that would be adapted for blind or almost-blind people. Obviously film review is a very important part of elite-level sports, so it just strikes me that this is another barrier to overcome. I'm guessing maybe there's a translator who watches the video and translates it for the players, maybe into Braille, or describes it out loud and they are able to visualize it? Anyway, hopefully they're able to take home the gold.

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Aug 13, 2021Liked by JD Flynn, Ed. Condon

I sincerely appreciate your take on Celebrity Catholics. Because it happens over and over and over again. "Mel Gibson is awesome!" then "Oops, wait he's divorced now! What a scum bag." Or "Mark Wahlburg goes to daily mass!" then "Oops, He just starred in another questionable movie. Guess he's in league with Satan." It gets exhausting canonizing (and then de-canonizing) people because we are so desperate to claim any corner of pop culture.

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If I'm a bring in something from the podcast (and if I may not feel free to delete this or tell me that I should), with respect to the vaccination question I appreciated your analysis that declination of the vaccine presents other obligations to the common good to avoid transmission. It seems the most basic alternative becomes wearing a mask and frequent testing if you decline to be vaccinated.

I wonder, however, whether in the Venn diagram of those people that refuse the vaccination and those people that refuse to wear masks voluntarily there is any discontinuity. My anecdotal experience is that those who do not want to be vaccinated also do not want to have to wear a mask,but also do not refrain from public life.

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Aug 13, 2021Liked by JD Flynn

The Pillar's article on the Assumption notes that the feast marks the kickoff for a period of fasting, St Michael's Lent, for some Romans, but it also marks the conclusion of the Dormition Fast, one of the four great fasts of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Our parish (and I'm sure others) will be celebrating the breaking of the fast together after Liturgy (and we do break our fasts well!).

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I absolutely agree with your take on the whole Catholic celebrity media phenomena, Ed. I think it’s great if famous people like Simone Biles are (or were raised) Catholic, and I wish them all the best in their spiritual and personal endeavours. However, the desire to have “One Of” Us in the field of politics, entertainment, sports or whatever else it may be can lead to an unhealthy canonization of (more likely than not) a normal person who probably goes to Mass on Sundays and/or holy-days and says the rosary for time to time. I don’t need the imagined support of a celebrity or politician to hold my pro-life opinions or to justify my communion with the Church of Rome. It’s awful that people like Joe Biden believe themselves to be Catholic while supporting so many things contrary to the Faith, but I never expected to find Blessed Karl in Washington, D.C. May God have mercy on us all!

Additionally, I think the reaction in some parts Catholic Social Media to Simone’s tragic post was very counterproductive. Many Catholics in my circle had already bought into the secular conservative outrage directed against her for stepping down from one of her events when she had “the twisties.” As one of my friends put it, he “knew there was something off about her.” Maybe she was a BLM Marxist Antifa Communist Lib in disguise all along!!!... or more likely just a poorly catechized teen who has suffered a lot at the hands of those who were supposed to protect her. I think her post should really serve as an indictment of the U.S. foster-care system and those of us who let it get so bad. She is ABSOLUTELY in the wrong for buying into the rhetorical pablum of “My Body, My Choice,” but we as the pro-life movement ought to try to show her the beauty of life and the coherence of our position instead of savaging her for a largely media-manufactured letdown.

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So my question is…I listened to Ed’s explanation of conscience regarding the covid vaccine. If schools require certain vaccines for students, how does that requirement fit with the moral agency one has regarding vaccines, especially when it comes to avid anti-vaxxers?

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Super perspective on all. Thank you for 'being above'. Keep it up. Peace

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Bringing in an element of the podcast to this comment section.

Ed and JD, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you both. But neither of you would stand a chance against a chimp in a death match. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. Chimps are, pound for pound, anywhere between 1.5-2.5 times as strong as humans males proportionally. Chimps have sharp teeth and great jaw strength. Chimps have substantially more "quick twitch" muscle fiber than humans proportionally- thus, Chimps have superior top speed and acceleration relative to even the fittest humans. Physically, a human's only advantage is sheer size.

Chimps are, generally, capable of extreme aggression and demonstrate no compunction concerning the mutilation of human or chimpanzee opponents. Y'all, like myself, are sedentary American males. I haven't thrown a kick or punch seriously in years. Unless either of you have a serious background in boxing/MMA I've never heard about, the average chimp's close combat ability substantially outstrips yours.

It's entirely possible a lucky kick or strike could kill the chimp- they are rather small relative to you or I. But outside of Mike Tyson of old, Khabib Nurmagomedov, or an NFL lineman, I favor any chimp over a man.

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Regarding the ill treatment of Simone Biles: I'm a firm believer that one can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Fewer insults and more patient explanation of the reason behind the Church's position is a better strategy, albeit not one easily deployable on social media.

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