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Pope Francis And The ‘Holy Cunning’ Of The Jesuits

October 2, 2015 By David Seaton 1 Comment

“Francis has repeatedly praised the Jesuit trait of ‘holy cunning’ — that Christians should be ‘wise as serpents but innocent as doves,’ as Jesus put it. ” — Huffington Post

Before beginning to analyze the strategies of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, A.K.A. Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope, it might be useful to give a clear operational illustration of that order’s version of “holy cunning.”

In my opinion the example most relevant to what Francis is doing now in the arena of progressive politics would be the order’s nearly successful attempt to convert the imperial court of China, and all China with it, to Catholicism led by the legendary Father Matteo Ricci, S.J.

Imagine Mao Tse Tung as an altar boy.

Filed Under: Civil Liberties, Media & Culture Tagged With: Catholic Church, history, Jesuits, Pope Francis, religion

Charlie Hebdo And The French Antinuclear Movement

February 9, 2015 By Dennis Riches 2 Comments

What appears superficially to be a clash of cultures is also a problem of environmental justice. If there had to be an attack on the irrationality of religion, the more appropriate satirical shots could just as well have been aimed at what is known as the “nuclear priesthood” and other techno-scientific cults that are driving the global crises of conflict and environmental destruction. On this point, there is some irony in the way the world media covered the Charlie Hebdo massacre. The focus was on the religious cartoons, yet the journal’s strong record of environmental reporting was completely overlooked.

To some extent, this was Charlie’s fault. The journal has been faulted for neglecting its environmental and political coverage in recent years in favor of the fight it picked with religious extremism. Norma Finkelstein, saying that the cartoons were “sadism, not satire,” accused the journal of forgetting that satire is best aimed at the powerful rather than at disadvantaged groups.

On the other hand, Charlie certainly never abandoned its concern with other issues. The foreign media simply didn’t make the effort to read back issues, or to note even that cartoons, regardless of their merits and demerits, are usually regarded as an extra added onto the content of primary interest. It’s as if aliens came to learn about the The New Yorker and formed their impressions by seeing only the witty jokes about neurotic Americans talking to their psychologists.

Filed Under: Environment, Foreign Affairs, Media & Culture Tagged With: A Radiant Future, Africa, ANDRA, antinuclear, Avenir Radieux, Bure, CEA, Charlie Hebdo, colonialism, Commissariat à l’énergie atomique, Elf Aquitaine, energy, environmental justice, environmental racism, France, Franceafrique, French colonialism, imperialism, Islamophobia, Le Canard Enchaîné, Loire Valley, MENA, Middle East, Nicolas Lambert, Norman Finkelstein, nuclear, nuclear energy, oil, Paris, religion, satire, sustainability, theater, theatre, Treatise on Tolerance, Voltaire, water

KeystoneXL Protester Seeks Lawsuit Over Police Brutality

January 7, 2015 By Benjamin Franklin Craft-Rendon 2 Comments

My faith calls me to express my values through my acts and my relationship with others. I took part in a nonviolent direct action campaign against the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline because these extreme extraction projects always harm those already marginalized the most.

I will not allow my inaction to read as consent. That’s why I locked down to halt construction of KXL South and that’s why I’m suing Wood County for the actions of their police officers. I doubt that my treatment was the first time these officers abused those under their power but hopefully my lawsuit can help make it one of the last.

Below is the story of my action, originally published on October 1, 2012:

Filed Under: Civil Liberties, Environment Tagged With: #NoKXL, ACLU, Alan Moore, American Civil Liberties Union, Christianity, civil disobedience, climate, climate action, Climate change, direct action, Dune, East Texas, eminent domain, Frank Herbert, Houston, Human Rights, Keystone XL, Keystone XL South, KXL South, land grabs, less lethal weapons, lockbox, lockboxes, Occupy Houston, Occupy Wall St., Occupy Wall Street, oil sands, OWS, pain compliance, pepper spray, pipelines, police, police brutality, Rain Beebe, religion, Shannon Beebe, stun guns, Tar sands, Tar Sands Blockade, tarsands, TarSandsBlockade.org, tasers, Texas, torture, TransCanada, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, V for Vendetta, Wood County, Wood County Sheriff’s Department

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