Modernist Abbot Tries to Coopt Father Marx's Legacy

Matt C. Abbott at Renew America has reproduced a letter from one of the late Father Marx's companions at arms, Mr. Andrew Scholberg. Mr. Scholberg attended the funeral of Father Marx and took issue with some of the points Abbot Klassen made in his homily at the funeral Mass. Unfortunately, Abbot Klassen's overenthusiasm for Cardinal Bernardin and the Seamless Garment was pointed out, indeed Father Klassen was at some pains to make it clear that the Community at St. John's Abbey doesn't share Father Marx's views on the value of human life. Indeed, if past history and the school are any indication, many of the students are completely ignorant of the Catholic religion, indeed, most matriculants at St. John's University and Preparatory School are, in the words of Father Virgil Michel, moral parasites, as they feed off of the inversion and depravity of the surrounding world.

Mr. Scholberg writes:

You mentioned Cardinal Bernardin's Fordham University speech about the Seamless Garment. You implied or suggested this is what Fr. Marx stood for and fought for. Actually, Fr. Marx totally opposed Cardinal Bernardin's Seamless Garment rationale. He considered it a disaster for the anti-abortion movement for at least two reasons:

1.The Seamless Garment gives Catholics an excuse to vote for pro-abortion politicians on the specious theory that these politicians are, on balance, more pro-life than their anti-abortion opponents because they have good positions on some other issues that impact life. For example, I recall one Seamless Garment evaluation of politicians that rated Senator Ted Kennedy as much more "pro-life" than Senator Jesse Helms! (Kennedy consistently voted for abortion and for public funding of abortion, and Helms was probably the Senate's most stalwart opponent of abortion.)

2. The Seamless Garment dilutes the anti-abortion movement by melding it with marginally related issues, some of which are debatable. For example, one debatable issue is whether a particular war meets the Church's criteria for a just war. Another is whether capital punishment is justified in a particular case. Melding abortion with a basketful of debatable issues takes the focus away from the monstrous injustice of abortion.

Despite a great number of fawning and enthusiastic comments about the campus and the execrable St. John's "Bible", Mr. Scholberg makes a salient observation about the typical Johnny in a revealing story which could have been written by anyone who'd experienced the place who had a conscience:

Regarding my point that the truth exists and doesn't change, let me tell you about my encounter with a confused young man at St. John's. When I was working at St. John's, a student came to see me in my office. He was boiling with rage over something I had written against abortion. I invited him to sit down. With steam coming out of his ears, he said, "In your opinion, abortion kills a baby, but others feel it isn't a baby. Who are you to say that abortion is wrong?" I kept my cool, pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and drew a circle. Pointing to the circle, I said, "What would you say if I were to tell you that I feel this is a square?" He replied, "Then for you it would be a square." Upon his reply, I politely told him that further dialogue was impossible, and he left. I was genuinely shocked to encounter such an extreme form of relativism and subjectivism and such a blatant denial of plain truth. I still shake my head when I think about that.

Back in the late 1970s, that confused young man was probably the exception rather than the rule. But things have gotten worse since then — much worse. Today, that young man's relativist confusion is the rule rather than the exception!

The Knights of Columbus commissioned a poll of young Catholics between the ages of 18 and 29. The poll found that 82 percent agree that morals are relative and that there's no definite right or wrong for everybody. In other words, eight out of 10 students entering St. John's reject the Ten Commandments and instead embrace moral relativism! No wonder so many Catholics are having abortions. Moral relativism is in the very air we breathe. It's part of the zeitgeist. I hope and pray that the faculty and community of St. John's can do something to influence the students to reject this specious, seductive, and deadly error and to embrace the fullness of truth about faith and morals. This is a big task and a tough challenge.

What will come of this very even-handed and fair response? Most likely, there will be silence, but if there is a response, we'd expect it to be very uncritical with a barely concealed and narcissistic counter stroke about Cardinal Bernardine's alleged concern for the poor and downtrodden and how there is a broad penumbra of values under which we can all find a home in big tent Catholicism. It's the squaring of the circle.



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