McCarrickism = Worldly Wisdom

Father Alexander Lucie-Smith has written an important article in the Catholic Herald about "McCarrickism". He says:

...McCarrickism: the rise and predominance of a certain kind of prelate.

First of all, they handle money well; they raise funds with ease; they know all the right people, all the powerful politicians, all the millionaires and all the influencers; they do not rock the boat, they do not challenge the spirit of the age; rather they get on very well with the lords of this world.

These prelates do not often share “Uncle” Ted’s proclivities, nor is soft living the absolute norm. What McCarrickism always means is a spirit of accommodation with the world and the spirit of the age; a worldly wisdom; the ability to get on equally well with the Bushes and the Clintons. Above all, it means not taking sides, even when one of those sides would seem to be that of the Catholic Church; or if stands are to be taken, they are on the most fashionable of causes – McCarrickism is on the side of the poor, migrants and the environment.

This hit me between the eyes because it is an uncomfortably precise description of the kind of ambitious priest or bishop that we all know in our own dioceses. They are applauded for all the amazing good work they do by the band of sycophants they have carefully groomed. They form cliques which tend to be very exclusive, gathering around them supporters who are not well enough informed about the faith to see the huge self-evident problems in what the "celebrity" clergyman is "teaching". They bristle when criticised, pointing to "all the good work" being done, whilst ignoring the realities of the ministry and the long disaster that is being visited as a result of the spreading web of falsehood and failure to confront the issues with truth.

The central rule of McCarrickism, analogous to the mafia’s insistence on omertà, is to look out for your friends, for it is to them you owe your position. McCarrickism depends on a web of favouritism, deceit and silence, and in the toils of this networking, Catholic truth is the first casualty.

Thou shalt not criticise is the first rule of these clerics, who preach a softly-softly approach, but, in the face of any challenge, resort to authority, using any means necessary to shut you down or frighten you into withdrawing your exposé.

Now more than ever before we need the Church to be a voice for the truth it has always stood for. We cannot accommodate this evil which pleads for tolerance. We have already seen how, once it gains that tolerance it turns to dictate. It is a bigger problem than we yet realise I fear. I implore you to support good priests; the put upon, the counter-culturalists, the brave, the ones who dare stand against the tide of secularism. And I implore you to abandon those who show any trait of "McCarrickism".