Cafod, the overseas aid agency that stands for all that is truest and best in Catholicism in England and Wales, has allowed itself to succumb to a combination of trolling, no-platforming, and the Catholic alt-right – that is, the mad-as-a-hatter version of American Catholicism. It has issued and then withdrawn an invitation to a distinguished American theologian to give a lecture in London – then reissued it after second thoughts – because of the fuss his most recent book might cause.
“No-platforming” means refusing to invite to speak – or having invited, then cancelling – people whose opinions draw strong disapproval. It has legitimately been used to keep academic campuses clear of outright racists or fascists, on the grounds that the invitation itself conveys some support or approval for the speaker’s views. Trolling is the practice of using Twitter, Facebook and other social media to bombard a target with insulting or threatening messages. And the alt-right (or alternative right) is a grisly section of the internet occupied by extremists who reject mainstream conservative ideas, and is usually ultra-nationalistic, rabidly anti-liberal, racist, homophobic and misogynistic.
The latest book by Fr James Martin SJ, Building a Bridge, argues for a dialogue between the official Roman Catholic Church and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics who feel alienated from it. It is a moderate proposal, for each side to enter into a relationship of respect, compassion and sensitivity. What has angered his critics, it seems, is that Fr Martin’s approach is incompatible with the continued stigmatisation of homosexuality and other sexual orientations. But instead of attempting to disprove his argument, on the basis that the best response to bad theology is better theology, these critics demand that Catholic institutions no-platform him. Explaining that the decision had been made after “increasing negative attacks” on social media, the national seminary run by the Catholic University of America in Washington recently withdrew its invitation to Fr Martin to speak – on the subject of Jesus, no less.
Fr Martin reported on Facebook that an invitation to come to London to give a talk to help Cafod launch its campaign in support of migrants and refugees had also been cancelled. Cafod explained that when Building a Bridge was published “and we saw the strength of feeling it generated in some quarters”, they had a duty to consider how to proceed in the best interests of Cafod’s work. “We have recent experience of social media attacks. Responding to these takes a significant amount of staff resource,” they explained. Cafod said it had talked to Fr Martin about another date, but he told The Tablet it was clear to him that he had been disinvited, and that the book – and social media reaction to it – was the reason.
The influence of far-right-wing Catholicism on the Catholic Church, particularly in the US, is out of all proportion to its significance. It succeeds by bullying and intimidation. It is time the Church and all its institutions, official and unofficial, made a firm determination to deal with this poison in the best and only way – to pay it no attention whatsoever. To do otherwise is to allow oneself to be poisoned.
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