A Common Symbol?

This started as a rant about how ghastly ecclesiastical heraldry is among Gnostic Churches, especially, well, all of them. Listening to my more charitable Self, I decided to be more constructive, so I whipped this up.

Christians have the crucifix, Jews the Star of David, Muslims the crescent, Pagans the pentagram, Unitarians the lamp. Gnosticism is unusual in that there is not one unifying "flag" under which Gnostics rally and by which they readily identify each other and their Churches.

Here's an exercise in choosing a common symbol to represent Gnosticism, with ten recommendations. I could easily have found another dozen, but as I have an advertising background I thought I'd tackle this the way I'd approach any other brand. Yeah, I know, heretic, yada yada.

1) Maltese Cross: While in use by various organizations, it is distinctive and not widely used. Commonly known as the Cross of St. John it has roots in Johannite thought. Strong, solar, powerful.

2) Templar Cross: readily identifiable and used by Masonic groups who may or may not be offended by its newly-formalized association with contemporary Gnosticism. Strong, solar, powerful.

3) Cross of Toulouse: rarely used, with deep Cathar roots. The equilateral depiction here is more solar and inclusive, rather than the cruciform version on the coat of arms. Strong, solar, powerful, but a little softer and more feminine, with a more esoteric vibe.

4) Ankh: The Kemetic symbol of eternal life, and the origin of all western crosses. A little "constrained" to Egyptian religion for our purposes, but if a dozen Gnostic books came out in the next two years with ankhs on the cover that would quickly change.

5) The Cathar Dove: It seems superficially Christian, but as a symbol of the Holy Spirit it is extremely accessible. This depiction is identifiable from more conventional "ascending" or "alighting" doves, but it lacks the strength of the first four.

6) Orobouros: identifiably Gnostic, but doesn't translate well to small sizes, and overall a rather cold symbol

7) Orobouros and combo: in concert with one of the other selections, it gains strength, but it's still dificult to render and not particularly attractive.

8) Grail: Strong, identifiable, great symbolism, inclusive of the divine feminine, receptive. All good, and almost nobody else is using it as a symbol in and of itself.

9) Abraxas: distinctive but waaaaaaay to complicated. If a client came to me and said he wanted this for a logo I'd talk him out of it pretty quick.

10) Orphic Egg: distinctive, unique, strong, and slightly creepy.

My personal shortlist? 2, 3, and 8. Alternatives would include the Cathar six-petal flower, they "rayed" lamen of the Martinists and the M and M, and the "wordmark" of GNOSIS in greek letters. Let's get some consensus, build a few source files, post some .gifs, whip up some lapel pins and head down to the tattoo parlour. ;-)

Jeopardy

Last night's Final Jeopardy question:

A:  A Greek derived term in early Christian history literally meaning, “knowledge of God”.

Q:  What is Gnosticism?

All three contestants got it right (well, right-ish, I think they were looking for gnosis , but aren't we all?)

I love this for a few reasons. One, it's Phildickian every time a Gnostic reference shows up on TV (like a perfume commercial, for instance). Secondly, that all three contestants knew the answer - sometimes I feel like Jeremy, Terje and I just made all of this up one day.*

But the best part of this, and proof that Wisdom dwells in Signal, is the format. Gnosticism is about asking questions, rather than taking comfort in answers. It's dialogue with Divinity, and then negotiating with the Archons.

"Gnosticism: Questioning Life's Big Answers Since 200 BCE"

And a tip of the zuchetto to Natasha for the story.

*There are more left-handed Gauloise-smoking vegan accordion-players in Toronto than there are Gnostics of all descriptions in Canada. Gets a little lonely out here in the wilderness.

The Seventh Step: Culture

© Jan Valentin Saether
In an earlier post I proposed 10 Steps towards a Gnostic Communion to encourage a maturation of Gnostic dialogue. One of those steps is celebration of our artistic and cultural contribution, including Blake and Roerich.

Jan+ is a Priest in the Ecclesia Gnostica, and a tremendously talented artist. HIs work is subtle, masterful, and deeply evocative, and his site is at janvalentinsaether.com.

A tip o' the zooch to Terje for the link.

Come to me my Kinsman, the Light, My Guide

© Reverend Jan Valentin Saether

Come to me, my kinsman, the Light, my Guide.
Since I went forth into the darkness I was given water to drink.
I bear up beneath a burden which is not my own.
I am in the midst of my enemies, the beasts surrounding me;
the burden which I bear is of the powers and principalities.
They burned in their wrath, they rose up against me.
Matter and her sons divided me up amongst them,
they burnt me in their fire, they gave me a bitter likeness.
The strangers with whom I mixed, me they know not;
they tasted my sweetness, they desired to keep me with them.
I was life to them, but they were death to me;
I bore up beneath them, they wore me as a garment upon them.

I am in everything, I bear the skies,
I am the foundation, I support the earths;
I am the Light that shines forth, that gives joy to the souls.
I am the Life of the world;
I am the milk that is in all trees;
I am the sweet water that is beneath the sons of matter.

I bore these things until I had fulfilled the will of my Father;
the First Man is my father whose will I have carried out.
Lo, the darkness I have subdued;
lo, the fire of the fountains I have extinguished,
as the sphere turns hurrying round,
as the sun receives the refined part of Life.

O soul, raise your eyes to the Height and contemplate your bond,
lo, your fathers are calling you.

Now go aboard the Ship of Light and
receive your garland of glory
and return to your Kingdom
and rejoice with all the Aeons.

On the Day of the Holy Prophet Mani

Praxis

"Marla Ruzicka, (December 31, 1976 – April 16, 2005), of Lakeport, California, was an American Green Party activist and aid worker who was killed by a car bomb blast in Baghdad. She founded the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), an organization that assists Iraqi victims of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

She organized door-to-door surveys of civilian casualties in Iraq since the US capture of Baghdad in April 2003. CIVIC survey teams fanned-out across Iraq to gather first-hand accounts of civilian casualties of dead, injured, homeless, displaced, and abused.

After receiving CIVIC's first report, Patrick Leahy - the Democratic Senator for Vermont - sponsored legislation to provide $10 million in U.S. aid to innocent Iraqis who have been harmed by the US military."

- from the Wikipedia entry on Marla Ruzicka

Click here to donate to The Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict.

My heart is sick from this. Twenty-eight. Marla looks like my sister Aviel. She offerred more resistance to the Archons in her brief life than all the cardboard mitres in all the garage churches in the world. Sometimes I despair of the extent to which we are kidding ourselves.

The little girl on her lap was orphaned after US Marines mistakenly murdered her mother via rocket fire at her car. Her mother threw this child out the car window to save her life, as the woman was burning to death.

10 Steps Part II

In my previous post I had outlined 10 points of dialogue in hopes of achieving a broader Gnostic Communion - a collaboration and openness of Gnostic Churches, a sharing of resources, and a reunion of diverse successions. Briefly, these 10 points are;

Divinity
Responsibility
Terminology
Distinction
Recognition
Iconoclasm
Culture
Eucharist
Ecumenism
Praxis

Among others, Bishop Sean McCann of the AJC was kind enough to post comments on his blog, Noetic Apprehension.

This I find promising, as +Sean is also the current President of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops - the very organization best positioned to make such a Communion possible.

I invite you to ask yourself 3 questions; Am I an (Ecclesiastical) Gnostic? Do I have a Bishop? Is my Bishop a member of the NACGB?

But wait, you say, if you said yes to the first two but "Um..." to the third. "The Ecclesia Gnostica / Liberal Catholic Church / EGCAL / EGM / GCAE / GCGC / Sanctuary / AOC (etc.) isn't a Member Jurisdiction of the College! My Bishop can't come to NACGB sessions! All is lost, I tell you... LOST!" Your Bishop can become and Individual Member, even if your Church is not a Member Jurisdiction. So then I think you have to ask yourself, why is my Bishop (or "me" if you are one) not attending the next session? How can there be a dialogue unless everybody shows up? Then you have to ask your Bishop the same thing.

Unless you know of another gathering of Apostolic Gnostic Bishops with more than half a dozen member churches (although there is a 3 way communion between the EG, the EGM, and Cokinis' EGCA).

My completely random guess as to why "your" (hypothetical your) Bishop isn't an NACGB member is likely

• a) never heard of 'em, and
  
• b) not crazy about the endorsed Gnostic rites, which are heavy on the Hermetic side.

Now, as I've said before, Gnostics tend to come in one of three main varieties: Christian (about 70%), Hermetic (about 25%) and Sophianic (5%). I'm well aware that there is a tremendous opposition among many of the first to the validity of the second. (Fortunately for me, I'm safely in the third camp so nobody pays me no nevermind). But the reality is if we are to get anywhere, we need to make a place at the table for the Martinists and the Thelemites. The alternative is to remain in our little silos issuing the occasional concordat or co-consecration, and hoping to live up to a real, practical and healthy Gnostic theology with your few dozen parishoners.

Please remember I'm asking only for dialogue, not the Council of Nicea. What are we afraid of?

Anamnesis

"I had two impacted wisdom teeth removed, under sodium pentathol. Later that day I found myself in intense pain. My wife phoned the oral surgeon and he phoned a pharmacy. Half an hour later there was a knock at my door: the delivery person from the pharmacy with the pain medication. Although I was bleeding and sick and weak, I felt the need to answer the knock on the door myself. When I opened the door, I found myself facing a young woman—who wore a shining gold necklace in the center of which was a gleaming gold fish. For some reason I was hypnotized by the gleaming golden fish; I forgot my pain, forgot the medication, forgot why the girl was there. I just kept staring at the fish sign.

"What does that mean?" I asked her.

The girl touched the glimmering golden fish with her hand and said, "This is a sign worn by the early Christians." She then gave me the package of medication.

In that instant, as I stared at the gleaming fish sign and heard her words, I suddenly experienced what I later learned is called anamnesis — a Greek word meaning, literally, "loss of forgetfulness." I remembered who I was and where I was. In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, it all came back to me. And not only could I remember it but I could see it. The girl was a secret Christian and so was I. We lived in fear of detection by the Romans. We had to communicate with cryptic signs. She had just told me all this, and it was true.

For a short time, as hard as this is to believe or explain, I saw fading into view the black prison-like contours of hateful Rome. But, of much more importance, I remembered Jesus, who had just recently been with us, and had gone temporarily away, and would very soon return. My emotion was one of joy. We were secretly preparing to welcome Him back. It would not be long. And the Romans did not know. They thought He was dead, forever dead. That was our great secret, our joyous knowledge. Despite all appearances, Christ was going to return, and our delight and anticipation was boundless.

[... ] I can't count the theories I've tried out. One constant has prevailed, though, throughout all theories. There must indeed be a mysterious Holy Spirit which has an exact and intimate relation to Christ, which can indwell in human minds, guide and inform them, and even express itself through those humans, even without their awareness."

- Philip K Dick

An Incomplete Chronology of the Gnostic Restoration

1777
Birth of Raymond Fabré-Palaprat

1800
Consecration of Mauviel at Pris as Constitutional Bishop of Cayes in Haiti

1804
Fabré-Palaprat and Ledru de Chevillon de Saintot restore the Order of the Temple and the Johannite Church

1828
Fabré-Palaprat founds the Église Johannites des Chretiens Primitif (“Johannite Church of Primitive Christians”)

1831
Chatel consecrated Primate of the Johannite Catholic Church

1838
Death of Fabre-Palaprat, and the splintering of the Johannite Church

1841
Reconciliation of the branches of the Templar Order under Jean-Marie Raoul

1842
Birth of Jules-Benoît Stanislas Doinel du Val-Michel

1851
Pius IX condemns Eugene-Michel Vintras

1854
Birth of Joseph René Vilatte

1865
Birth of Gérard-Anaclet-Vincent Encausse (Papus) in La Coruña, Spain

1885
Vilatte ordained deacon and priest at Berne, Switzerland from Bishop Herzog of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

1889
Revelation of Jules Doinel

1889
Encausse reconstitutes the Martinist Order

1890
Jules Doinel (Valentinus II) founds Eglise Catholique Gnostique September 21

1892
Villate ordained Archbishop of the Old Catholic Church of America May 29

1893
The Holy Gnostic Synod of 1893

1895
Doinel converts to Roman Catholicism, attacking ECG

1896
Léonce-Eugène Fabre des Essarts, known (Tau Synesius) made ECG Patriarch at High Synod

1900
Paolo Miraglia-Gulatti made Bishop of Piacenza by Vilatte May 6

1900
Return of Doinel as Tau Jules, Bishop of Alet et Mirepoix.

1901
Jean Bricaud (Tau Johannes) consecrated as Bishop of Lyon by Fabre des Essarts

1903
Death of Doinel

1904
Consecration of Jules Houssaye by Gulotti

1906
The Constitutional Synod December 7th

1907
Schism: Along with Encausse and Louis-Sophrone Fugairon (Tau Sophronius) Bricaud founds his own l'Église Catholique Gnostique more closely associated with Martinism, a Roman procession of orders and baptism by water

1908
The name of l'Église Catholique Gnostique changed to l'Église Gnostique Universelle

1908
Fabre des Essarts' Church generally know as l'Église Gnostique de France

1908
Le Congrés Maçonnique Spiritualiste

1911
Louis Francois Giraud made Archbishop by Mar Julian Houssaye June 21

1912
Death of Jules Houssaye

1913
Jean Bricaud (Tau Jean) is consecrated Bishop of the Gallican Church - receiving "valid but illicit" Apostolic succession recognized by Rome - by Louis Francois Giraud (of the Vilatte succession) July 21. Bricaud is Patriarch of the EGU.

1916
Death of Encausse (Papus) of tuberculosis in Paris

1917
Death of Fabre des Essarts

1918
Bricaud consecrates Victor Blanchard (Tau Targilus) May 5

1929
Death of Vilatte (Mar Timotheos)

1934
Bricaud dies February 21

1936
Constant Martin Chevillon (Tau Harmonius) becomes Patriarch of the EGU by Giraud January 5

1944
The Martyrdom of Chevillon, March 22 by Nazis and French collaborators

1945
Tau Renatus elected successor to the martyred Chevillon as Patriarch

1945
The Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church founded by Mgr. Carlos Duarte Costa, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Botacatu, who was excommunicated by the Holy See for having criticized Pope Pius XII for blessing Nazi and Fascist troops in St. Peter's Square in 1943

1948
Charles-Henry Dupont succeeds Renatus

1959
Richard Duc du Palatine brings Pre-Nicene Gnostic Catholic Church (later Ecclesia Gnostica) to the United States

1960
Dupant succeeded by Robert Ambelain (Tau Jean III), who folds EGU into Église Gnostique Apostolique

1967
Consecration of Bishop Stephan Hoeller by the Duc du Palatine

1969
André Mauer (Tau Andreas) is EGA Patriarch

1970
Pedro Freire (Tau Pierre), primate of South America, EGA Patriarch. Friere is also Patriarch of l'Église Gnostique Catholique Apostolique as Petrus-Johannes XIII, (by Dom Antidio Vargas of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church)

1981
Bishop Rosamonde Miller consecrated by Hoeller

1983
Incorporation of the Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum as a distinct entity from +Hoeller's EG

1985
Herard ordains and consecrates Jorge Enrique Rodriguez Villa

1985
Villa and Michael P. Bertiaux exchange Episcopal consecrations, bringing together the French, Spanish, and Haitian Gnostic lines of Apostolic succession.

1989
Death of EGCA Primate Roger Saint-Victor Hérard

2001
Villa consecrates Tau Sebastos A. Sokaris as the Sovereign Patriarch for the E.G.C.A.L

2001
Incorporation of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica Hermetica

2002
EGCH Bishop Ken Canterbury consecrated by Bishop William Behun of Holy Apostolic Church of the Third Age (Joachamite)

2002
AJC Bishop Sean McCann ordained by Tau Iohannes III - Tau Valentinus of the EGCH as co-consecrator

2002
The EGCH enters into full Communion with the Apostolic Johannite Church

2003
Founding of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops (NACGB), comprised of the EGCH, the AJC, the The Holy Apostolic Church of the Third Age (Joachimite); L' Eglise Gnostique Catholique Apostolique - Catholicate de la Croix de Rose; and the Ecclesia Gnostica Pravus.

10 Steps Toward a Gnostic Communion: A Call for Dialogue

It seems to me that the Gnostic Restoration since 1890 has been largely characterized by personality rather than theology. We desperately need a dialogue among the vital contributors of the Restoration: the big G Gnostics, the Theosophists, the Thomasine, Johannite and Primitive Christians, the Thelemites, the Liberal Catholics, the Jungians, the SAW people, the Masons, everybody with a stake and voice.

I would like to offer this analysis as a acting spine of Ecclesiastical Gnosticism through which we may move forward as a greater community.

What is a Gnostic Communion? It would seem that each gathering and Eucharist would be open and flexible enough to recognize that we each to come to gnosis through our own, unique path, and that we each have a point. The points below are not a suggestion of or for orthodoxy, but rather as explorations for common ground, and starting points for a sound debate. What I hope to see in the next decade is something greater than a concordat between Latin Johannites and Haitian Thelemites - but a respecting of territorial Bishops, a sharing of resources, the continued exchange of successions, and a more accessible Ekklesia. Okay and maybe a seminary.

To my mind, a Gnostic Communion would hold to:

1) A superrational, supernatural, superpersonal Divinity

The Big, BIG God model. I subscribe to the idea that any idea of God we can conceive rationally is a kind of idolatry. As Gnostics, we *must* have direct, firsthand experience of how Divinity relates to each of us before we can move forward and share our ideas with the world. This experience *cannot* be academic, or safely contained in language. God is not Yahweh or Osiris or Gaia; each of these are crude caricatures of God. The Pleroma can be Known, but cannot be grasped.

2) The idea of agency and and personal responsibility

a) Tag, you're it. The Kingdom of God is within you. The Logos is not getting off a plane or manifesting as anybody you'll see on CNN. Christ is something that happens to you, the anointing of the spark of Divinity within, and giving THAT authority over your life.

b) Gnosticism is NOT initiatory in the traditional sense. I cannot conduct a ritual making you a Gnostic and imparting the secret wisdom of the Gnostics. You have the exclusive ability and obligation to Gnosticize yourself. There are forces at work in the world to prevent this, but there are also forces in the world to enable it.

c) It's obvious that the agents of the Archons are everywhere - but less obvious about the signals we receive from the Divine. Sophia is everywhere - everywhere, sometimes within the mechanism of the Archons themselves.

3) Ownership of terms (gnosis, pleroma, pneuma, logos)

We really need a strong, solid language as a starting point, and we need to sign off on these terms. What do we mean by Pleroma? I would love to see not just a lexicon (there are a few out there) but a real theological examination of these words in a Gnostic context.

4) Distinction between Ecclesiastical Gnosticism and philosophical "small-g" gnosticism, and a rejection of the idea of neo-gnosticism

Neo-gnosticism means anything a critic wants it to. The term is meaningless, meant to be mildly insulting, and we need to banish it from the radar. If we see an article employing the term, we need to be contacting the authors and asking them to clarify. Gnosis is the birthright of all humanity. GnosticISM is a religion for a few that at its core honours the experience of gnosis.

5) Recognition of our pre-Christian roots

Gnosticism is not an heretical branch of Christianity. We need a critical, objective look our history, its nature and syncretism - and then to be more proactive and less retroactive. What of our pre-Christian roots needs to survive? What needs to be put in the attic?

6) Rejection of literalism (esp. literalist dualism) , fundamentalism, and historical revisionism through iconoclasm, wit, humour, and joy

To my mind the single worst thing that could happen is the development of a Gnostic Fundamentalism, or a claim that Thomas (apostle and/or brother of Jesus) actually wrote Thomas, or that the events of Poimandres happened on a certain Wednesday in Damascus. We cannot be "about" dusty old codices from a jar, but rather a living, breathing religion that asks questions about domestic violence, about poverty, about media and democracy. We must fervently renounce the slanderous label of dualism, and point to how lovingly Gnostic scripture refers to natural forces. We reject the system, not the earth.

7) Communication of our rich cultural heritage

No, The Matrix doesn't count. We need to read Blake, sponsor a tour of Roerich, publish tranlations of Soloviev. Actually we need a Blake Year.

"Valentinus, Basilides and the Logos walk into a bar..." - why are there no Gnostic jokes?

8) Centralize the purpose of Eucharist in our practice, not the form

Who will be the first to declare their liturgy Open Source? How about a core structure of the Mass, with a more modular approach? Insert your creed here. Regardless, we need stronger, more coherent Gnostic RE to explain what's going on up there with the little white crackers.

9) Ecumenism, not proselytization

a) No more schisms. Please. Enough with all the schisming. Our tradition holds for independent Bishops - we don't need a new set of incorporation documents and logos and websites with every ordination.

b) The model is not that of an hierarchical Church, but a non-resident monastery. Clergy serves those who have chosen to show up, by listening, counselling, teaching and cheerleading.

c) Unlike many religious communities in the West, we are growing. Others are disappearing. We need to build a bridge to lapsed Catholics, the Liberal Catholic Tradition, and to Reform Judaism. The latter has a lot to teach us about encoded wisdom, and surviving as a minority religion.


10) Praxis and Caritas

What do we DO, exactly, other than read and pray and argue on listservs? Each Parish needs to dedicate itself to social action by adopting one or two local, on the ground charities. It's not enough to donate a copy of The Jesus Mysteries to your local library - that's self-serving. I mean hot meals to elderly shut ins, the animal shelter, clean socks to the homeless. Tithe. Hours if not money. Make it a condition for membership. Nobody does a better job of this than Bishop del Campo's folks, and they are to be lauded.

There are few enough of us to build rapid consensus and to sign off on something like this in the next ten years.

The Revelation of +Jules Doinel (Valentinus II) , 1889

"I address myself to you because you are my friend, my servant and the prelate of my Albigensian Church. I am exiled from the Pleroma, and it is I whom Valentinus named Sophia-Achamôth. It is I whom Simon Magus called Helene-Ennoia; for I am the Eternal Androgyne. Jesus is the Word of God; I am the Thought of God. One day I shall remount to my Father, but I require aid in this; it requires the supplication of my Brother Jesus to intercede for me. Only the Infinite is able to redeem the Infinite, and only God is able to redeem God. Listen well: The One has brought forth One, then One. And the Three are but One: the Father, the Word and the Thought. Establish my Gnostic Church. The Demiurge will be powerless against it. Receive the Paraclete."

The 1906 Constitution

Eglise Gnostique Catholique Apostolique Primatie Des Etats Unis D'Amerique Du Nord
The Constitutions and The Accepted Bylaws
(Circa 1906 A.D.)

The constitutions of l'Eglise Gnostique Catholique Apostolique (The Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church) D'Amerique Du Nord, as extrapolated from the synopsis of the constitution of Synesius, A.D. 1906 and which apply to the membership and clergy at large in the USA, Canada and all the dependencies, as well as internationally:

I. The Gnostic Catholic Church by virtue of its doctrine of Gnosticism, seeks to unite all the primitive religions whom it acknowledges as descending from a common universal source.

II. The Gnostic Catholic Church abstains from any imposition, either legalistically or doctrinally, which opposes the true conscience of its members or others.

III. The Gnostic Catholic Church professes that true religion is integral science, and supports a doctrine which acknowledges a continuous and successive progression (evolution) of the human race, at least in a spiritual sense.

IV. The Gnostic Catholic Church is a universal church (Katholicos) and is accessible to all men and women without distinction of nationality, race or language.

V. The Gnostic Catholic Church confers its degrees and its orders upon its aspirants based upon their spiritual and intellectual merits without racial, national or linguistical distinction.

VI. The Gnostic Catholic Church maintains that its rites, ceremonies and dogmas shall always demonstrate respect for all the republics of the peoples where it exists, and insists that its members conduct themselves as good citizens.

VII. The Gnostic Catholic Church of France is established under the direction of its Patriarch whose seat is Paris, France and whose title is "L'Eveque De Montsegur" and who is Primus inter Pares (first among equals) and therefore democratically, makes important decisions with approbation of the Holy Synod, otherwise called the college of the metropolitan.

VIII. The Holy Synod of the Gnostic Catholic Church is characterized by a democratic and egalitarian union, which is most representative and restorative of the Ancient and Christian Church whose head is Jesus Christ the Logos.

One Thousand One Hundred and Sixty

According to this, that's the number of Gnostics in Canada. That stat comes before the explosion of interest in Thomas and The Da Vinci Code, so it's safe to assume it's fairly conservative.

The Legacy of John Paul II

"John Paul II has been almost the polar opposite of John XXIII, who dragged Catholicism to confront 20th-century realities after the regressive policies of Pius IX, who imposed the peculiar doctrine of papal infallibility on the First Vatican Council in 1870, and after the reign of terror inflicted by Pius X on Catholic theologians in the opening decades of the 20th century. Unfortunately, this pope was much closer to the traditions of Pius IX and Pius X than to his namesakes. Instead of mitigating the absurdities of Vatican I's novel declaration of papal infallibility, a declaration that stemmed almost wholly from Pius IX's paranoia about the evils ranged against him in the modern world, John Paul II tried to further it. In seeking to impose conformity of thought, he summoned prominent theologians like Hans Kung, Edward Schillebeeckx and Leonardo Boff to star chamber inquiries and had his grand inquisitor, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, issue condemnations of their work [...]

Sadly, John Paul II represented a different tradition, one of aggressive papalism. Whereas John XXIII endeavored simply to show the validity of church teaching rather than to issue condemnations, John Paul II was an enthusiastic condemner. Yes, he will surely be remembered as one of the few great political figures of our age, a man of physical and moral courage more responsible than any other for bringing down the oppressive, antihuman Communism of Eastern Europe. But he was not a great religious figure. How could he be? He may, in time to come, be credited with destroying his church."

- Thomas Cahill