Catholic Sensibility

Don't bother with the link to the Index Blogorum Prohibitorum I posted a few days ago. This word from its host: "I have deleted the Index Blogorum Prohibitorum. It is certainly not because I feel that either of the two entries I made to the blog were wrong -- on the contrary, I think they were dead on, as evidenced by the backlash I've received. Still, I don't have the energy nor the time to deal with the perpetual backlash that will result from the Index, and so I am deleting it." I empathize with and appreciate Nathan's struggle with rudeness in St Blog's. Personally, I wouldn't have chosen to set up a second web site (one is more than enough to keep me busy) but I was interested to see where it would lead. I did find the reaction rather funny. This blogger got his St Blog's lingo mixed up. He could have checked here for proper lingo on extremists' eyes and torso wear. Wit (or sarcasm, if you prefer) is another tactic to deal with rudeness. My parents used to read Ann Landers across the dinner table to share her snarky efforts in dealing with life's clods. A few people I've known wished they'd had the knack for a quick comeback. I don't know they're necessarily better off. Sarcasm is probably not a seemly tool for a pacifist's or a Christian's social skill set. That's a daily struggle for a person who is expected to be diplomatic at all times in my guise as mild-mannered parish liturgist. Speaking of which, we've gotten word that the local chapter of SNAP might target our parish with leafletters this weekend. In my personal life, I'm quite sympathetic to this group and VOTF. As a liturgist though, my main concern is with our parishioners celebrating the Second Sunday of Lent. At the staff meeting this morning, I suggested if SNAP comes, we should be proactive: show them the best places to hand out materials (instead of asking them to move from an inconvenient spot later), invite them to warm up with a cup of coffee (but please leave their handouts at the door), and so forth. While one blogger has clothed himself with the robe of defender-of-orthodoxy as a rationale for deleting comments, two things: - Blog hosts can indeed run their sites as they see fit, to either their own credit or embarassment. - Those of us who value and relish a good discussion, can maintain uncensored comment boxes. I applaud Nathan for doing so, in spite of the bile directed his way this week. Comment boxes on this site will always remain open, be the commentary sensible or less so. (It will probably cost in the cybercatholic 2006 awards and rate some sites nth circle of hell, but hey ...)