Modern Jansenists

There is one group not likely to be happy with our new Jesuit pope. They are the spiritual if not theological heirs of seventeenth and eighteenth century Jansenists. Like their predecessors they have a dark view of human nature. They don't really  believe in universal salvation and certainly don't think Catholics should be out in the world working to achieve it. They want a smaller, purer, more insular church and, like the old Jansenists, are self appointed guardians of dogmatic orthodoxy.

They are powerful voices and unrelenting critics of Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Relief Services. They have even intimidated a few US Bishops into withholding financial support. That CCHD and CRS are domestic and foreign anti-poverty agencies of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is not recommendation enough. Cooperation with disfavored groups trumps any preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, and negates any aura of approval from the magisterium, the teaching authority of the church.

The original Jansenists held special animosity for the missionary work of Jesuits, and so do the new ones. They see a threat to the faith. Catholics working with non-believers and the marginalized will be contaminated, and bring the contamination back into the church. But the Jesuits and the magisterium held the moral high ground three centuries ago as they hold it today. Jansenists faded into obscurity.

That they are resurgent seems to be for political more than theological reasons, though secular excesses among adherents to Liberation Theology did help bring them back to life in Latin America. In the United States there seem to be two principle drivers. One is the dangerous notion that abortion is the only social justice issue that really matters. The other is a virulent dislike for community organizing. Modern community organizing was founded by the radical Saul Alinsky. Mention his name and you will set a Jansenist's blood boiling. Former community organizer Barak Obama's will set off a torrent of vituperative.

Of course community organizing is what advocates for social justice do. It is an indispensable tool. And finding common ground with others who may disagree with us on important matters of faith is essential if we are to accomplish anything worthwhile. If we can't do those things, there isn't much we can do.

That seems to be the point, though Jansenists generally don't say so, preferring to fall back on guilt by association. Community organizing has ties to Saul Alinsky and is therefore evil on it's face. There is no acceptable common ground with anyone who disagrees with us at any level on abortion.

The good news is the church is fighting back. Pope Francis regularly denounces those who would have us withdraw from the world. Conferences of Bishops everywhere actively lobby for justice. CCHD and CRS both vigorously respond in the Catholic press to their critics. Neither hesitates to set the record straight at the disinformation campaigns frequently directed against them. And New York's Cardinal Dolan doesn't advocate for religious freedom just for Catholics. He was in the news last week at an Albanian mosque encouraging them to stand up for their own faith. A faith commitment serves the common good even if it isn't our faith.

Sometimes it helps if your enemy has a name. It can be a shorthand way of describing a complex wrong headed concept. Jansenist seems a good term to me. If people understand what a Jansenist is, then they can more readily understand who in the church is opposing social justice, why, and that they aren't simply indifferent, they are in active opposition.

The National Catholic Reporter has begun using the term. I hope they keep it up. Maybe Pope Francis will adopt it. We could use some help.