[FROM THE ARCHIVE: July 11, 2022]
Recently I learned that Leonard Leo played a major role in Senator McConnell’s most nefarious deed: His refusal to allow President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland even a vote.
We continue with our look back at the impact of Leonard Leo and Opus Dei on American politics.
Opus Dei champion that he is, Leo pushed far-right judges onto the Supreme Court, who find the whole idea of pluralism and separation of church and state repugnant.
SCOTUS recently broke precedent about federal money for church schools, and followed it up with a ruling that school districts cannot prohibit high school football coach’s prayers on the field.
I received this e-mail in response: No longer protecting the separation of church and state! Conservative religious fanatics victorious again thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision this morning!
Of course, this should come as no surprise–Opus Dei has never liked the separation of church and state. Consider Franco’s dictatorship where Opus Dei played a very active role in marrying far right wing Catholicism with right wing politics and industry for decades of rule.
This decision to turn its back on pluralism shows clearly in the SCOTUS decision to gut 49 years of precedent and kill Roe v. Wade since most religions do not recognize a fetus as a human being until a certain number of months (including most Christians, among them Saint and doctor of the church, Thomas Aquinas). The Jewish tradition (that of Jesus) believes the fetus is not a human until it leaves the womb.
Clearly Dobbs demonstrates venom toward women and especially poor women, many of whom are women of color. This hardly echoes Jesus’ teaching of a “preferential option for the poor,” does it? What research did Alito do into the impact Dobbs will have on poor women? In fact, Dobbs will kill poor women and render poor families even more poor.
The most recent appointee to this unSupreme Court gave a speech this past summer under Senator McConnell’s auspices–and with him in attendance–and declared that people should not see her and her colleagues on the Court as “political hacks.” At the time, I couldn’t help catching a déjà vu—oh, yes, it was President Nixon publicly declaring that “I am not a crook.” That happened shortly before it was demonstrated to the world that he was so much a crook that he was forced to resign the presidency—AND to be pardoned for his crimes by the next president.
Not only is the current Supreme Court political hacks with their decision-making, but they are also religious quacks. Opus Dei is religious quackery. So too is much of the evangelical version of Christianity. Check it out. Mixing fascism and Christianity is religious quackery of a very serious kind. Its name is Christofascism.
Every supreme court judge who signed off on this so-called legal decision, that utterly contradicts the 13th and 14th amendment that prohibit servitude and the control over women’s bodies that was integral to the slave system, is acting out of Christofascism and is pleasing forces of Christofascism.
Adapted from Matthew Fox, “Opus Dei,” in Fox, The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved,” pp. 106-124.
Banner Image: “It’s Called the High Court Because You Can Buy Justices at 30,000 Feet.” Protestor marks the first anniversary of the Dobbs decision at the Supreme Court. Photo by Susan Melkisethian on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you think it is possible for people who call themselves followers of Christ to also submit to fascism? Is it time to call out Christofascism in all its forms?
Recommended Reading
The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.” — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II
7 thoughts on “Political Hacks & Religious Quacks: Christofascism in SCOTUS”
Be careful of sweeping generalizations. It is not true that the Supreme Court is extremist right-wing. The six justices in the Republican-appointed majority are evidently arch conservatives, but the Democrat-appoined minority do not fit the above pattern.
Yes, Christofacism, has many forms, especially patriarchal and institutional (including religious) xenophobia, ecocide, racism… Christianity needs to be taught and practiced as part of the universal mystical spiritual traditions of the ongoing Divine Flow of LOVING Diverse WHOLENESS~ONENESS in the Sacred Process of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT in Our Evolving Creation — COSMIC CHRIST….
In Brazil the situation is very similar. Christofacism is infiltrating all public spheres. Luckily they didn’t manage to take over the federal supreme court. They are such hypocritical people that recently, in a conservative institution, which calls itself pro-life, linked to the Catholic church, they found a fetus in the sewage treatment system. Amazingly, the fetus was that of a missionary from the community. That’s what conservatism is like here. Evangelicals also fight for the relaxation of the law on rape of minors, due to the high number of child abuse by some religious leaders. Shameful!
Thank you Matthew Fox for being the prophetic voice that is so needed in these days. I do appreciate your insightful DM’s helping us understand what is really going on. Blessings
The only way our rights will be restored is if we the people partake in the furthering of democracy DAILY. Efforts centering only around election time will not result in policies that lift us all up. It is worrisome that a moral, outstanding politician is at risk of loosing the presidency to a man who has no respect for Rule of Law, women, the working poor or immigrants. What does this say about the morals of many Americans who want to see this individual back in power as a dictator? The fact that American Catholic Bishops are not speaking out against the injustices in the US and are aligning themselves with the likes of Trump and rich billionaires is shameful and disgusting. They have one issue: abortion. Many consider it a sin; However, every “sin” does not need a law to prevent it from being performed. Why don’t we legislate against unfaithful spouses for example? I am done with the institution of the Catholic Church. It is so unlike the Christ who it claims to follow.
No, they do not follow the Way. The length and breadth and depth of the hypocrisy is staggering. They have no shame. We must continue to support those who speak the truth to power, like Matthew, and do so ourselves in our own areas.
Re the first video: they can blather on as much as they want about “it’s ok for any religion to do this (pray in public schools), but if the coach had been Muslim, or Buddhist, or (perish the thought!) PAGAN, what would they do? Is it against the law still to burn witches?