By Brad Miner.

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking

Was looked on as something shocking

But now, God knows

Anything goes

"Anything Goes" by Cole Porter (1934)

A single headline at Vatican News got me thinking:

Pope says Israel's attack on Hamas in Qatar marks a 'very serious situation'

In itself, it's a simple statement of fact. And it's chilling if, as in my mind, it evokes "wars and rumors of wars" (Matthew 24:6-7, Mark 13:7, and Luke 21:9). The world is a dangerous place, and diplomacy is essential.

But there are existential reasons for skepticism about the success of diplomatic efforts, let alone of pacifist statements concerning Gaza, etc. Besides, negotiations (let alone good intentions) won't save the world; Christ will. If we all lived in God's light, we'd have peace on earth. Failing that . . .

Sweet reason is important, but I admire Jonathan Swift's warning (from A Letter to a Young Gentleman, Lately Enter'd Into Holy Orders by a Person of Quality, 1721): "Reasoning will never make a Man correct an ill Opinion, which by Reasoning he never acquired." In other words, "It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he never used reason to arrive at in the first place."

In Catholicism, we speak of "just war theory," which is a reasoned response to the reality (indeed, the inevitability) of conflict. Diplomacy to affect peace requires both wisdom and restraint. Vito Corleone advises Tom Hagen about a contentious, upcoming meeting with the Tattaglias on a point of concern to the Five Families, "Mention it, don't insist." Use prudent, economical speech.

The Vatican, it seems to me, has lost the understanding of economy in speaking. Every day, and this was especially true when Francis was pope, the Vatican inserts itself into the "public conversation" - even to the point of sending messages to meetings of the World Economic Forum at Davos.

It's tempting to believe that the Catholic voice of a pope may have catholic appeal - that because there is in Catholicism a universal message of peace and justice, a pope has the authority to speak out and that the world will listen. But I'm afraid this is only true some of the time (more rarely than the Vatican seems to imagine), and that a message to a Left-liberal enclave such as Davos is akin to throwing a bucket of water into Hell. And I have no patience for the assertion that "It can't hurt." Futile gestures almost always hurt.

If the statements coming from Rome were rare, sharp-edged, and Biblical, they might have a certain shock value. But it's usually the case that the Vatican's words are anodyne. And this is true even when a statement is actually shocking - to a traditional Catholic sensibility anyway.

Consider this from Catholic News Agency on September 10, 2025:

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, stated in a recent interview: "I would not define morality - especially sexual morality - as narrowly as the Church does today."

Whenever Cardinal Hollerich speaks, you know it's in the context of synodality, which, as he suggests in that same article, is morphing into an "ecclesial assembly." Although he adds, "it remains unclear what exactly such an ecclesial assembly will entail."

But, Eminence, if it's unclear, why are we doing it? And why, concerning sexuality, are you speaking as though you were the Lawgiver?

When the Lord said (Mark 16:18) that we will be able to "pick up serpents" and not be harmed, he wasn't recommending dangerous behavior. He was promising that if we live by His word and law, we will be saved. Although in Hollerich's home, Luxembourg, there is no church tax as such (i.e., in the manner of Germany's Kirchensteuer), Luxembourg does provide direct financial support to formally approved religious groups via conventions with the state.

It's possible that clerics in Germany and Luxembourg believe the survival of the Church in their countries depends upon governmental largess that, in turn, depends upon increasing the number of members of the Church, ...