The American Spectator

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Modern Outrages

4.12.06 @ 12:01AM

COPYRIGHT, FRANCE IN CRISIS
Re: D. Kelly Jones's Reactionary Riots and March Madness in Paris:

Your correspondent, D. Kelly Jones, has plagiarized me in his postings of 21 and 31 March 2006. He has lifted, word-for-word, 25 lines from pages 3, 4, 5, and 10 of my book, France in Crisis (Cambridge University Press, 2004).
-- Timothy B. Smith
Associate Professor
Department of History
Queen's University, Ontario

D. Kelly Jones replies:
Professor Smith is correct. The passages he cites in my two articles are indeed from his book, France in Crisis. I read Professor Smith's book shortly after it appeared and took copious notes at the time because it is an excellent work on the subject. In preparing the articles, I referred back to those notes, but failed to return to the original text as I should have.

That of course is an explanation; it is not intended as an excuse. I can only express my deepest apologies to Professor Smith and to the editors and readers of The American Spectator.

Wlady Pleszczynski replies:
I am grateful to Professor Smith for bringing this outrage to our attention. Unattributed appropriation of intellectual property is inexcusable, unacceptable, and unforgivable behavior, to put it mildly. Mr. Jones will not write for us again.

THE RESURRECTED CHURCH
Re: Mark Gauvreau Judge's Catechism's Comeback:

Just a short comment that will attempt to bring things in perspective. St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church, once stated (I am paraphrasing here) that the beginning of all heresy (false doctrine) lay in the desire to have the Church conform itself to the time that it is within. John XXIII stated that his reason for calling the Second Vatican Council was to bring the Church into the modern age. Sound familiar? Anyone with a smidgen of true humility would realize that it is up to us to conform to authentic Church teaching, not the other way around.
-- Bob Schwartz
Buffalo, New York

I hope you send a courtesy copy to Father Jenkins at Notre Dame, who has just said academic freedom allows The Vagina Monologues and the Queer Film Festival at Notre Dame. My own feeling is that he chickened out over a revolt by his goofy professors and sold the students "down the river" as the slaves used to say.
-- Annette Cwik

For anyone who really wants to get to the "meat and potatoes" of traditional orthodox Catholicism, I would suggest the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the result of that dogmatic council in the 16th century, which reaffirmed a millennium and a half of Catholic belief, and the Catechetical Instruction of St. Thomas Aquinas. I would stay away from the drivel of the past 44 years, which purports to be Catholic and is a perversion of a pastoral council, i.e., Vatican II. The fact that Mark comments on his alma mater's contention that the modern Catechism of the Catholic Church was "over the heads of freshmen and sophomores" speaks to the constant dumbing down of our education system over the same 44 years. My semi-literate ancestors had a better grasp of their faith than most people today do.
-- Daniel A. Moroco
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Good article. I was born and raised Catholic myself. In the 1960s. I stopped going to church because of its leftist leanings in the pulpit and in the '70s, I left the religion completely. Now I am considering returning to the faith of my ancestors because I see the Church coming back to its original teachings (which I was taught). The author has pointed out some very disturbing truisms concerning the Catholic Church of the '70s thought (aside from the homosexual issues) and that is the Church's complicity in the dismantling of Christian belief, as the one true religion. Even further is the fact of brethren within the Church aiding in the abortion holocaust such as Sen. Leahy (a "devout" Catholic) and of course, Ted Kennedy. However, in Vermont, we had a member of one of the religious orders (Sisters of Mercy) who, as a director of Social Services (under a Republican Governor), oversaw minors getting abortions (without parental knowledge). Now, those very people can be subject to excommunication, as they should be, but more important is that young Catholics are once more being taught the real teachings of the Church concerning moral issues. I would like to see the Mass done in Latin again myself, but we can't have everything. It's going to a long hard process though dismantling so many years of leftist ideology and re-educating the youth as to what the Catholic Church really stands for, but it's time to get started.
-- Pete Chagnon

Thank you for the article by Mark Judge. I too went to a Jesuit Prep School and they now teach the same nonsense.
-- Gene Deveney

FRIGHTENING CHOICE
Re: Steven M. Warshawsky's Just Being Herself and Shawn Macomber's McCain's New Tact:

Many thanks to TAS for publishing the articles submitted by Messrs. Macomber and Warshawsky on what may likely be the Hobson's Choice presented to us conservatives in the '08 presidential race. After a lively discussion on McCain in the AmSpecBlog last night with Dave and others, today's articles only serve to increase our anxiety over the unpleasant prospects of a McCain v. Clinton race. We can only hope that the primaries will offer up salvation to relieve us of this nightmare scenario. But even with all this being said, since sitting out an election, or moving to New Zealand is not a choice for me, McCain gets my vote. Can somebody please hand me the aspirin?
-- A. DiPentima

NO BOOK TOO LARGE
Re: Steven M. Warshawsky's Just Being Herself:

I will buy the book! Although "small book" of "Hillary's lies" doesn't seem possible.

Letter to the Editor

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