Rod Dreher Goes Orthodox

Read all about it. Of course this is no surprise, even if Dreher's apparent enemy had not been snooping around trying to prove it. A number of Catholics seem outraged by his having kept it a secret for some months. I don't see it that way, and frankly I see this as another lesson in not judging the motives of another without solid reason. I didn't see that there was any huge and sinister gain to be had by the concealment. I saw no evidence in fact or logic for the suggestion that he wanted to pretend to be Catholic the better to bash the Church, and chose to assume that he had some good reason for not making public his move to Orthodoxy (if indeed he had moved). This appears to have been the case.

As a Catholic I can't applaud this step. But I can't condemn it or call it apostasy, either, although I think that insofar as this was a theological decision it is a decidely mistaken one. The late pope made it clear that he believed Orthodoxy to be part of the Church. Not being a theologian, I'm not even going to discuss the particulars of that complex question. As a man, I have some sympathy, because I've certainly experienced more than a little darkness in own my life as a Catholic. I never considered leaving, not only because I never really believed there was a better place to go but, more importantly, because I've always felt that my commitment to the Church had the nature of a vow. "Hier stehe ich und kann nicht anders." Others must do as they must.

So I'll just say God bless him and his family, and pray that somehow this will work for the good of all who love God.

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