Yes to Ordo Amoris. Yes to Prudence. Yes to subsidiarity. But America must come second to Our Lord
Michael Knowles is very wrong to be indifferent to Hamas /Israel conflict
Dear Michael Knowles
In this otherwise excellent commentary, you report being not too excited either way about the Israel/Hamas thing saying that you take a more ‘prudential conservative American position’ — and it’s a conflict that is a long way a way.
Just by way of reminder: she’s been raped bloody, her tendons cut, to be tortured and killed … in the name of Islam. Thankfully, this particular terrorist/sadist has met his actual maker.
Frankly, I’m always a little gobsmacked Michael.
As a Catholic you SHOULD care about Israel and the Islamification of the Middle East. ....Because Catholicism is Jewish; the Eucharist isJewish in origin; Christianity was and grew out of a Jewish cult....3/4 of our beautiful service last night involved readings from our Jewish prophets.
But also prudentially because the Middle East is a springboard for the Islamification of the West....It's well under way in Europe. If you don't stand firm you can look forward to to Notre Dame and every beautiful Cathedral in Europe being turned into a mosque. I'm kind of shocked you don't see that.
I sometimes get sick of American parochialism. Catholics favour subsidiarity. But Christianity is also the first and only true form of internationalism. This is the meaning of Imago Dei. It lies at the heart of St Paul’s mission. Don’t forget it. Yes to Ordo Amoris. Yes to Prudence. Yes to subsidiarity. But America must come 2nd to Our Lord
You can ‘Vow to thee my country’. And indeed you should make such a commitment. It is one of those things in life, like parents, children and neighbours that is bigger than you. But it is only one such thing, and not the greatest. Listen to the 2nd verse.
And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace
So under your line of argument, nations in general, and the U.S. in particular, are obligated to do. . . what, exactly?
What does "stand firm" mean here?
Go to war every time a foreigner commits an act that would be a criminal offense under our own laws? Go to war every time one nation oppresses the citizens of another? Go to war every time one nation oppresses is own citizens?
Because if it doesn't mean any of those things, then there isn't a lot of room to criticize Knowles for being ambivalent about U.S. involvement in Israel's national security.
Remember, European cathedrals aren't burning because Israel and Palestine can't get along. It's because your own leaders are hate you.
Your case for ordo amoris as the foundation of prudence is both timely and timeless. The way you reconcile moral clarity with practical wisdom cuts through modern binary thinking, offering a third way that’s neither rigid nor relativistic. A masterclass in philosophical writing that refuses to sacrifice depth for accessibility.