Saturday, June 6, 2026

Catholic Insight

Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World

Catholic Insight

Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World

Catholicism in the trenches

By Sarah GouldPosted on Posted in BlogsTagged , , , , , ,

Fear not those who argue, but those who dodge. – Dale Carnegie

Consider this for a moment. What if (and I know this sounds crazy) but just what if our society allowed honest-to-goodness debate? What if, when someone asked you a polarizing question like “Do you support same sex unions?” or “What do you think of women clergy?” they were genuinely interested in your point of view, and preferred you to have a different moral code so as to enjoy the ebb and flow of a good conversation? Can you imagine that? I can’t.

I just finished watching a forceful and unbecoming YouTube video mandating all women to support same-sex unions and it occurred to me that the women making the video weren’t trying to be persuasive, they were instructing you which way (theirs) was the right way. Any opinion other than theirs is homophobic, hateful, and absurd. A differing opinion can only mean fear and animosity because it cannot possibly mean anything else, can it?

Now I must admit that I’m not a big fan of argumentative discussions. I don’t think well on my feet (which is why I write, because I’ve got all the time in the world to think). Not only that but I’ve had my share of “cornering and spewing”—which is the “drawing and quartering” of the conversational world—so I usually back away when the lines are drawn in the sand. Because, lets face it, the opinions of the Catholic Church aren’t very popular. In fact, to the world they’re downright abominable and despised—perhaps because the Church speaks the truths that those steeped in sin not only do not want to hear, but absolutely abhor? You can be sure that there’s usually no listening going on; there’s only a demanding of acquiescence. So I keep quiet.

But the truth is I often feel guilty for not stepping up in conversation more. I feel as if I have an obligation to speak the truth, even though it’s extremely unpopular and may get me branded as a “Jesus Freak” or, worse, a “Fundamentalist Extremist.” But on the other hand, we are not to throw the pearls of our Faith to the swine. So what to do?

I can only offer two general suggestions. Keep an active prayer life, paying close attention to the whispers of the Holy Spirit when those conversations hit you out of the blue. And if at all possible, establish some ground rules first like, “Before I answer anything, can you acknowledge that differences of opinion are not synonymous with animosity and hostility?” or “Are you genuinely interested in my thoughts?” Because if the answer is yes, then lets go to it. For “it is better to debate a question without settling it,” says the French philosopher Joseph Joubert, “than to settle a question without debating it.”

A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop

As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→

Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace

Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→

Payette’s Payout

I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→

Your Easter Prayer

Happy Easter Lord Jesus Christ. It’s Easter day and we smile In the Lord’s in gentle light and His tomb is bare the stone is rolled A story new that must be told And Lord Jesus Christ We love you it’s so true and Lord Jesus Christ has risen From his sleep and the Promises[…]Continue reading→

Three Musical Offerings for the Annunciation

A very blessed Solemnity of the Annunciation to one and all! This March 25th marking the greatest event in history – the Incarnation of the Son of God – goes back to the very origins of the Church, and changed everything. What was lost, is now found, what was dead, is now very much alive.[…]Continue reading→

Eleganti Sums up the SSPX

Bishop Marian Eleganti, auxiliary emeritus of Chur, Switzerland, through which I happened to pilgrimage last summer, sums up the irregular situation of the SSPX. His thoughts bear pondering: Firstly, acting with full autonomy without papal mandate or confirmed mission; secondly, operating with bishops not in union with the Pope and the episcopal college; thirdly, maintaining[…]Continue reading→

The Perils of Sedevacantism

(With John-Henry Westen of LifeSite raising the question of sedevacantism, urging a petition for the cardinals to question the validity of Francis’ and Leo’s papacies, here is a re-post of something I wrote earlier, on why we must tread with great caution in declaring a papacy, or any given pope, null and void. Whatever good[…]Continue reading→

Entropic AI

Entropy may be described as the tendency of all things degrade, to move from order to disorder, from cosmos to chaos, from specificity to entropy. It is the inevitable consequence of any closed system, and encapsulated as the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Any such system – whether that be a machine, a living organism, a[…]Continue reading→

How Do We Know Christ Really Lived?

Every now and then we hear in various and sundry places one of the greatest blasphemies of them all: that Jesus never really lived and that the reports of his life and teachings, his death and resurrection, were all made up by unscrupulous men apparently bent on exploiting others for greed and power. At this[…]Continue reading→

Scroll to top