The Triumph of Lust
CHRIST & NEIGHBOR
Is it possible to complain about the media’s hard sell of sex, sex, and more sex, without being accused of being a puritanical, Jansenistic, Manichean prude? Probably not. Nor is it likely that one can escape being tagged a representative of the far Right.
Nevertheless, it may be time to call for a new revolution with the slogan “Moralistic mossbacks of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but a reputation for sophistication.”
Recently I watched another primetime soap opera, this one about a priest who for an hour and 45 minutes put up a plucky fight against lust, but then made a graceful surrender, gave up his priesthood, and proved once more that the love of a good, and preferably beautiful, woman is more powerful and in every way more laudable than the love of God.
Then I watched our local Boston public TV station, which is supposed to cater to higher values, showing a teenage girl put up a rather unimpressive fight against lust and then make a clumsy surrender, proving once again that sex, no matter how sordid, must triumph in the end.
You May Also Enjoy
Author’s Note: Recently a panel discussion was held at Weston School of Theology in Cambridge,…
Among the nations of the Old World only the Vatican raises her lonely voice against the enshrinement of immorality into law and as a result becomes the target of public scorn and ridicule.
I believe that there is room for the faithful doubters in the Catholic Church, but only so long as they can transcend their doubts and accept the Creed.