Slumdog bloggers.

Bottom of the barrel Catholics and right-wingers.
.

Doug Kmiec has accused Catholic bloggers of of being hate mongers. (I believe Dr. Kmiec voiced some theories during the presidential campaign on why it was okay for Catholics to vote for Obama.) Anyway, I never followed what was being said by either party. But now that Kmiec is complaining, I'm listening. Included in his self-defense he said:

.

“A hate-filled blogosphere,” argued Kmiec, “feeds a politics of odium, misleading people of faith and good will, diminishing and at times obliterating our ability to know one another.” - Source

.

Naturally, the leading Catholic bloggers have jumped to the podium in defense of their participation in the debate that ensued. Again, I never followed it. It seems to me that more than a few of the top Catholic bloggers have established themselves as a sort of magisterium for the blogosphere, and may consider themselves rather unassailable. I may be completely wrong of course, although delicate egos ride high, a fact often evidenced as blogger awards season draws nigh and the "vote for me" widgets go up. Not that it is a bad thing.

.

And the award goes to...

.

The most imperious comment I read in defense of the Catholic blogosphere, from the top bloggers who challenged or disagreed with Dr. Kmiec, came from Mark Shea. Now I often neglect to read him, although when I do, I very much like what he writes. (I corrected that today by linking to him.) I know some people dislike him, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it may have something to do with attitude, I don't know. Whatever, this is part of what he had to say concerning the latest Kmiec-driven tempest:

.

“I'm not interested in hearing Kmiec moan about how mean people from the bottom of the barrel were to him,” Shea told CNA. “I’m interested in hearing his responses to the very intelligent critiques of his position that were offered by a number of very respectable and honorable Catholics.” - Source

.

I'm sure Mr. Shea did not mean that the way it reads. However, and this may be totally off topic, I always wonder about those who identify themselves as respectable and honorable Catholics. I believe Nancy Pelosi meant the same thing when she described herself as an "ardent Catholic." If memory serves me, some of the top bloggers in the country ripped her a new as-----... Well they ridiculed the poor woman for that assertion.