Maguire Anti-Catholic?

In the two days since the second full edition of The Warrior newspaper hit the streets of Marquette University, I am surprised, quite frankly saddened, that more people have not picked up on one particular article in the independent newspaper that stuck out the most in mind while reading the publication on Wednesday.

The article “Thoughts on the Christmas holiday...” was a questionnaire of sorts which asked three professors at Marquette University, all of whom had differing degrees of studies, what they did to celebrate the Christmas season. Dr. Daniel Maguire, a professor of the theology department, was one of the three interviewed.

Below are the questions asked of him by staff members of The Warrior newspaper as well as his responses to those inquiries. I’ll chime in every now and then to add a quick comment or two, but I’ll save a majority of my comments for the end.

Q: “What religion are you?"
A: “I’m a professional Catholic. Personally, I am enriched by all the world religions and all partial captures of the truth.”

I'm tempted to ask - what's the difference between a regular Catholic and a 'professional' Catholic? Does Maguire believe he's superior then the rest of the Roman Catholic Church that he has to dictate to himself a title of sorts?

Q: “Do you celebrate Christmas?”
A: “Yes.”

Q: “If so, do you celebrate according to your religion or have you adapted a bit?”
A: “I celebrate with friends and family and try to remind people what Jesus was about. I fi nd the current Republican party anti-Christian in the extreme.”

Maguire is taking Ryan Alexander's lead in automatically assuming that The Warrior is indeed a College Republican-funded newspaper which, again, is not true in any sense. I thought a man with a doctorial degree would not be so naive but I guess I was wrong. As wrong as Maguire is in his statement above, his comment that the 'Republican Party is anti-Christian in the extreme' is a welcome change from the tired rhetoric of the left who claim the Republican Party does nothing but cater to the agenda of the 'religious right'. Talk about a rebel!

Q: “What traditions have you passed on to your kids?”
A: “We do a variety of things that we like to keep private.”

Q: “What have you taught them about Christmas?”
A: (Declined to share family traditions.)

Q: “Are there any traditions you do not celebrate that are part of your faith?”
A: “Jesus died for our sins; I think that’s a horrible concept. [Emphasis added by the Office of Homeland Security] Most of history thought the gods were bloodthirsty, and that they preferred human blood. We actually reverted back to human sacrifice. Incarnation itself is enough. Jesus was killed for fighting the Roman Empire. He was the original teacher of passive resistance, and the Romans eventually saw him as a problem and killed him.” (He sees the passive teachings as enough to glorify Jesus, not death.)

Q: “Is it important to make Christmas a holiday that everyone can celebrate? That is, including non-religious symbols and characters?”
A: “When you recognize that all religions have a little bit of the truth, then celebration of parts of the truth makes good sense to me.”

Q: “What would you say is the meaning of Christmas? Does society’s celebration of Christmas reflect this meaning?”
A: “There’s hypocrisy in the way Americans celebrate Christmas. It’s like the Nazis celebrating Christmas. [Emphasis added by the Office of Homeland Security] Hey, folks, why don’t you look at what you’re doing to the world, then get sincere about Christmas? I see Christmas as a time for many people to be superficial and waste money buying non-essentials.

Q: “If Christ hadn’t been born into the world, would there still be a need for a holiday like Christmas?”
A: “There is no one religion that has it all, and I think that the cooperation among religions is the way to go.”

Quite honestly I do not know where to begin with this interview. I really don’t. Can you believe that these responses are coming from a theology professor teaching at Marquette University? How can the Jesuits, as liberal as they are in terms of Catholic teaching and practice, allow this man to remain here, poisoning the minds of students with his blatant anti-Catholic, anti-American rhetoric? Perhaps Ryan Alexander and the rest of his disgruntled College Democrats, instead of bitching about The Warrior (which appears as though it is here to stay for the short-term at the very least) and egging Brandon Henak’s house (while Alexander has advised his fellow College Democrats not to act out physically, they are apparently so thick-headed that the message – if there was ever one to begin with coming from him – isn’t getting through), should confront some of the vital topics this independent newspaper covers head on.