More on the on the Jesuit Elite Boys' Club from Which Kavanaugh and Judge Emerged: Need to Rethink Jesuit Claims Re: Inculcating Healthy Masculinity in Students?

1) There is a serious problem in American Catholic conversations that is glaringly obvious in the discussion of Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, and their "man for others" Jesuit education at Georgetown Prep.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

2) Ths serious, glaringly obvious problem is the gap between rhetoric about Catholic teachings and values, and the reality of how Catholic teaching and values are lived in actual lives.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

3) Much of the theological conversation in American Catholicism is so tightly controlled that this gap is almost impossible to address -- indeed, almost impossible to see.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

4) Georgetown Prep president Rev. James Van Dyke, SJ, has responded to critique in light of the Kavanaugh-Judge stories by saying that it's "time to continue our ongoing work with the guys on developing a proper sense of self and a healthy understanding of masculinity,"— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

5) in contrast to so many of the cultural models and caricatures that they see."
Van Dyke stresses that a Jesuit education inculcates in its "guys" "an ethic of service and compassion and solidarity with those in need."— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

6) That's the rhetoric. But Kavanaugh-Judge are the reality -- at least, they're one part of a reality that has to be discussed, if we care about the values enshrined in the rhetoric. The reality is, Jesuit prep schools turn out A LOT of men like Kavanaugh-Judge.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

7) The reality is, Jesuit prep schools turn out an elite product: they turn out one cadre of elite, entitled white males after another, men who expect to step into well-heeled, powerful positions and be assisted by a network of men like themselves.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

8) What does that reality have to do with the "man for others" rhetoric?
In U.S. Catholic theological conversations, we rarely span the gap between rhetoric and reality, because it's considered distasteful to ask questions like the question I've just asked.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

9) It's easier to rule out those who ask such questions as disaffected, rude, not a member of our club.
But that's the very heart of the problem exposed by Kavanaugh-Judge: the clubby mentality, the hermetically sealed privileged world that admits no other perspectives.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018

 

10) Nor is this an intra-Catholic problem alone. It should concern ALL U.S. citizens, when the Supreme Court is stacked with Catholics, especially with Catholic men leaning hard right politically and theologically, who do not even represent a majority of U.S. Catholics.— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) September 25, 2018