The Rise of the "Crunchy Catholic Conservatives"

The inspiration (exasperation) which has led many Catholics to reflect on the economic and political options presented to us and begin the process of researching and imagining alternatives which are in accord with our Catholic Faith and Family priorities is now beginning to get some attention in the national media.

The "New Counter Culture" is nothing new to the growing number of young orthodox Catholic professionals who have the sophistication and critical faculties to know that neo-liberal economic ideology doesn't exactly add up to a "free and virtuous society" as touted by the new breed of "conservatives". We know that you can't be Pro-Life and pollute the environment, nor can you cave into a society whose god is Efficiency and whose liturgy is the "free" market.

Those who frequent the blog space of God's Revolution will remember this blog entry about Mr. Dreher's new book. After some comments from friends, we decided to created this blog site to begin the more serious (and humorous) reflections on how we can better structure our work lives and our living choices so that we are better expressing our Faith ethos.

Our Lady's Shire is a place where serious "Crunchy Catholic Conservatives" can discuss how the Chesterbelloc Distributivist ideal can become a practical reality in our own lives.

In a nutshell, Our Lady's Shire combines in a metaphorical phrase what we are looking to incarnate: A simple, local, natural, close to family, friends, land and faith way of life.

More than being a simple example of an eccentric "life-style option", the arch of this project is radical and revolutionary in its nature. We are talking about a Cultural Revolution not unlike what Eastern Europe experienced, especially Poland.

The Original "Crunchy Catholic"

In this photo taken from 1938 when Karol Wojtyla was just 18 years of age, he strikes the image of a young man who didn't shy from the simple dignity of working with his hands nor witnessing to his faith. He was a man who loved the simple joy of hiking in the mountains or canoeing up a river with friends. His social encyclicals as John Paul II would reflect a profound vision which today is at the heart of God's Revolution and being a "Crunchy Catholic." (By the way, after JP II was shot, his aids were sent to acquire a scapular and bring it to the hospital to replace the one he was wearing which was now soaked in blood).

Like Karol and his later witness as John Paul II, we too are counter cultural. What the Jesuits once were to the Reformation, we are to the Sexual and Globalist Revolutions. We are saying yes to sexual morality and the vision articulated in The Theology of the Body, and were saying yes to self-sufficiency and a business economy and market limited by a just juridical framework which promotes localism, SME's (small and medium enterprises) owned by people, not corporations, and ensures that the market serves man (and the family), rather than making man and the family objects of utility in the market.

Men like John Paul II, the Chesterbelloc, E. F. Schumacher, Dorothy Day, Heinrich Pesch, S.J., and many others are the bright lights that once collected, will offer illumination for the challenges we face today. Our Lady's Shire is a place to discuss their thought and others in this much needed current of renewal today.

Keep an eye on this space for future postings and various sightings of Our Lady's Shire as it begins to sprout up. Or come back to understand what is in the heart of that scapular wearing, birkenstock clad, rosary saying, organic eating young orthodox Catholic man or woman sitting next to you in the pew.