Dear Yves,<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t like me saying this, but I\u2019m your uncle, so I have to say it anyway.\u00a0 Your most recent editorial endeavor has probably pleased the devil more than Christ.\u00a0 Now, now, don\u2019t get your gander up.\u00a0 This is just a bit of constructive, avuncular criticism.\u00a0 The problem with your letter to the editor wasn\u2019t its content (no university president should behave as yours has, and it is a good thing to point out an error and its solution).\u00a0 Rather, it was your tone.\u00a0 Your anger is wrongly directed primarily at the sinner, not the sin.\u00a0 That, my choleric young nephew, ain\u2019t Christian.\u00a0 Take a lesson from today\u2019s saint.<\/p>\n
Ivo was one of the many young men who took advantage of the easiest place to get an education in Medieval Europe: the Cathedral schools.\u00a0 These were designed by the bishops to educate future clergy, and became the seedbeds for the great European universities.\u00a0 Ivo attended one of the schools and received more than just an academic formation; he discovered a call from God to follow in the footsteps of Christ by becoming a priest.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t leave his studies behind, however, and his expertise in Canon Law led him to become prior of the other priests associated with his Cathedral (such priests were, and still are, called canons).\u00a0 When it became clear that his keen intellect worked in tandem with sound prudence and authentic piety, he was elevated to the bishopric of Chartres.<\/p>\n
Ivo\u2019s reputation as a scholar and a dedicated churchman made him into one of King Philip I\u2019s key advisors.\u00a0 And that\u2019s when the trouble started.\u00a0 The King wanted to divorce his wife, Bertha, and marry a woman named Bertrada.\u00a0 Without going into details, let\u2019s just say his motives were not pure.\u00a0 The king was perturbed when Ivo denounced this plan.\u00a0 He was even more perturbed when Ivo persisted in his denunciation even in the face of cajolery, and then in the face of threats.\u00a0 Ivo would not condone violations of God\u2019s law to countenance the royal whim.\u00a0 His holy intransigence wound him up in prison (and while he was there, by the way, the king conveniently confiscated the diocesan income).\u00a0 Only the Pope\u2019s direct intervention freed him.<\/p>\n
You may see yourself in this portrait (someone willing to be persecuted in defense of the truth), and I hope you would not be wrong to do so.\u00a0 But the point I want to make is the following.\u00a0 Ivo did his denunciation primarily for the good of the king himself, not out of some legalistic commitment to abstract moral norms.\u00a0 He was concerned first of all for the health of the king\u2019s soul.\u00a0 He was no self-glorifying martyr interested in parading his righteousness.\u00a0 This became clear later, when Bertha died, and Ivo took the initiative to lead Philip back to communion with the Church and the Pope.\u00a0 Going that extra mile shows that Ivo was primarily a bishop, not a pundit.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know if God is calling you to the priesthood, as he did for Ivo, but if it\u2019s a pundit you want to be, then at least don\u2019t be devilish about it \u2013 hate the sin, yes, but save the sinner.<\/p>\n
Your loving uncle,<\/p>\n
Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Yves, You won\u2019t like me saying this, but I\u2019m your uncle, so I have to say it anyway.\u00a0 Your most recent editorial endeavor has probably pleased the devil more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":145992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3719],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-142473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncle-eddy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n