What Sally Quinn wants
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 24, 2012
Sally Quinn, the woman who parlayed her social standing into a career as a columnist for the Washington Post, inadvertently tells readers something about herself in the course of a tirade against the Catholic Church:
I’m not a Catholic but when I attend services I want to feel holy and spiritual and uplifted. I want to feel the transcendent, the divine. I want to be reassured of the goodness of the world and not the evil.
Sally doesn’t say that she wants to be holy and spiritual. She wants to feel holy and spiritual. That’s the purpose of the liturgy.
Next she wants “be reassured of the goodness of the world.” It’s not essential for the world to be good. What’s essential is that Sally should be reassured. That’s the purpose of preaching.
Sally Quinn was once a Style section columnist, but now she writes regularly on religion for the Washington Post online. She’s an expert on the subject, you see. Or at least she feels like one, and the Post reassures us that she is.
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
