The rise of the Catholic Left is in many ways the overarching story of the Church Crisis Era. Despite his statement early on that the Church should not become a “pitiful NGO,” Pope Francis has reigned over an era where “Immanentize the Eschaton” (to quote the late William F. Buckley) might as well be on most episcopal crests. The desire to virtue-signal on issues like immigration is now often equated to fighting intrinsic evils like abortion or even the basic mandate to save souls.
One manifestation of this “seamless garment” cultural Marxism can be found in so-called “shareholder activist” groups: bodies which often have financial or fraternal ties to George Soros and sometimes use community organizer techniques perfected at the feet of Saul Alinsky. For Catholics, the one to keep an eye on is the “Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.” Led by Rev. Seamus Finn, a priest of the rapidly shrinking Missionary Oblates of Mary, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility is a collection of left-wing religious activists who harass companies into adopting woke positions in contravention to both the company’s fiduciary responsibilities and to common sense. Of course, this community activism is bathed in the soft, bourgeois heresy of the social gospel: an old tactic used by increasingly old activists.
