Misdirection is a form of deception in which one’s attention is directed toward one thing in order to distract its attention from another.
Managing the attention of one or more persons is the aim of all theater.
It is an absolute requirement in the practice of the art of magic.
There are two basic ways to "misdirect" an audience.
One is to encourage the audience to look away for a fleeting moment, so that the sleight or move may be accomplished undetected.
The other approach has much to do with re-framing the audience's perception, where the minds of the audience members are distracted into thinking that an extraneous factor has much to do with the accomplishment of the feat, whereas in reality it has no bearing on the effect at all.
Misdirection takes advantage of the limits of audience perception which can only concentrate on one thing at a time.
I can’t help but wonder if Pope Francis’ recent redaction of the Catechism regarding Church teaching on the death penalty is not an example of a kind of Papal misdirection.
Why?
Well, let’s look at the devastating list of scandals which have rocked the Church in recent days: Cardinal Pell on trial for sexually abusing minors, the sexual abuse scandal and crisis of faith in Chile, Archbishop Wilson in Australia found guilty of obstruction of justice in covering up knowledge of sexual abuse (he most recently resigned from the diocese), Cardinal McCarrick outed as a sexual predator of seminarians and a sexual abuser of an altar boy in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on Christmas Eve (he resigned from the College of Cardinals as a result), allegations of sexual assault and embezzlement of Church funds by two Chilean Cardinals closely associated with the Pope himself.
To put it mildly, the Church and the Bishops especially have been having some very bad press lately.
And while scandal has multiplied upon scandal involving members of the College of Cardinals and Bishops, Pope Francis has hardly uttered a word, choosing to react to it all by passively accepting the resignations of such ne’er do wells without the slightest word of dismay for their perverse behavior nor a word of comfort or compassion for their victims.
The secular press, in the meantime, has been merciless in providing the public the most intimate details of these sordid affairs, much to the growing frustration of the Catholic faithful who have all but abandoned their faith in anything the Bishops have to say.
Suddenly, out of nowhere it seems, like a magician pulling the proverbial rabbit from the proverbial hat, the Pope decides to alter the clear and consistent teaching of the Church regarding the legitimacy of the death penalty.
Suddenly, the press turns its attention to this theological sleight of hand, and the headlines follow.
Pope Francis may think he pulled a fast one by this misdirection, but he needs to be aware that not everyone is so easily fooled.
The nightmare of the magician is the person in the crowd who watches every move he makes and is not misdirected.
The nightmare for Pope Francis and the Bishops is that the same holds true among those Catholic faithful who will not be distracted from the horrific tales of corruption and perversion among the members of the hierarchy.
A magician’s act doesn’t last forever. Eventually, the show is over and the audience members return to reality perhaps awed by the skill of such talented mis-directors of perception.
I have this nagging and discomforting belief that Pope Francis is being managed by “Curial handlers” who believe that their vane and cynical attempt at misdirection in altering Catholic teaching regarding the death penalty somehow will diminish the impact of the scandals involving Cardinals and Bishops.
They are wrong, of course.
The headlines now giving attention to the Catechism will soon be replete with additional scandals which are just waiting in line to be uncovered.
Misdirection, even when employed by the Papacy, always remains a deception of sorts.
The Holy Spirit cannot nor ever will allow such a deception to succeed within the Church.
Apparently, some within the highest echelons of Church authority have either forgotten or chosen willfully to ignore this fundamental truth.
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