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Milo Hrnić's avatar

You can definitely tell Mr. Perlich has spent a lot of time with Bosnian Croatian Catholics. (It's that obvious, lol)

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Mark Jacka's avatar

This was really excellent, hats off to Mr. Perlich (and Jen for her interviewing prowess).

I particularly liked his answer re his sexuality and choice of education - “it’s just one of the circles in the diagram of my life” - a response that often confounds people who can’t understand how one aspect of someone’s life doesn’t dominate their worldview (similar vein to “how can you be a woman and be conservative” or “aren’t all Catholics right wing bigots”).

The Catholic Church is a uniquely fascinating political institution given its longevity and massive role in western affairs, both positive (ie the preservation of essentially all knowledge through the Middle Ages) and negative (I won’t go through that list but you know what’s on it).

I specifically liked the usage of the phrase “secular humanism” as reflected in newsrooms across the country - the very existence of humanism is a distinctly Christian phenomenon and, whether you like it or not, we owe its dominance to Christianity. I assume Mr. Perlich has read “Dominion” but it presents a compelling case for that thesis. Doing more to understand the “why” and not just the “what” could be good for everyone.

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