Vatican comes out of the closet and embraces Oscar

The Times Online ^ | January 05, 2007 | Richard Owen

[Condor 63]

Oscar Wilde, poet, playwright, gay icon and deathbed convert to Catholicism, has been paid a rare tribute by the Vatican. His aphorisms are quoted in a collection of maxims and witticisms for Christians that has been published by one of the Pope’s closest aides.

Wilde (1854-1900) had long been regarded with distaste by the Vatican — a dissolute and disgraced homosexual who was sentenced for acts of gross indecency over his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas.

The book, compiled by Father Leonardo Sapienza, head of protocol at the Vatican, includes such Wildean gems as “I can resist everything except temptation” and “The only way to get rid of a temptation is yield to it” — hardly orthodox Catholic teaching.

[Jaded]

for later

[Russ]

I always enjoyed Wilde's aphorisms but never considered them as guides to Chistian living. As another one of my favorite philosophers once said, "the times they are a-changin'"...

[sine_nomine]

Dorian Gray is good, but this selection is rather strange. Wilde was quite funny at times but superficial. Compared to Chesterton, Wilde is a flyweight.

[ccmay]

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

That seems a very Christian sentiment to me.

-ccm

[quadrant]

Lets not forget that Lord Alfred Douglas (Wilde's lover and the man for whom Wilde sacrificed everything) refused to send Wilde any sort of financial assistance when the writer was impoverished and dying. So much for homosexual love.

[Suzy Quzy]

Deathbed conversion to Catholicism....I had NO idea!!

[Condor 63]

Deathbed conversions come pretty cheap IMO. LOL

[Suzy Quzy]

It actually shows great common sense.

[Condor 63]

Not for those who aren't lucky enough to live long enough to make it to a deathbed. ;-)

[IronJack]

Wilde's Ballad of Reading Gaol is a microcosm of the man. It contains an occasional gem when it manages to escape from the sordid muck of self-pity.

Wilde brought all of his troubles on himself. Not only was he queer, he reveled in it, wallowed in it, flashed it at cocktail parties from behind his greatcoat. Then he has the unmitigated gall to suggest that "society" is somehow wrong for being offended.

A brilliant man, perhaps, although I tend to agree that he was more gadfly than eagle. However, his tragic devotion to iconoclasm does give rise to some apothegmatic ideals that are worth considering.

[theFIRMbss]

>Deathbed conversions come pretty cheap IMO

Didn't this fellow repent at the end? I hope the Vatican's not laying the groundwork quoting Oscar to one day do quotes from this guy . . .

[Spok]

I saw this in a priest's office: Celibacy is not hereditary.

[SpringheelJack]

Wilde brought all of his troubles on himself. Not only was he queer, he reveled in it, wallowed in it, flashed it at cocktail parties from behind his greatcoat. Then he has the unmitigated gall to suggest that "society" is somehow wrong for being offended.

Given that "offending" society meant being thrown in jail for two years of hard labor, he could have done a lot more than suggest.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Anybody can repent. Everybody needs a Savior. Osama bin Laden could repent and become a Christian, too. And it is not for human creatures to judge who is or isn't a Christian. (though their actions could suggest whether or not they are a Christian).

[July 4th]

It would have been odd to not include his quotes. Look at the title of the book:

Provocations: Aphorisms for an Anti-conformist Christianity

[BlessedBeGod]

"Embraced" him just because he's quoted in a book?

Oh, pul-eeze...

[IronJack]

Given that "offending" society meant being thrown in jail for two years of hard labor, he could have done a lot more than suggest.

And he would have been proportionally more wrong.

[Cicero]

Oscar Wilde is a mixed bag. Anyone who takes him for a role model is an idiot. But the signs of his attraction to Catholicism run through his work. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" is a splendid work.

Perhaps the greatest work from a religious standpoint is his late work, "De Profundis." The title is a good indication of how Wilde is best understood as a religious writer, as its title echoes Psalm 130, the great psalm of despair, repentance, and forgiveness:

---

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.

Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

[tomcorn]

That is my view. How Wilde ever got into the Canons of English literature baffles me. The body of his work runs from A to B. A few lightweight comedies as social satire. A novel and some dismal poetry. The rest is mincing posture. Read a biography of Wilde and came to the conclusion he was the Paris Hilton of his time. Famous for being famous. In 50 years time the same thing will be said of Truman Capote and Norman Mailer.

Narcissism doesn't travel well...