From time to time I like to read to read Belloc, one of the more aggressive catholic apologists of the last century and a sort of 'bad cop' to Chesterton's good one. Here's what he had to say about modernism and the nascent secular state:
"The Faith is now in the presence not of a particular heresy as in the past - the Arian, the Manichean, the Albigensian, the Mohammedan, nor is it in the presence of a sort of generalized heresy as it was when it had to meet the Protestant revolution from three to four hundred years ago.
The enemy which the Faith now has to meet, and which may be called "The Modern Attack," is a wholesale assault upon the fundamentals of the Faith, upon the very existence of the Faith. And the enemy now advancing against us is increasingly conscious of the fact that there can be no question of neutrality. The forces now opposed to the Faith design to destroy. The battle is henceforward engaged upon a definite line of cleavage, involving the survival or destruction of the Catholic Church. And all, not a portion, of its philosophy."
You can read the whole thing here, from chapter seven of The Great Heresies (pub. 1938).I think his analysis is pretty much on target, whether his conclusions follow remains to be seen.In the meanwhile, horse training proceeds apace, with Jeanne Belle (Thoroughbred mare) making excellent progress -- lunges well, gaits are becoming smoother, there's increased collection and all 'round improvement in manners. Still, a long way to go for the pair of us; I'll post some photos when the camera decides to work again/is replaced.Cheers,LSP