Rod Dreher. The Catholic Church. The Wall Street Journal.

Quite the potent cocktail. Once again, St. Blog's should be buzzing for the next month or so.

Rod has another WSJ article, this time comparing the proactive Vatican efforts against the war to the hands-off response to the Scandals.

Defenders of Rome have said it is arrogant of Americans to expect a bureaucracy that oversees a billion Catholics world-wide to pay much attention to the mess in the American church. That excuse is no longer valid. We now see that when they want to, the pope and his men can drop everything and focus relentlessly on a single issue they deem gravely important. Plainly, Rome does not see the sex-abuse crisis as a priority.

To be sure, an Iraq war threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, hence Rome's understandable level of concern. That said, it is instructive to note that on a matter in which it has no direct ability to affect events, the Vatican is consumed by two-fisted activism. But on the priesthood crisis, where Rome's direct intervention could do a world of practical good, the Holy See operates largely hands-off.

As always, there is more nuance than reflexive Rod-bashers will ever acknowledge.

Blow the whistles! To the trenches! St. Blog's Flame War II--La Deuxieme Affaire Dreher--is about to begin.