Is There Such A Thing As Toxic Traditional Catholicism?(2ed)

JMJ

Introduction

During my first forays into the cyber worlds of Forums and Blogs in 2012, I encountered a varied sampling of variety of humanity. One thing I noticed was that people seem far less inhibited online and I wondered which person (online or virtual) is the real one. Since then, I've been wondering if Toxic Traditional Catholicism is really a thing?

First, what is meant by a 'Toxic' anything?

The obvious answer is any thing, person or group that is poisonous. Meaning poisonous in the frame of biology, or relationships.

Deep breath - what follows are my immediate, partially researched and in some cases experienced realities ...

In the case of ...

Biology, it is simple. Certain animals excrete various fluids that are toxic / poisonous to others. This is claimed to be a defense mechanism - but I won't go into the evolutionary gobbly gook about that.

People, it is about whether or not the relationship has an adverse effect on one or both parties in the relationship. Classically, I suppose this would mean does it elevate them to greater virtue or drag them down into vice? Does it expand their perspective and understanding or restrict it - reinforcing confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance? (For more info please read: A Word About Catholic Forums and Collection: Cognitive Dissonance)

Groups, same as people, except now we are looking at group behavioural norms elevated towards virtue or act like cement pulling a number of persons into a mental and spiritual death spiral.

Discussion

As discussed, since I started exploring and writing on the internet, I've "met" a broad spectrum of people, Traditional Catholic and otherwise.

One phenom is the 'Toxic' Traditionalists and they do exist (following the above definitions).

If I was to try and describe this class of people, it would be Traditional Catholics who have been immersed in the cess pits of humanity and those that caused the most recent crisis of the Catholic Church ... and lost their way.

Metaphorically, they are or have drowned their Faith in the crisis. Their response is typically anger and to make really bad decisions (think Sede-Vacantists and Voris).

Today's case in point is Canon212 and its editor.

First, Canon212 is an aggregator website that some call "Catholic Aggravator" and styled after the "Drudge Report".

What I find is that, no matter what happens, nothing is ever good enough for the editor(s?). The whole page is similar in tone and approach.

What I find is that they tear down and don't construct. All they do is dig the hole deeper and don't even provide a ladder as a way to climb out.

I feel that same about the Sede-Vacantists.

Both cases are dead ends, they destroy not build, they constrain peoples minds to narrow avenues that only suit their perspective on the Church.

Not by any stretch of the imagination is this limited to Traditional Catholics? I've seen similar behaviour in protestants and Modern Catholics. In both cases, this despair leads to the same behaviour, decisions and conclusion.

Conclusion

Toxic Traditional Catholicism exists and isn't unique to Traditional Catholics. This toxicity is a dead-end and a trap for all. The path out is that of virtue.

References

https://studiomatters.com/canon-212-aggiornamento-recidivus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drudge_Report

https://www.ncronline.org/news/new-catholic-website-pillar-operates-shaky-journalistic-foundation

Comments

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

If Pope Francis is bad - what about Pope St. John Paul II et al?

+ JMJ So here we are on the apparent cusp of yet another post conciliar Papal canonization. This time we have Pope's John-Paul I and Paul VI canonizations to 'look forward' to. This follows, obviously, on the heels of Pope St. John Paul II's canonization? So the first question that I usually encounter is: How is it possible, keeping in mind the doctrine on infallibility of canonizations (note doctrine not dogma), that Pope St. John Paul II is a Saint? First, what does it mean??? According to the doctrine of dogmatic facts - it is the universal opinion of Theologians that canonizations are infallible. It means that they enjoy the beatific vision. ... that's it. That is the doctrine and it is at the level of universal opinion of theologians. It is called a 'dogmatic fact'. That they made mistakes is obvious. That the miracles seem to not be very miraculous is also a bit of an issue. Here's something to consider: The rush that surrou...

Spiritual Journey Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre - Extracts

+ JMJ I have posted these two chapters to provide context for the quote of: It is, therefore, a strict duty for every priest wanting to remain Catholic to separate himself from this Conciliar Church for as long as it does not rediscover the Tradition of the Church and of the Catholic Faith. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.ca Chapter II The Perfections of God We ought to remember during this entire contemplation of God that we must apply all that is said of God to Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is God. We cannot separate Jesus Christ from God. We cannot separate the Christian religion from Jesus Christ, Who is God, and we must affirm and believe that only the Catholic religion is the Christian religion. These affirmations have, as a result, inescapable conclusions that no ecclesiastic authority can contest: outside of Jesus Christ and the Catholic religion, that is, outsi...

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader

+ JMJ A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link) : 117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? ( Link to comment ) Here's the reference from Ott: The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link) : Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation , that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error. Here's ...

Tradicat

Search This Blog