And NO I am not taking down these next three posts before or after said events taking place, by your request or via abusing clergy and/or laypeople. Only the Office of the Archdiocese of Toronto, via its civilly legal, and or episcopal representatives, or the episcopacy themselves, can place an honest request that I will comply to, and I will comment publicly such a request was made in a future post. or modify/update the existing content.
Hello Everyone .... if you are still around.
I know I am pretty late to the game on these topics, but hey, this is a combination of things that have poked at my craw, what is happening in the Archdiocese of Toronto (and a little beyond) with regard to some Latin Mass stuff, and the Trads Behaving Badly that deter people like myself from wanting full participation, or even part-time participation in the Latin Mass. With a few good items on the docket, it's time I make an appearance again. Cue some sarcasm or wittiness.
4 topics to post, the 3rd and 4th together in the third post, with 3 posts over 3 days.
Topic 1: A Cardinal goes publicly Pro-Life .... and there are still Trads Behaving Badly out there poo-pooing him.
So, once upon a time there was a privileged, spoiled child who rode on the coat-tails of his Prime Minister daddy. His daddy was Pierre Elliot Trudeau, notorious for speed driving the liberalness of Canada, via things like the Charter of Human Rights and freedom (grossly abused in justice, with Human Rights councils to boot).
The little boy, Justin Trudeau, grew up, and decided he could be like his dad. Only thing is, as the federal party leader in 2014, he decided he only wanted like-minded thinkers like him being in his party. Despite being a baptized Catholic, he is violating his faith by professing anti-life and pro-baby killing beliefs, and decided that only pro-death/anti-lifers can be a part of the Liberal Party.
Now, Trads Behaving Badly like to chastise the bishops time and time again for incompetency and silent assent (cough, Michael Voris, cough), most of the time hiding behind pseudo-names in cowardice, though some do use their real names or a combination. Slander and detraction parties are their bread-and-butter on their blogs. But last week, many TBBs actually has something to praise a Canadian archbishop and cardinal about.
One of the greatest modern princes of the Canadian Catholic Church decided that this pronouncement of Justin Trudeau was unacceptable, and so, trying to be a good shepherd to cull this one lost sheep, he issued THIS AWESOME PRO-LIFE LETTER, admonishing the anti-life and anti-baby leader of the Federal Liberal party.
Unfortunately, some Trads Behaving Badly have hearts of stone, no matter what our "Novus-Ordo" bishops do that is outside of what is the usual modus operandi for Novus Ordo bishops. Unlike even some of their cantankerous peers, these Pharisaical TBBs think nothing is good enough unless you are close to radically traditionalist in your actions and mindset, or a clone of Cardinal Raymond Burke if you are not with the SSPX.
I usually detest giving these TBBs the time of day or direct shout-outs, nor blog hits, but sometimes, people deserve to have the spotlight shone on them as an example of what NOT to do as a traditionalist blogger, as well as what kind of individuals are spiritually poisonous to the functioning of Latin Mass/Traditional Catholic communities and Catholicism online.
One in particular, Contra/diction!, could not contain himself this past week. TBB Contra/diction!, is actually Eric Alcock, who according to his blog and about page, hails from the Maritimes in Newfoundland. He even has an about page here with statements of fidelity to the Magisterium and Holy Mother Church. Here's a screenshot of said page with the declaration and Contra's identity:
This past week, he created two posts where he smears my beloved ++Collins. Here's the first, and the follow up after with my Eminence fictitiously writing to Hitler. While the posts remaining online aren't highly vitriolic, you can tell "reading between the lines" that it is detraction of His Eminence and his efforts. Another smack in the face to my Eminence. How nice of him to harass people online from miles away on a computer, likely in his domicile, from an island in Canada.
This past week, he created two posts where he smears my beloved ++Collins. Here's the first, and the follow up after with my Eminence fictitiously writing to Hitler. While the posts remaining online aren't highly vitriolic, you can tell "reading between the lines" that it is detraction of His Eminence and his efforts. Another smack in the face to my Eminence. How nice of him to harass people online from miles away on a computer, likely in his domicile, from an island in Canada.
So what are my points on this Catholic who demonstrates a "Lent without Easter?":
1) Eric Alcock/Contra demonstrates once again why the heck most Catholics do NOT want to be a part of Traditional Catholicism, which, not always, though many a time is tied to the Latin Mass. Sadly, it's these people's online and in person example that make such a path undesirable and only strengthens TBBs' ``enemies`` and what the TBBs call the Novus Ordo/NewChurch" of heresy and false lies. We young people .... are on the Internet a lot you know, and what you show us on here determines how we respond to things and even, what guides us in our faith when so many of our spiritual leaders fail at what they are doing, or are hypocrites/lukewarm themselves.
Alcock is clearly in favour of the Latin Mass as seen in this post here. And so, here we have another example of the majority of these cases, as an online/in person Latin Mass TBB.
1) Eric Alcock/Contra demonstrates once again why the heck most Catholics do NOT want to be a part of Traditional Catholicism, which, not always, though many a time is tied to the Latin Mass. Sadly, it's these people's online and in person example that make such a path undesirable and only strengthens TBBs' ``enemies`` and what the TBBs call the Novus Ordo/NewChurch" of heresy and false lies. We young people .... are on the Internet a lot you know, and what you show us on here determines how we respond to things and even, what guides us in our faith when so many of our spiritual leaders fail at what they are doing, or are hypocrites/lukewarm themselves.
Alcock is clearly in favour of the Latin Mass as seen in this post here. And so, here we have another example of the majority of these cases, as an online/in person Latin Mass TBB.
2) Generally speaking, what is tarnation is he thinking, commenting on our Archdiocese and my spiritual head, ++Collins in this volatile manner of the two posts, when he's all the way east in the Maritimes? Shouldn't a primary focus be his own episcopal representative(s)? It's one thing for me, and other Toronto TBBs, to give proper, and truly Catholic and charitable fraternal correction and or analysis about ++Collins being my prelate, if the situation genuinely calls for it, after much prayer and thought. It's another thing for some guy bodies of water and land masses away to launch a smear campaign at another bishop in another diocese when it is uncalled for in the safety of his own diocese.
3) Sadly, Eric is the sole outcast who think ++Collins' letter "sucked" for lack of a better word, while his other Trad Behaving Badly contemporaries on the web lauded and were impressed by ++Collins' brave action, despite the increasing hostility towards Catholics in the modern world, and without such commentary post lauds. Eric's companions online and in person, might secretly have the same opinions about my Eminence, but at least they are keeping those opinions out of the public sphere of the Internet in the current moment (that does not exclude past sins!) and praising ++Collins for taking a public stand ... when other bishops continue to be "careerists" that Pope Francis warns against, and clearly does not support. To their credit, even other TBBs, including ones in my archdiocese, have shown contrary example to Alcock, Credit is due to these TBBs for being exemplary in the right manner with regard to the letter.
4) My genereal question to everyone ... As a Catholic would you rather A) ++Collins did absolutely nothing like the "careerist" bishops, adding fuel to the fires of distrust and anger against our princes of the Church, and give more false reason to separate from Rome's and go to radical traditionalists NOT in communion with the Church? or B) that our prelates do something, anything, to stand against modernism, world and institutional Church corruption, and moral evils? And in doing so, the TBBs show a positive example and stop giving weaker souls reason to defect from Holy Mother Church to radical and non-canonical traditionalists?
What would you desire all parties involve do as a Catholic?
What would you desire all parties involve do as a Catholic?
Summary: Eric Alcock/Contra/dticion!: Another reason for Catholics and I, NOT to re-enter or even dabble in the Latin Mass and/or fully embrace the Latin Mass/Traditional Catholicism, even ``part time.`` This is even despite being not in my archdiocese.
Julian I agree entirely that ++Collins should be praised and encouraged to continue his vocal opposition to trudeau the tyrant and other manifestations of secular militancy and zealotry. I dont think though, that conflating the blogger you attack with the EF is helpful or charitable. I attend both forms of Mass and attend Mass daily. I dont think any bad behaviour can be ascribed to one form or the other. Both forms offer us the precious graces that come with Holy Communion and neither form of the Mass ever fosters any bad behaviour because the Mass is a gift, a blessing and a grace from God. Whether its one of the two Roman forms or one of the many other forms found in the various rites of the One true Church - apostolicam et catolicam. God bless +
ReplyDeleteHello Shield,
ReplyDeleteI will give you credit for your underlying message and you've stated your point well. Thanks for your input.
Unfortunately, a lot of the criticism of bishops tends to come from the "far-right" as it were in the Church, with many of the more detracting/calumnous critics coming from those who are both Latin Mass attendees, and "far-right" as it were. Further, much of the time, that criticism isn't warranted. You do not often see a "far-right" critic on the blogosphere/in the Church who is of the Novus Ordo or another rite altogether. If you find such an example, let me know. Though still, they are the exception to the norm.
I will also re-iterate and agree that the majority of Latin Mass Catholics are "Lent without Easter" types. I have been on occasion to Holy Family/St. Vincent de Paul, plus St. Lawrence Martyr more in past and the majority of the attendees for their TLMs are "good eggs" as it were.
What the Church, and young people like myself do not need though, is another voice in the Catholic blog-o-sphere and in person (at least in the blogger's home of Newfoundland) taking leadership in this matter and being another stereotype of the "Trad Behaving Badly." You could say Traditional Catholicism has it pretty bad and these guys aren't helping majorly. Even worse, in terms of blogs in Canada, when it comes to the Latin Mass and/or Traditional Catholicism, it seems that gradually more negative voices are increasing in number. I could name you now 7 Canadian blogs, of which 5 for sure would be ``TBB``, 2 which are close to it, and one that occasionally posts something like the others.
Personally, I am tired of these "stereotypes" as it were being the mouthpieces and "de-facto" leaders on the web/in person. If we do not do our part and call out these pharisees when we do, and more, they will be the standard for what is being "Traditionally Catholic" and/or "Latin Mass." That's the opposite extreme of what young people like myself will reject, and not win favour during Pope Francis' pontificate. And guaranteed ... our prelates and priests will have credence to keep doing the ``Spirit of Vatican II Church thing`` ... cause it will be seen as the lesser of the two evils, figuratively speaking, not literally.
If you had hoped I would modify my post or delete it, I have decided not to. I have been bullied in past to take down/modify posts when I`ve been bold, and I have told myself I will not allow it anymore. If it`s the Archdiocese, that`s a different kettle of fish.
Your comment though, will stand. Thanks for your time, and God Bless. Julian.
P.S. Perhaps YOU ... can start blogging again fully, and perhaps contribute positively here. And join the Society of Canadian Catholic Bloggers under Dr. Colin Kerr.