Just because a Catholic web page claims to be "traditional" doesn't mean it's good!

Modernist web pages are easily enough identified not only by their disloyalty to the Vicar of Christ but also by their outright rejection of Church doctrine and their ridiculous idea that the Church is subject to the whims of society. Traditionalist sites (of the schismatic kind), on the other hand, are, to some, a little more difficult to identify because they attempt to hide their doctrinal rejections or disobedience to Church authority under the name of 'tradition.'

(When I use the word "tradition" I'm not referring to Apostolic Tradition which is part of the Deposit of Faith; I'm referring to liturgical and other disciplinary forms of tradition.)

Here are some pointers to help you identify traditionalist pages:


1.) Are there any labels on the page clearly identifying it as any of these schismatic groups:* 

                                 - The Old Roman Catholic Church
                                 - Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) 
                                 - Society of St. Pius V (SSPV)
                                 - Sedevacantists?

2.) Is there anything on the page which questions the authority (or in some cases - 'validity') of the Pope or the validity of the New Mass (Novus Ordo)?

3.) Are you on St. Benedict Center's home page (Feenyites) or the Traditio Home page (mostly of sedevacantist beliefs)? These are two popular traditionalist pages without any kind of label other than that of being "traditional" but are in fact Feeneyite and/or Sedevacantist pages.

4.) Look at any links the page might have to other Catholic sites. Are any of the links to St. Bendict Center, Traditio, or to any of the groups listed on #1? People put links on their pages to places that are agreeable to their beliefs. Chances are the page you're on is going to be influenced by the information contained in the linked pages.

+ If the page contains a directory of Traditional Latin Masses (Tridentine) make sure it is the "Indult" Mass being listed or at least mentions Ecclesia Dei.....(in a positive way!) See Una Voce's page for a listing of AUTHORIZED Tridentine Masses.

I hope that mentioning the groups listed above makes some sort of impact, because it clearly illustrates what happens when people choose to separate themselves from the unity of the Roman Catholic Church -- they are doomed to splinter off without any source of authority except that which their own fallible minds suggest.

*The list mentioned at #1 is NOT a complete list of schismatic groups (nor is it meant to be). I don't see any reason to give those little and, generally, unknown schismatic groups any publicity. They are easily enough identified by #2 and #4 in the above text.

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(I)(J 1996 gustke@tcac.com
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