Rome Defends What It Can Afford To

In the days after the SSPX consecrations of July 1 and subsequent excommunications, the ever-perceptive Gregory DiPippo of New Liturgical Movement offered an interesting observation on the actions of the Holy See. Posting on his Facebook page, he noted: 

The Holy See is hideously, scandalously wrong to treat the visible, corporate unity of the Church as if it were the only principle worth defending. That doesn't change the fact that the visible, corporate unity of the Church is still very much a principle worth defending, and the Holy See is right to defend it. 

"No True Traditionalist": Purity Testing in Traddydom

Photo courtesy of G Photography and Films

This next trip around the sun will mark twenty years of writing in the Trad Catholic space. In that time I have seen a lot, and it's kind of amusing how certain patterns will repeat over time. For example, every now and then traditional Catholic discourse gets an outbreak of the "YOU'RE NOT A REAL TRAD!" diatribe. This usually happens after there has been some big setback or divisive event: something bad or controversial happens, Trads get divided on how to deal with it, and disagreement turns to infighting. One faction starts trying to gatekeep the entire movement by insisting that this particular way is the only path forward and they make their position into a purity test—if you refuse to affirm their particular point or strategy or pet issue then you are "not a real Trad."