This year tempers are especially on edge. Be it the political climate, the economy, or the unsteadiness of many aspects and ideals that many have held near and dear, confidence and confidants are being crushed and satan is going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can to devour. I would hope this commentary would serve as an intervention, if you will, a sort of olive branch to both friend and foe, conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, traditional or conciliar, sedevacantist or non-sede, CMRI or SSPX, SSPV or Feeneyites, independent chapels or home aloners, una cum advocates or non una cum ones, and parishioners and principals of both St. Albert the Great and the parishioners and principals of St. Gertrude the Great.

    Life is too short and too often we put too much emphasis on a drop of water when we should be focused on the unending ocean of everlasting life. For all of us there are only four things that should be important: four final things: Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell.

    That is something you won't hear much about with the secular tsunamis that engulf us wherever we turn. They are insidious traps that try to sink us in the politically correct Christ-less "Holiday" spirit which encapsules and enraptures souls in less and less of the real reason for the Season. Likewise, few if any acknowledge the penitential season of Advent in their rush to grab up the bargains. Greed wins over grace in the Great Divide that divides even further. So much of what is seen or heard in advertising and news, or on radio, the net, in newspapers and magazines in the doctor's office, or on televisions blaring everywhere, are scandalous, and, yet, so few consider it thus; so hardened have we all become to what 50 years ago would have shocked us to no end. What we have become is the greater scandal.

    Ah, yes, scandal. We see it on Wall Street, in Congress, in the White House, everywhere, including the conciliar church and, yes, sadly, in the Traditional movement as well. Scandal. The etymology of the word is derived from the Greek σκανδαλον (skandalon) and from it the Latin scandalum which means trap, stumbling block, offense. Webster's defines the word thusly:

1 a : discredit brought upon religion by unseemly conduct in a religious person
    b : conduct that causes or encourages a lapse of faith or of religious obedience in another
2 : loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety : disgrace
3 a : a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it
    b : a person whose conduct offends propriety or morality (a scandal to the profession)
4 : malicious or defamatory gossip
5 : indignation, chagrin, or bewilderment brought about by a flagrant violation of morality, propriety, or religious opinion

    Unfortunately, I would have to say the above definitions pretty much sum up what has been a most divisive atmosphere in southern Ohio; more specifically a vicious feud that has arisen akin to the Hatfield and McKoys in St. Gertrude the Great and the newly formed St. Albert the Great Traditional Catholic parishes. It is so sad because Our Sovereign King and Savior Jesus Christ our Lord was even more specific about how damaging scandal can be for He asserts in St. Matthew 18: 6,

"He that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea."

    When I perceive what is going on I have to ask one question: What would the King think? We know what He thinks from His words above and elsewhere in the same chapter of St. Matthew and throughout the Gospels.

    So what prompted me to respond here? First of all, the vicious attacks on a dear friend are totally uncalled for and emotions have gained the best of all parties. I can no longer stand still when a man whom I have known to be impeccable in his morals and Catholicity is so bitterly assaulted on line, in print, and, no doubt by word of mouth for gossip is the great grabber of souls. The man attacked is none other than Dr. Thomas Albert Henry Droleskey who has been a member of The DailyCatholic family since early in 2001. He is a veteran of the conciliar wars, a man never too proud to say he was wrong, a man who has not been influenced by benefactors for he has followed the truth no matter where it leads...even to poverty. And yet this is a man with a cache of cum laude recommendations from college department heads from at least four universities and still he gave up a lucrative collegiate teaching career for principles: Catholic Principles. Many may call him a fool, but what is wrong with being a fool for Christ?

    I have no doubt Tom would agree he might, like me and so many others, even be a fool rushing in where angels fear to tread. Only time wil tell. Yet, he is human just as all involved in this brouhaha in Ohio are. No one is without fault. Besides so many scriptural references, I'm also reminded of the words of Abraham Lincoln who said,

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

All we need to do is replace the word "Union" with "True Church," and "patriot" to "dry martyr" and it would apply to the current crisis Traditional Catholics are facing, especially in southern Ohio.

    No one should throw the first stone and yet too many have where those stones have transformed from a molehill at one time into a malignant mountain that has been building and festering for well over half a year and most probably longer, building to dangerous proportions and now seemingly insurmountable over the actions of three main Principals whereby the scandal of civil war within our ranks has erupted big time. The first of those Principals are what I will respectively, for identification purposes, call the "triumverate", consisting of Bishops Daniel Dolan, Donald Sanborn and Fr. Anthony Cekada which could also collectively be termed the "West Chester-Brooksville Corridor" Principal. The second Principal would be a layman of much question named Mark Lotarski, and the third Principal was the young priest from Germany Fr. Markus Ramolla whom Bishop Dolan ordained.

    Therein we have the principle Principals with the latter two - Lotarski and Fr. Ramolla - having been the most recent Principals of the school at St. Gertrude's. I am not going to go into details for two reasons. The first is because there has been way too much airing of dirty laundry and secondly, because I took Bishop Dolan's personal advice back on July 25 when he wrote me after I had copied to him and Fr. Cekada a letter sent to me about the nasty rumors circulating in e-mails about the "triumverate." In deference to the "triumverate", I felt if they were being attacked, they deserved to know so that it could be addressed openly rather than through the dark passages of the gossip mills as to what I had thought was scuttlebutt back then and had so hoped that this molehill gaining momentum could be nipped in the bud by notifying the bishop. Little did I realize how much it had built. I've always believed in openness. Nevertheless, His Excellency responded thusly:

Dear Mr. Cain,
I know you mean well, but it is very imprudent to correspond with mentally deranged individuals. It only feeds the monster. Imitate Dr. Droleskey, and use the delete key liberally. (As a matter of fact, please don't trouble to answer me, just delete this, but do spare me a Hail Mary.) Consider that the time wasted in this correspondence would be much better spent in saying rosaries for this poor man, and others like him. Pray for them all.

I know you mean well, but it is highly imprudent to criticize such great theologians of our day as Bishop Sanborn and Fr. Cekada. They know their subject very well, you must tell yourself, and you are but an ignorant laymen, and a recent convert. You may of course say that while the principles they enunciate are perfectly correct, it is possible that the facts of a particular case are different from what has been given out, so therefore the application of these Catholics principles would, in this case, be different as well. Then you would say that God will judge this particular case, and fall into a prudent silence, rather than be seen to sew scandal by judging such eminent and learned clerics.

Frequently invoke Our Mother of Good Counsel, and never miss an opportunity to keep silent. It may be then you may save your soul.

With every good wish in Jesus and Mary,

Bishop Dolan

    He has it right: I do mean well. Since he is a shepherd and true successor of the Apostles, I followed his counsel in both deleting whatever e-mails came my way regarding rumors, etc. and in imitating Tom as the Bishop suggested as well as saying many Ave's for him. In retrospect, perhaps I didn't say enough Rosaries. I had noted an arrogance of pride in his letter. But, hey, we're all human and it is through humility that we gain greater graces. Yet, I didn't delete his e-mail for I had sensed something was not right in the tone, especially his "mentally deranged" reference to the person who had notified me of the climate in Ohio. I knew this person was not mentally deranged and the Bishop's labeling him as such sent up a disturbing red flag. While His Excellency considers me an "an ignorant laymen" [sic] and a "recent convert" I wonder what he would say about the parable of the workers in the field who came later in the day and yet were still rewarded. Sadly, it is that superior arrogance as conveyed between the lines as well as his recent attitude towards those who turned to him for help that often turns away potential converts and even faithful souls who can be scandalized by such treatment by a true consecrated successor of the Apostles.

    I cannot begin to praise His Excellency enough for his magnificent "Bishop Sheen-like" sermons which we have promoted ever since receiving permission from Gerry Keaveney to carry them from his site Traditional Catholic Sermons, endeavoring to provide our readers with a pertinent sermon for each day of the year. Gerry provides sermons from several bishops and priests from various parishes across the nation including the CMRI. And yet, there seems to be a one-sided war against the CMRI by the first of the three principals, particularly the southern most of the "triumverate." That is especially puzzling considering the fact the CMRI have been the most charitable of Traditional Catholic religious organizations in their treatment of their peers. Why then the animosity towards them?

    That has been addressed in previous articles by Tom and for any further illumination we'll let Tom explain that at his Christ or chaos site since there is no one in this country who has visited more traditional chapels than the "happy wanderer", a veritable John the Baptist of our times: Tom Droleskey, with his devoted wife Sharon and their young daughter Lucy, has a greater bead on the climate of every parish from sea to shining sea, bar none. You can believe that most likely more than a few on both sides of the war in West Chester have had his ear. Knowing Tom as we do, he never wanted to get himself involved in the fray. He, like us, has deleted e-mail after e-mail regarding anything that hinted of invectives and rumors. But when a priest is thrown out on his ear because he dares to speak for the little ones so precious to Christ, then he did what everyone of us should: Defend the innocent whether they are still in the womb or entrusted to parochial schools, even in Traditional parishes. For this, Tom knew he would accrue new enemies. For those who despise him, they will say he was looking to stir up trouble. For those who regard him with esteem, they will say he was only trying to do what was right for the sake of souls.

    Considering the fact he had kept mum until all avenues had been exhausted, I would favor the latter reason because from all accounts the parents with children attending St. Gertrude followed what the Church advises one to do, which is exactly Christ's advice in St. Matthew 18: 15-17:

"But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and reprove him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the Church. And if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican."

    Yes, this was the very formula carried out to the letter and yet, even though they went through the proper channels to alleviate the problem, most of that divine counsel above seemed to fall upon deaf ears, and, sadly, stubborn ones at that. The question that remains unanswered is why has Bishop Dolan allowed over half of his parish to walk? Why has the Bishop not listened to many of his parishioners who repeatedly provided him with factual incidences of scandalous behavior and even abuse by members of the Lotarski family? Those are questions that, in all charity, His Excellency should answer and end this bitter infighting that has escalated so because as a shepherd of Christ he has a moral obligation to his flock to do so. It is so sad that by alienating so many, we have here a strange twist on what Christ referred to in St. Matthew 18: 12 . While Jesus would leave ninety-nine on the mountain to rescue one sheep gone astray, the "triumverate" that evolved from "The Nine" seem to be abandoning the "ninety-nine" to cover for one sheep who has not only gone astray, but is responsible for leading others astray.

    The Lotarski cancer had spread so much, that a vast majority of the souls at St. Gertrude's felt that the Bishop had finally used the right "chemotherapy" by appointing Fr. Markus Ramolla as the new Principal at the school. Yet, when Father Ramolla employed the same formula from St. Matthew 18: 15-17, the "triumverate" only dug in their heels and, basically, fueled a rebellion. Is that anyway to save souls? Driving them away? As mentioned, the sermons by the "triumverate" are inspiring but what about what St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13: 1?

"If I speak with the tongues of men, and of Angels, and have not charity, I am become a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

    And speaking of sermons, I could not believe my ears when I heard Bishop Dolan calumniate Fr. Ramolla to his parishioners on the 24th Sunday after Pentecost in his sermons An Apology and The Lord Hath Done This. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I couldn't believe the words coming from his lips. If the bishop is reading this, let me say in all Christian love and concern:

Those two sermons even scandalized me for as you should know I had held you in such high esteem, your Excellency, but in hearing from your own lips the trumped up charges against Father, well what you were saying rang so hollow with the hypocrisy and lies employed in explaining away the problem, that I was truly crestfallen. Here was a priest worthy of being defended by His Excellency Bishop Robert F. McKenna, O.P., who is really the elder stateman among his peer Traditional Bishops, and you were demeaning Fr. Ramolla's good name from the pulpit no less. To use such as a "bully pulpit" and castigate someone you had previously praised so highly was an eye-opener that what was being said was not necessarily hearsay but quite possibly the sad truth that anyone was game for being pushed under the bus except Mark Lotarski. This fear gained more veracity when we listened to Fr. Ramolla's sermon the very same day Faith and realized the humility and love expressed by Fr. Markus on the feast of St. Albert the Great. Quite a different tone.

    For the life of me I cannot see throwing people under the bus like that. Is not a friend one who will tell one the truth no matter what it is for one's own good? What then does it profit a man to publicly castigate those he had once held dear? Many times in life we must go different paths than we had previously been on. This doesn't mean we have a license to destroy our former friends' reputations. I can honestly say that in our journey of discovery as a "recent convert" from the conciliar clutches to the pray-while-staying-at-home phase to attending an independent traditional chapel to going to SSPX Masses to finally finding the CMRI seven years ago we have had differences with many people and lost several friends. That happens. The same with previous writers on The DailyCatholic. At one time or another over the past thirteen years we have had several who we broke ranks with, always on a friendly basis because what good does it do to burn bridges? Our differences might well have been over ideology or theological opinions or even editorial style, but never did we or they (to my knowledge) made any personal attacks. I still respect every writer who ever penned an article for us and for what they contributed including our gratitude to the conciliar true priest Fr. Al Svobodny, OMI who for so many years was our spiritual director, but for reasons only God knows, could not go back to the ways he was weaned on in being ordained in pre-Vatican II days. We may have agreed to disagree but have always maintained civility throughout with everyone as best we could. As for the many writers, I would love someday to bring them back for a reunion if they are still available because every person we ever published was in accord with Catholic truth. That, we take great pride in.

    What I don't take pride in is having to write an editorial like this. No one wins when disagreements become viral and public and when emotions take over. Albeit, I write this not to stir up more controversy but hopefully to qualm it. What say we all cool our emotions and work this out rationally? Is there a way for reconciliation? Our Lord says there is in St. Matthew 5: 22-24.

"But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be liable to the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the council. And whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore, if thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there shall remember that thy brother hath any thing against thee: leave there thy gift before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then come and offer thy gift."

    I fear many Masses have gone by without anyone taking this divine advice. Isn't it time to do so? I would hope we all would. Does the Lord's Prayer and Act of Charity mean nothing to the combatants? I would hope that cooler heads will prevail for the good of souls everywhere.

    Now, does that mean the new traditional community composed of 150 or more, which has split from St. Gertrude's because of all that has happened, should just be dissolved and go limping back to St. Gertrude the Great? Let's be realistic. That's not going to happen just as Bishops Dolan and Clarence Kelly will never see eye to eye even though they were once friends and classmates at Econe. No, sometimes splitting into a new parish is necessary and I see nothing wrong with what those dissatified souls have done for the welfare of their own souls. They're not leaving the Church, only starting a new parish St. Albert the Great and have gone through the proper channels to be under the auspices of Bishop Robert Neville with the blessing of Bishop McKenna. I sure wouldn't call that a schism or disobedience unless Bishop Dolan can prove the former two are not true bishops. Of course they are just as he and Bishop Sanborn are. But none of them are infallible. The fact is no one is perfect. Neither the priests nor the laity. We are all sinners, sinners striving to be holy. That's how saints are made.

    No doubt St. Albert quite possibly faced similar situations in his time. We do know he was both a holy bishop and a great saint. And, yes, he was the one who defended the Angelic Doctor Saint Thomas Aquinas when he was called a "dumb ox." Many inside and outside St. Gertrude have been called worse. I could not understand the calumny aimed at the young German priest who stood with the souls seeking God's will and harmony within the parish; a parish which those same parishioners had built with their own blood, sweat and tears and many dollars, gained not only from their own hard earned wages but from settlements with the SSPX back in 1983 when Frs. Dolan, Sanborn and Cekada waged a fierce battle in the courts for property rights with the current regime of the Society as Fr. Cekada himself has chronicled at Traditional Mass. The "triumverate's" battles were with the very same SSPX who are so willing to compromise their Catholic principles presently for a seat at the conciliar chair where there are more principals than principles. More acting as chiefs rather than insightful indians. Like what happened to General George Custer, we can only hope we will soon see the Conciliars' Last Stand. We hope and pray, however, that this will not be St. Gertrude the Great's last stand, but rather a lesson that can be learned for I offer as corollary example the sad scandal of the early CMRI with Francis Schuckhardt and how wonderfully Bishop Mark Pivarunas and the rest of the CMRI family of priests, nuns and religious brothers have recovered and borne great fruit since. If I'm not mistaken the Dominicans and Franciscans also had their problems in their early formation and, like the CMRI, came through it with God's grace because if it is of God, nothing will stop it. If it is not, it will eventually collapse just as we know the conciliar structure will do. Hopefully, soon.

    In retrospect, I believe it was the "triumverate" along with six others who left the Society. Now the tables are somewhat turned and a group of parishioners have left St. Gertrude's. They say what goes around, comes around. In all respect, what ever happened to the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you"? (Douay version of St. Luke 6: 31: "And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them, in like manner.")

    Bishop Dolan in his sermons decried the hate he claimed was aimed at him and Fr. Cekada, and to a degree towards Bishop Sanborn. We, too, join His Excellency in decrying such hate. But is it not reciprocal in ceasing fire? Not so it would seem with the author of a hastily formed web site supposedly out of Canada called Laypopes.com that is vicious and truly hateful in expressing such bitterness toward Tom and others all because they came to the defense of a good priest who had a true bishop's backing. I have no problem when a stance or position is attacked, but when a person is attacked not for his Catholicity but for personal reasons, then I get my Irish dander up. I cannot abide by such viciousness and I have come to discover that such tricks and bitter hate is not found exclusively in the White House or conciliar circles but, unfortunately, within the Traditional movement as well. Divisiveness and unrest seem to stir the embers of hate from a few eldritch obfuscates in the home alone cells to even a few true successors of the Apostles who convey the impression that they are the Church and that all other bishops should be subservient to them. As far as I know, there's been no announcement of a true Pope yet and we've been waiting 50 years for such a grandiose event. Until we have a definite Authority to whom we can submit, all bishops are autonomous.

   Yet, what recourse do parishioners have when they are intimidated or threatened verbally, mentally, spiritually or physically? I would hope that by entreating the other Traditional bishops to take seriously the problems that have created this monstrous, malignant mountain that they would willingly serve as a clearing board to examine all evidence for the welfare of protecting the flocks. Conversely, if anyone would have incriminating documentation of any immorality on the part of consecrated priests or bishops they have a duty before God to present it to that board of Bishops so that the Bishops can then employ the procedure called for in St. Matthew 18: 15-17. Short of that there are always the secular authorities of law if any crime has been committed. The caution here, however, is to make sure one has documented proof rather than just offering accusatory reasons. If anyone has proof, then it's time to bring that mountain down.

    And speaking of taking something down, while the mysterious persons spewing such slanderous venom at Laypopes.com remain anonymous, we can't know the identity of the cowards using such tactics. But by that very anonymity it leads to more speculation as to who is writing such vindictive rants with such prose and poetry. In fact, it is sickening and sinister to intimate that Tom and Fr. Ramolla have become "Lutherans" and therefore Protestants. Please! A malignant cancer has invaded that hastily thrown-together site and totally corrupted all credibility. It is, pure and simple, a hate site. Rarely have I seen such vile hatred in any conciliar or even political screed as what you will find at this Laypopes site. Why, it makes the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Klu Klux Klan, and even the Dimond Brothers and a few stubborn home aloner embattlements seem mild.

    Because that site is so full of hate and lies, I had hoped the Bishop would denounce this Laypopes.com site either from the pulpit or in his "Bishop's Corner" in the weekly bulletin. To this point he has not. Since he has done so in the recent past regarding other sites (vg. he was not bashful in lambasting the The Four Marks despite that publication's total fidelity to the True Faith and the sedevacantist stance), he has set the precedent for speaking out. Why then has he not done so concerning the vile Laypopes.com which would prove to all that he deplores such tactics? Because he did not, I must say to his face:

Shame on you, Your Excellency. Good men, especially Dr. Droleskey have been demeaned and you know it!

    Tom would be the first to admit he's a bit eccentric. Most of the saints were, too. Tom has many faults. Don't we all? But to standby silently while Tom is stretched on the proverbial rack, tar and feathered, and his reputation basically left in shambles by hateful words was the lowest. What has been employed at Laypopes.com is pure Communist tactics right out of the Saul Alinsky handbook in an effort to demean someone by isolating and ridiculing them. Anyone else, that would destroy, but Tom is a special person. Yet, being human I know it has to hurt him; not just the words but also because of the absolute bitterness behind the words. I daresay no one and I mean no one takes criticism better than Tom and he's been attacked by the best of them. Always he has said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Because none of the "triumverate" have condemned such slanderous vituperation, then the question must be asked: Do they really not know what they are doing? If they do not, then they would be, oh, how do you say it? Oh yes, in their own words, "mentally deranged." If they do know however, then they would be contributing to sins against the Eighth Commandment, making the scandal ever more deserving of a mill-stone.

    Despite the malicious responses from the Bishop from the pulpit against Fr. Ramolla, Fr. Cekada's "School Dazed" and the aforementioned seditious site Laypopes.com, you can believe whatever and whoever you want to believe. Satan loves to confuse, to divide and conquer. And yet in reading Tom's various articles on this which we have linked and promoted along with the vast majority of his countless articles for nearly nine years now, I see not one shred of hate in Tom's words, but rather humility and the necessary requirement not to hide such scandals under a bushel basket but to do as another holy saint who, like St. Albert, was given the title of "Magnus." I speak of none other than Pope St. Gregory the Great who decreed: "It is better that scandals arise than that the truth be concealed."

    I realize I am not a parishioner of St. Gertrude's but we at The DailyCatholic have enthusiastically promoted the works of the "triumverate" as well as endorsing their sermons by linking them and, thus, feel a responsibility to our readers not to conceal the truth. In addition, other writers, who have provided literary contributions to The DailyCatholic besides Tom, have weighed in with factual information that sheds light on the long history of both Bishop Dolan and Fr. Cekada's conduct; something one would not readily suspect from the sincere tone of their sermons until recently. For example, I refer you to Timothy Duff's article on the history of St. Gertrude's school at The Founding and the Foundering - A History of St. Gertrude the Great School . He too is a friend whom I trust implicitly and he was, by the way, St. Gertrude the Great School's very first Principal!

    What all must realize is that what I write here is not an attack on a bishop or on the "triumverate" as a whole, but a necessary remonstration as the Church urges us to do so when wrongs are done and scandal occurs. We are doing what St. Paul urges us to do in 2 Timothy 4: 2 to "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke with all patience and doctrine." I have striven to do that and not to castigate for it does no good to take potshots at anyone without solid proof as to their guilt or to call people names as is being done so maliciously at Laypopes.com. Really, who ever wins in a war of words? Consider what Christ says in St. Matthew 15: 11, "Not that which goeth into the mouth, defileth man; but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth man." Let's stop the verbal assaults and if Bishop Dolan will not denounce Laypopes.com then we can only hope and pray the cowardly authors will either be outed and slink away quietly, or that the site will be shut down with no questions asked. In other words, let the lie lie. [Update note: the site was shut down on December 7 after Dr. Droleskey was able to expose Joseph Charles McKenzie as the author of that vile site. Let us hope this is the beginning of the end of the ugly war that is so ravaging those in southern Ohio.]

    With that said, and, well before this commentary was written, everything was already out of the bag, I now offer a suggestion. Let's bag it. As I said above, this is intended as an olive branch, an intervention if you will, for we have no personal animosity towards either side, acting only as a necessary Devil's Advocate, if you will. We stand by and with the dwindling parishioners who have decided to remain at St. Gertrude's and see it through, despite the fact that it may be difficult for leopards to change their SSPX spots, so to speak. We stand by and with the parishioners who have decided they have had enough and have formed the new parish of St. Albert the Great with Fr. Ramolla as their pastor. Because of that we have also linked the Confraternity of St. Albert the Great and added the Mass sites to our True Masses listing.

    The key is to remember, and for everyone reading this, what I have to say here is vital: Both parishes have the valid true Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, both have the true Sacraments. Through both traditional outlets a soul can attain the necessary sanctifying grace to merit eternal salvation.

    And once we reach Heaven, we will all know the truth - though it won't amount to a hill of beans by then. Yet, it is these hills presently - molehills, dangerous ones at that which were allowed to cluster - that have been built into monstrous malevolent mountains that are now destroying good men's reputations on both sides of the Mason/Dixon line. Oh, satan must love how this infighting is tearing asunder the confidence and trust so many had in what we had so hoped were shining clerical lights in the traditional movement to guide the flocks. And, yet, another setback visits the Church Militant. Perhaps it's a battle lost, but not the war.

    The war is going to grow more fierce and we need to join forces for we have seen the signs and have been forewarned in Sunday's Gospel. Let us all take St. Paul's words in Sunday's Epistle to the Romans to heart, "Let us walk honestly, as in the day: not in rioting and drunkeness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy: but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13: 13-14). Let us put aside the strife and jealousy, the slandering and backbiting. Let's regroup, dig in and concentrate on doing penance and sacrifices during Advent in preparation for the coming of the holy Christ Child so we can be even more prepared for His Second Coming. In order to do this, it's not a bad idea to pray with sincerity: "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine - Jesu, mitis et humiltis corde, fac cor nostrum secundum Cor Tuum."

    We can still be the Church Militant without hating. In fact we're defeating the whole purpose of our mission as members of the Communion of Saints if we do harbor hate. Let us remember the words of two of the holiest saints, St. Benedict and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who said respectively: "Most people are taught by way of example and not by way of words" (the "triumverate" would be wise to heed such advice) and "In spiritual life, when one ceases to climb, one begins to descend." Let's pull up, soften our words, forgive and try to forget, and then show that, if we truly love Our Lord, we'll all heed His counsel to love one another. That can only begin with a "Cease Fire!"

For past CATHOLIC PewPOINT editorials, see Archives

Catholic PewPOINT
Advent Edition 2009
Volume 20, nos. 333-358