I have seldom seen more of a a blog blitz on synlogos.org, than the past few days of Roman Catholic bloggers debating the Pope's actions towards SSPX (The Society of St Pius X).
It's all a bit sad; because although the SSPX deserve defending as a "lesser evil" in context of the global decline of Christian churches and the specific context of the RCC; SSPX are in fact, and in the medium-long term, a hopeless cause.
But the whole framing of the debate seems to have had the effect of making the SSPX into either the cause of RC decline, or else the Great Hope of an RC revival - neither of which is the case.
It is a pity that - yet again- the mainstream media and The System have spectacularly succeeded in creating a false dichotomy with a forced-choice, hijacking the agenda, misdirecting Christian energies, and obscuring what really needs to be thought about seriously and as deeply as possible.
And a good deal of rigorous and honest thought in required, before any "debate" can do good rather than harm.
I've inquired about this before, but sometimes I wonder why the Romantic Christians are still associated with Synlogos.They are very political and worldly. I only read you and WW and Francis Berger, and I'm sure there are more of me. I'm not interested in right-wing rant #9001, even if they're "correct".
ReplyDelete@EP - As far as I know, Synlogos.org is a he, not a they; I use it myself on a daily basis, and I get more people coming to this log via Synlogos than from any other source - so I'm pretty grateful for its existence!
ReplyDeleteSynlogos is an aggregator, and therefore casts its net pretty wide, and therein lies its value. I don't regard it as a filter - or only in a coarse-meshed sense that mostly excludes mainstream-mass-media-leftism.
Readers who instead want a "pure" diet of the kind of Romantic Christianity with which I am associated, will not have very much to read! But those Romantic Christian bloggers that I know of, people with whom I interact outside of blogs, are linked in the sidebar.
I see, thanks for responding to my chatty inquiry. I am a bit unusual, I guess, I discovered your blog because I was in a Death Metal band and read Brett Stevens, and later crow... Odd how things work out like that?
ReplyDeleteWhat ever happened to crow? I had forgotten about him.
Delete@ Andrew - He passed away in late 2024 after a couple years of ill health. Here is his forum where you can find many of his writings: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/secrets_of_life/
Delete@EP - So far as I can tell, everyone has their unique path nowadays. And the destination is always unique as well - at least in some respects!
ReplyDeleteMost of the conservative Catholics who I've read commenting on this issue do avoid the false dichotomy. Their attitude is basically: "The SSPX was wrong to defy the authority of the Pope, but many or most of their criticisms of the Church are legitimate." I'm less sympathetic to Traditionalists than most conservative Catholics as I think the movement is steeped in spiritual pride, and a unjustified obsession with the Latin Mass-- but, of course, I could be wrong about that.
ReplyDelete@Mal - I don't want to add fuel to this particular business by giving my opinion.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the problems of the RC church are very deep and long-lasting, and getting worse, and include all of the various pro-Vat-II, SSPX, Sede factions - and indeed include All the Christian denominations (by the widest definitions) for who the long-term, continuing, incremental, unreversed, adverse trends are very similar - although with different rates and timings.
How does one think about it in practice though. From your earlier writings the fruits (large healthy families) as an indicator you have groups like LDS and the much smaller SSPX - and various TLM attendance - that suggest it probably is a good viable path for most people. I don’t think romantic Christianity offers a real alternative for them. I mean they won’t actually do it or do the intellectual work at home alone. Plus their parents want communities for the children to marry into, etc.
Delete@Andrew - It is just one indicator; but Christians in Western nations are *substantially* sub-replacement in fertility and this now includes US Mormons.
ReplyDeleteBy my judgment - 2020 starkly revealed that the "fruits" of Christianity are no more than those of any other hobby and social group of like minded people, and also that church leaders do not believe *(never mind practice!) that which they espouse.
Given that all institutions including churches are corrupt, and in the same kind of way - either we "do it for ourselves", or it won't be done. "It" being - at first - a spiritual task of understanding, discernment, and commitment.
For a very large majority of people the needful is not being done, nor even attempted; and I am not in the slightest degree optimistic this will change.