I think the whole mindset of Catholics moving away to some kind of Catholic oasis is the utopain dream with a Catholic twist.

Yeah, it'd be great if three quarters of the town or city in which you lived was traditional Catholic. Problem is, a lot of Catholics seem to think that moving to such a place is going to make them, and their families, into pious Catholics. In reality, though, some people who do so then get to feeling all safe and secure about their salvation, and before they know it, they're living not too differently from the pagans in the next city.

I would love to be near a large traditional Catholic church, but what about the rest of the world that we are supposed to be the light of? Hiding together somewhere until the big, bad world passes, strikes me as being suspiciously close to hiding that "light of the world" under the proverbial bushel. The same things that, in principal, people hope will protect their faith, become the same things that keep them from sharing it with anyone else by example.

One traditional priest once gave a very good sermon about something along those lines. In so many words, he said that getting to heaven was NOT an "each man for himself proposition".

People once thought Catholic schools would accomplish this miracle, too. Just look at the "Catholic" schools today! Now picture your Catholic oasis as pretty much a very large Catholic school, where everybody can attend. It really isn't much different. SOUNDS good. But then there's humanity, which always slides downward unless people actually fight the good fight... which is ironically what most of them move to such places to AVOID doing.

If we hide from the conflicts of the world, how are we doing more than simply hiding from the cross, or hiding from the scorn and the fight we'll face if we do our "gettin' holy" in a secular city somewhere else?

We all have a yellow streak running through us (thanks to original sin). Nobody wants to fight if they can take it easy. But there's nothing in the Bible about taking it easy, hiding from the conflict caused by our Faith, or all running off together and waiting for the rest of the world to just go up in smoke. That's no part of Catholicism I know of.

 :nunchaku:

That's harsh, Dulc.

By and large, I don't think many go there to "run away" from anything. I'd say most go to large Trad areas for the school. Raising a Catholic family is hard. Toss in homeschooling and it might just be more than most can handle. So, what do you do? You make a choice. Send your children to a local school or move to where there is a Trad school. What would you do?

Those interviews were horrible.  The second one was positively evil, all three of them should be ashamed.  

Are you going to offer some particulars to your criticisms?

Yes Caminus, the second one gets worse and worse.

I would say this girl suffers from major intellectual pride.  That became apparent when she talked about how she only stuck with the school out of defiance, just so they couldn't kick her out.  She is also translating Chinese in the Army at the age of 23.  

She is missing the forest for the trees.  She doesn't mention Christ, Mary, the saints or anything with much internal fervor in this entire conversation.  You can blame this on the SSPX for not being charitable, welcoming and warm enough if you want, but what are they supposed to do?  I get the feeling if she had St. Jane Chantal as Mother Superior it wouldn't have been enough.  She just sounds very pleased with herself and jokey and locked into her own world.  This is a very common attitude outside the Church today, an ironic, questioning, quasi-cynical stance, and unfortunately it will probably infect many of the younger people.

I am good with this type, I think, because I used to be worldly and I understand the allure of various artistic and intellectual pursuits.  I know how certain Catholic circles can seem narrow and suffocating to those who think they are more cultured.  I can also see why some trad priests are not inspiring figures to such people -- they try to appeal more to families than to display an intellectual vibrancy.  She did say she had an "artistic temperament."  The only way to really break through this kind of pride is to fear God, to learn to appreciate simplicity and God's natural order, but she isn't there yet apparently.  

Those interviews were horrible.  The second one was positively evil, all three of them should be ashamed.  

All three?  I thought they were extremely restrained and charitable, considering the huge sacrifices they made in order to give their children a Catholic education.

The attrition rate for many of these trad academies is simply outrageous.  The teachers must take some responsibility for the great number of failures.

Further, the rigorism seems impractical to me.  The point, the entire purpose of education is to lead souls to God.  So it seems to me, that ordinary, average kids should have a fair shake at being prepared to know, love and serve God.

There's too much backlash against the lax academic and moral standards in some of these little academies.

And really, why don't they just make the kids wear uniforms and eliminate any issue about dress code?    :confused1:  No uniforms, what a set-up for singling people out, a waste of time IMO.

I agree Anon.  I am very glad people are starting to come forward.  There are lots and lots of us.

These megalomaniacs who throw Catholic children out of their VIP schools have lost the plot.  

The point is not to hoard the Faith for a Select Few.  The point is to form Catholic souls for Christ, not form "the fatal cliques" whom St. John Bosco abhorred.

 It is really very simple, simple enough for the children to figure out.  Where there is no Charity, there is no way to form god Catholic children.