[ThatBritPapist]

First off, I just want to apologize for hijacking the thread on the TIA and the Third Secret—I didn’t mean to derail the discussion. However, I do think the message about the TFP is still relevant, and I wanted to take the opportunity to provide some additional info I’ve gathered over the years.

Mentioned earlier, I’ve been keeping an eye on the TFP for quite some time, and the more I’ve looked into them, the more concerning things I’ve found.  Given their growing influence in certain Catholic circles, especially among young men drawn to their aesthetics and rhetoric, I think it’s important to shed light on what’s really going on beneath the surface.

I know this is a hotly contested issue, and opinions on the TFP can be pretty divided, but I think discussing it openly is important. If anyone has a different perspective or more information, I’d genuinely be interested in hearing it. I’m always open to learning more considering I am still a young man in University! if there’s anything I’ve missed or misunderstood, I’d rather have a well-rounded discussion than just stick to my own findings. At the very least, bringing these concerns to light might help others make a more informed judgment about the group.

I truly believe the TFP is a fαℓѕє fℓαg movement through and through—one that presents itself as the vanguard of Catholic masculinity while actually working to subvert the Church for its own gain. They cloak themselves in Gentlemen sartorial aesthetics, Chivalry , and natural community, but at their core, their agenda seems more cultish rather than genuinely defending the faith. Their infiltration into neo-conservative Catholic circles, especially in America, has been calculated, and it’s frustrating to see so many well-meaning young men fall for it.

I’m linking the video back again for those who want to take a closer look at the video proof  I managed to obtain. Whether you agree or disagree, this is a conversation worth having.

[ThatBritPapist]

My first bit is the TFP and approach to relics and veneration—specifically, their devotion to Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira and his mother, Dona Lucilia.

TFP members obviously  hold a deep reverence for Dr. Plinio, treating him as a canonized saint(The have referred to him as a canonized saint, i'll get to that). The use of relics associated with him—such as nail clipings—raises questions about whether this veneration crosses the line into something problematic. While I understand private devotion is allowed inorder for a Cultus to be set up (correct me if I am wrong), what really caught my attention is the special devotion to his mother, Dona Lucilia. While it's not uncommon for a holy person’s family members to be held in esteem (think of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine), the veneration of Dona Lucilia seems excessive and even somewhat obscure. Here presented is devotional necklaces featuring her image, which is hidden from a facade of resembles Our Lady, as if to draw a parallel between the two. why would there be an effort to elevate her to such a status to our lady? Is there a theological or historical basis for this, or is it simply a cult of personality that has developed within the TFP?

 

[Giovanni Berto]

Strange stuff indeed.

I am Brazilian and I have never heard a word about them in about ten years attending SSPX masses. 

Their influence here is null. They might have some popularity among the conservatives, but that's about it. That splinter group Monfort is the same. They are indult groups with little influence. There also the Arautos do Evagelho (Heralds of the Gospel) which has its origins in the TFP. They use the strange uniform we see in the video. They are popular among the conservatives. They have beautiful churches and great choirs. All the smells and bells you could ask for.

That being said, the Atila fellow's website has some interesting and useful stuff. And Dr. Plinio also seems to have written many interesting things. Even before the council.

My guess is that he was a very intelligent and initially well-intentioned, but when his young "fans" began to see him as some kind of hero, he must have "gone nuts".

[ThatBritPapist]

Mentioned earlier on the Consecrated slave things that Cera rightfully mentioned (and for many years), there is some context:

In 1967, Plínio Corrêa de Oliveira began to call himself the intermediary of Our Lady, and the members of the Ever-Living started to consecrate to Our Lady in the hands of Dr Plínio, who said he accepted to be the intermediary between the Virgin Mary and the members of the Ever-Living as their slaves. (Cf. Átila Sinke Guimarães, Servitudo ex Caritate. Typing service from TFP, edited and printed by Art press, São Paulo, 1985, p. 227.)

 Beginning in 1975, Plínio presented himself as a Religious Founder at Ever-Living. (See Átila Sinke Guimarães, Servitudo ex Caritate. Typing service from TFP edited and printed by Artpress, São Paulo, 1985, p. 229).

The official name of the secret institution set up by Dr Plínio was Sacred Slavery, since all its members, in the initiation ceremony, had to make a personal consecration as slaves of Dr Plínio, giving their body and soul, interior and exterior goods, along the same lines as S. Louis de Montfort recommends that the consecration to Our Lady be made.

[Note that on October 13, 1967, the fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima, Dr Plínio organized a great ceremony at TFP's headquarters, at Rua Pará. In this ceremony, everyone had to renew their consecration to Our Lady, kneeling before Dr Plínio, who, seated on a throne, held an iron chain that hung from the image of Our Lady, in a niche, behind his throne. Then, the chain presented by Dr Plínio was kissed and a consecration was signed in blood that almost everyone believed to be Our Lady. On other occasions, docuмents were signed in blood ... So this is a ritual that is very much in the style of TFP and Dr Plínio]. ( Looks similar to the video I attached)




Also: all the "slaves" chose a new name within the sect. Always started with "Plínio", because the slave became an alter Plínius...





By consecration to Dr Plínio, one was reborn. The old man died. The new man was born. That is why the slave should change his name. He was now, after consecration, a new Plínio. Every new slave left his own name and changed his name to Plínio and the name of a patron saint, followed by a title of Our Lady. “X” became, after the initiation, Plínio Bernardo Dimas Longinus of Our Lady Holy Queen of the Apostles of the Last Times - known only by Plínio Dimas. When they signed the original name, the slaves commented: “this guy has already died”


I have attached the docuмent that supports this claim (that Cera has mentioned time and time again)

Now why is is this important? It is because from the section I mentioned earlier in the the earlier thread:

In Átila Sinke Guimarães, Servitudo ex Caritate. Serviço datilográfico da TFP, editado e impresso por Artpress, São Paulo, 1985, p. 224, mr. Átila (the founder of tradition in action) admits that Caio Vidigal Xavier da Silveira consecrated himself as slave to Dr. Plínio in 1961Átila Sinke Guimarães was the secretary of the MNF (short for "Manifest"), a series of secret conferences by Dr Plínio


The TFP used the Santiago Cross, because the slaves  said that during the Bagarre he’d be taken to the “mountain of the prophets”, where he’d study Cornelius a Lápide in the company of Enoch and Elijah ,Which makes sense since he saw himself as the successor of Elijah, and the TFP HQ had a throne specifically for Elijah Specifically Cornelius a Lápide.

[ThatBritPapist]

Strange stuff indeed.

I am Brazilian and I have never heard a word about them in about ten years attending SSPX masses.

Their influence here is null. They might have some popularity among the conservatives, but that's about it. That splinter group Monfort is the same. They are indult groups with little influence. There also the Arautos do Evagelho (Heralds of the Gospel) which has its origins in the TFP. They use the strange uniform we see in the video. They are popular among the conservatives. They have beautiful churches and great choirs. All the smells and bells you could ask for.

That being said, the Atila fellow's website has some interesting and useful stuff. And Dr. Plinio also seems to have written many interesting things. Even before the council.

My guess is that he was a very intelligent and initially well-intentioned, but when his young "fans" began to see him as some kind of hero, he must have "gone nuts".

That is what I was going to mention!

Lot's of people also don't understand the modern TFP isn't the Dejure or Defacto TFP.


The former Monsignor João Clá, favourite of Plino, His protégé and "faithful interpret  of the prophet" justified  venerating Plinio  by saying "if the revolution uses it, why shouldn't we use it? Let us be astute as serpents"

Dr Plínio was widely thought in the TFP to be immortal or at best he would live to see his millenarianist delirium come true.
The belief on the TFP was said to be "I shall not die before I lay foundation to the Kingdom of Mary" [this "kingdom of Mary" was how they called their Millenium, so to speak]

It didn't happen and he didn't designate an heir after all, an immortal man doesn't need one.

So when he died (and didn't resurrect on the third day as some expected) there was a TFP Schism.

The factions were none side there was João Clá, his protégé and "faithful interpret of the Prophet"
On the other, there were the "Provects", the old men who were with Dr Plinio for a long time, and the factions emerged around three main differences:
1) the use of the TFP brand;
2) the future direction of TFP as a political campaigning organisation, and
3) the religious teachings of the organisation.

This led to legal action with a series of decisions from the Brazilian courts in 1997 and 2004.
ultimately won by Mons Clá , in 2004, while he had created previously the Heralds of the Gospel in 2001.
Although Cla Winning the Case, like he had created the Heralds of the Gospel or aka the Arautos (like you mentioned) in 2001.

Those who opposed the courts ruling have remained active in the Association of the Founders of TFP and created the Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Institute. While the Heralds of the Gospel ( Arautos ) retained the rights to the TFP brand in Latin America, it does not actively exercise it, driving the TFP institutions in those regions to slowly Fade into obscurity.

[ThatBritPapist]

That is what I was going to mention!

Lot's of people also don't understand the modern TFP isn't the Dejure or Defacto TFP.


The former Monsignor João Clá, favourite of Plino, His protégé and "faithful interpret  of the prophet" justified  venerating Plinio  by saying "if the revolution uses it, why shouldn't we use it? Let us be astute as serpents"

Dr Plínio was widely thought in the TFP to be immortal or at best he would live to see his millenarianist delirium come true.
The belief on the TFP was said to be "I shall not die before I lay foundation to the Kingdom of Mary" [this "kingdom of Mary" was how they called their Millenium, so to speak]

It didn't happen and he didn't designate an heir after all, an immortal man doesn't need one.

So when he died (and didn't resurrect on the third day as some expected) there was a TFP Schism.

The factions were On one side there was João Clá, his protégé and "faithful interpret of the Prophet"
On the other, there were the "Provects", the old men who were with Dr Plinio for a long time, and the factions emerged around three main differences:
1) the use of the TFP brand;
2) the future direction of TFP as a political campaigning organisation, and
3) the religious teachings of the organisation.

This led to legal action with a series of decisions from the Brazilian courts in 1997 and 2004.
ultimately won by Mons Clá , in 2004, while he had created previously the Heralds of the Gospel in 2001.
Although Cla Winning the Case, like he had created the Heralds of the Gospel or aka the Arautos (like you mentioned) in 2001.

Those who opposed the courtcRuling plot have remained active in the Association of the Founders of TFP and created the Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Institute. While the Heralds of the Gospel ( Arautos ) retained the rights to the TFP brand in Latin America, it does not actively exercise it, driving the TFP institutions in those regions to slowly Fade into obscurity.

Now what is so important about this is due to the Heralds/Arautos  being the direct decedent's of the TFP, it has continued it's legacy of it's veneration and worship of the Original TFP before their schism. The images speak for themselves.


I would not know why a seminarian or school student would need a massive picture of Dr Plinio Mother hanging up in his wall or a frame portrait of Dr Plinio

Or



Why a layman who need such images and devotions to his mother by his beside with other Plinio related periodicals. The proof is in the pudding when Monsignor Cla said "We must think about him [Plínio] all day long, we must always desire to mystically encounter him" 




 



 

[ThatBritPapist]

Mentioned earlier on the Consecrated slave things that Cera rightfully mentioned (and for many years), there is some context:

In 1967, Plínio Corrêa de Oliveira began to call himself the intermediary of Our Lady, and the members of the Ever-Living started to consecrate to Our Lady in the hands of Dr Plínio, who said he accepted to be the intermediary between the Virgin Mary and the members of the Ever-Living as their slaves. (Cf. Átila Sinke Guimarães, Servitudo ex Caritate. Typing service from TFP, edited and printed by Art press, São Paulo, 1985, p. 227.)

 Beginning in 1975, Plínio presented himself as a Religious Founder at Ever-Living. (See Átila Sinke Guimarães, Servitudo ex Caritate. Typing service from TFP edited and printed by Artpress, São Paulo, 1985, p. 229).

The official name of the secret institution set up by Dr Plínio was Sacred Slavery, since all its members, in the initiation ceremony, had to make a personal consecration as slaves of Dr Plínio, giving their body and soul, interior and exterior goods, along the same lines as S. Louis de Montfort recommends that the consecration to Our Lady be made.

[Note that on October 13, 1967, the fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima, Dr Plínio organized a great ceremony at TFP's headquarters, at Rua Pará. In this ceremony, everyone had to renew their consecration to Our Lady, kneeling before Dr Plínio, who, seated on a throne, held an iron chain that hung from the image of Our Lady, in a niche, behind his throne. Then, the chain presented by Dr Plínio was kissed and a consecration was signed in blood that almost everyone believed to be Our Lady. On other occasions, docuмents were signed in blood ... So this is a ritual that is very much in the style of TFP and Dr Plínio]. ( Looks similar to the video I attached)




Also: all the "slaves" chose a new name within the sect. Always started with "Plínio", because the slave became an alter Plínius...





By consecration to Dr Plínio, one was reborn. The old man died. The new man was born. That is why the slave should change his name. He was now, after consecration, a new Plínio. Every new slave left his own name and changed his name to Plínio and the name of a patron saint, followed by a title of Our Lady. “X” became, after the initiation, Plínio Bernardo Dimas Longinus of Our Lady Holy Queen of the Apostles of the Last Times - known only by Plínio Dimas. When they signed the original name, the slaves commented: “this guy has already died”


I have attached the docuмent that supports this claim (that Cera has mentioned time and time again)

Now why is is this important? It is because from the section I mentioned earlier in the the earlier thread:

In Átila Sinke Guimarães, Servitudo ex Caritate. Serviço datilográfico da TFP, editado e impresso por Artpress, São Paulo, 1985, p. 224, mr. Átila (the founder of tradition in action) admits that Caio Vidigal Xavier da Silveira consecrated himself as slave to Dr. Plínio in 1961Átila Sinke Guimarães was the secretary of the MNF (short for "Manifest"), a series of secret conferences by Dr Plínio


The TFP used the Santiago Cross, because the slaves  said that during the Bagarre he’d be taken to the “mountain of the prophets”, where he’d study Cornelius a Lápide in the company of Enoch and Elijah ,Which makes sense since he saw himself as the successor of Elijah, and the TFP HQ had a throne specifically for Elijah Specifically Cornelius a Lápide.

This should of been mentioned earlier in the section between the Slaves and the slave worship video however there is another second section to this and it is Sempre Viva Ceremony and March

"The Ever-living" (Sempre Viva). It's the name of a flower that is said to look dead when it's alive, and alive when it's dead. It's somewhat important to note that adjectives in Portuguese usually have a gender. In this case, "living" is in the feminine and it is a direct reference to Dona Lucília Mother of Plinio.

It is from my understanding reading books and studies from Orlando Fidelli that the Sempre Viva is the ceremony of "Sacred Slavery" to Dr. Plinio , among them João Clá Dias (Plinio Fernando), Mr. Orácio (Plinio Felipe, who died in a car accident with some members of the Ponta Grossa group), Mr. Peterssen (Plinio Maria, who was part of the Curitiba group), Mr. Fernando Tsuneo (Plinio Abel, who offered his life for the group) and Plinio Josué (who I don't know about).

The March and the parodying the devotion taught by Saint Louis de Montfort to Our Lady, consecrated themselves as slaves to Dr. Plínio. In this way, Plínio replaced Our Lady as the object of devotion. The first to ask to consecrate himself as a slave was Caio Xavier da Silveira, whose name in the sect became Mário Plínio. Mário in homage to Our Lady.
 
The first twelve slaves were considered the favorites, the most authentic and fervent disciples of the Prophet. The slave Plínio Márcio (Átila Sinke Guimarães) said that these twelve were to Dr. Plínio what the twelve apostles were to Christ.

I have attached on here the Ceremony itself and the March they did. (IMPORTANT: in the MP4 docuмent of the ever living ceremony that someone in 1:25 secs says in portuguese -"History is divided  before and after our lord Jesus Christ  but the apex was given to thee Plinio")

[ThatBritPapist]

This should of been mentioned earlier in the section between the Slaves and the slave worship video however there is another second section to this and it is Sempre Viva Ceremony and March

"The Ever-living" (Sempre Viva). It's the name of a flower that is said to look dead when it's alive, and alive when it's dead. It's somewhat important to note that adjectives in Portuguese usually have a gender. In this case, "living" is in the feminine and it is a direct reference to Dona Lucília Mother of Plinio.

It is from my understanding reading books and studies from Orlando Fidelli that the Sempre Viva is the ceremony of "Sacred Slavery" to Dr. Plinio , among them João Clá Dias (Plinio Fernando), Mr. Orácio (Plinio Felipe, who died in a car accident with some members of the Ponta Grossa group), Mr. Peterssen (Plinio Maria, who was part of the Curitiba group), Mr. Fernando Tsuneo (Plinio Abel, who offered his life for the group) and Plinio Josué (who I don't know about).

The March and the parodying the devotion taught by Saint Louis de Montfort to Our Lady, consecrated themselves as slaves to Dr. Plínio. In this way, Plínio replaced Our Lady as the object of devotion. The first to ask to consecrate himself as a slave was Caio Xavier da Silveira, whose name in the sect became Mário Plínio. Mário in homage to Our Lady.
 
The first twelve slaves were considered the favorites, the most authentic and fervent disciples of the Prophet. The slave Plínio Márcio (Átila Sinke Guimarães) said that these twelve were to Dr. Plínio what the twelve apostles were to Christ.

I have attached on here the Ceremony itself and the March they did. (IMPORTANT: in the MP4 docuмent of the ever living ceremony that someone in 1:25 secs says in portuguese -"History is divided  before and after our lord Jesus Christ  but the apex was given to thee Plinio")

Files were to large so I will send over a URL of the videos

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uhj0HMUetAUVWocwK6H2itdjjHc96hXx/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SJHtP-9hiy93MVVL3VN_hYRe5fLYrfGR/view?usp=sharing


I insist aswell that people chime in and give thoughts as I want to hear perspectives and what not or any objections!

[LakeEnjoyer]

There's a good reason why Gustavo Corção and later Bishop de Castro Mayer distanced themselves with TFP and Plinio! 

Early on they were very important for resisting the agrarian reforms and stopping the implementation of divorce in Brazil in the 1960s. However more and more begun to see something very "off" with them until you see the cult-like practices here develop.

Some good material at times but seems a very dodgy group. 

[Plenus Venter]

The TFP gets a mention in this life story of Bishop Thomas Aquinas OSB: https://dominicansavrille.us/presentation-of-bishop-dom-thomas-aquinas-o-s-b-part-1/

The young Miguel Ferreira da Costa went to see Gustavo Corcao in 1972, to open his heart about his vocation and to ask him to which seminary he should go.  At this time, Gustavo Corcao did not yet know Archbishop Lefebvre:

”Tell you where to go?”, answered Gustavo Corcao, “I can’t.  What I can tell you is where not to go.  You’ll have a hard time finding where they don’t teach foolish things […]”  It’s then that Mrs Pierotti, Corcao’s secretary, spoke to me about Archbishop Lefebvre and Econe: "If you were my son, that’s where I would send you".

Miguel Ferreira da Costa wrote to Archbishop Lefebvre who referred him to the seminary of Bishop de Castro Mayer in Campos, a city in the State of Rio de Janeiro.  He went there, but he was discouraged by the influence of the TFP movement (“Tradition, Family, Property”) in the seminary.  Then, he heard about the priory that Dom Gerard founded in Le Barroux, Provence (France), at the foot of Mount Ventoux.  Gustavo Corcao told him: "Go there. If it’s not good, come back"...


Later, Bishop de Castro Mayer would also distance himself from them. But I've not heard either of them give details as to why.

[Giovanni Berto]

The TFP gets a mention in this life story of Bishop Thomas Aquinas OSB: https://dominicansavrille.us/presentation-of-bishop-dom-thomas-aquinas-o-s-b-part-1/

The young Miguel Ferreira da Costa went to see Gustavo Corcao in 1972, to open his heart about his vocation and to ask him to which seminary he should go.  At this time, Gustavo Corcao did not yet know Archbishop Lefebvre:

”Tell you where to go?”, answered Gustavo Corcao, “I can’t.  What I can tell you is where not to go.  You’ll have a hard time finding where they don’t teach foolish things […]”  It’s then that Mrs Pierotti, Corcao’s secretary, spoke to me about Archbishop Lefebvre and Econe: "If you were my son, that’s where I would send you".

Miguel Ferreira da Costa wrote to Archbishop Lefebvre who referred him to the seminary of Bishop de Castro Mayer in Campos, a city in the State of Rio de Janeiro.  He went there, but he was discouraged by the influence of the TFP movement (“Tradition, Family, Property”) in the seminary.  Then, he heard about the priory that Dom Gerard founded in Le Barroux, Provence (France), at the foot of Mount Ventoux.  Gustavo Corcao told him: "Go there. If it’s not good, come back"...


Later, Bishop de Castro Mayer would also distance himself from them. But I've not heard either of them give details as to why.

The TFP and related groups discourage every vocation. Only the single lay vocation is good enough for them.

A letter from Bp. Castro Mayer on the TFP:

Machine translation. Source: https://fratresinunum.com/2008/10/13/carta-de-dom-antonio-de-castro-mayer-sobre-a-tfp/

Letter from Dom Antônio de Castro Mayer about the TFP.
Published in the newspaper Folha de Manhã in 1991, the original text is dated 1984. What we publish is a translation of the version in Le Sel de la Terre, No. 28, 1999.

Dear X,

I owe you a response to your painful letter of September 24, which, as the postmark indicates, you sent me on September 25.

In this case, I can only give you one piece of advice: pray, pray a lot, above all the Rosary or at least the Rosary, asking the Virgin Mother, Mediatrix of all graces, to enlighten her son and make him see that the TFP is a heretical sect because, in fact, although they do not say or write it, the TFP lives and behaves according to a principle that fundamentally undermines the truth of Christianity, that is, of the Catholic Church.

Indeed, it is de fide that Jesus Christ founded His Church – destined to maintain on earth the true worship of God and to lead souls to eternal salvation – as an unequal society, composed of two classes: one that governs, teaches and sanctifies, composed of the members of the clergy, and another – the faithful – who receive the teaching, are governed and sanctified: This is a dogma de fide.

St. Pius X wrote that the Church is, in its very nature, an unequal society, meaning that it comprises two orders of people: pastors and flock, those who belong to the various levels of the hierarchy, and the multitude of the faithful. These two orders are so completely distinct that only the hierarchy has the right and authority to guide and govern the members for the purposes of the Church, while the duty of the faithful is to allow themselves to be governed and to obediently follow the path given by the governing class. (Encyclical “Vehementer”, February 11, 1906.) The entire history of the Church, as seen in the New Testament, attests to this truth as a fundamental dogma of the Church’s constitution. It was only to the Apostles that Jesus said: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” The Acts of the Apostles also show us the life of the Church in the times after Jesus Christ. Because of this, it is a heretical subversion to habitually follow a layman — therefore, a non-member of the Hierarchy — as the spokesman for orthodoxy. Thus, they do not look at what the Church says, what the bishops say, but at what this or that one says… And it does not end there: this attitude — even if not openly declared — in fact positions the “leader” as the arbiter of orthodoxy, and is accompanied by a sudden but real distrust of the hierarchy and the clergy in general.

There is a visceral anti-clericalism in the TFP: everything that comes from the clergy is received with prejudice. Basically, it is maintained that all priests are ignorant, not very zealous or interested, and such other qualities. Well, then, keeping in mind the divine constitution of the Church that was instituted by Jesus Christ, the habitual anti-clericalism of the TFP, latent, makes it a heretical sect, and, therefore, as I said, animated by a principle contrary to the dogma established by Jesus Christ in the constitution of His Church.

Nevertheless, the TFP had a healthy beginning. There was a certain evolution in the apostolate carried out by the biweekly newspaper of the Marian Congregation of Saint Cecilia entitled O Legionário.

As a serious and well-intentioned movement, it sought to strengthen the intellectual and religious formation of the members of the Congregation and, consequently, of the biweekly readers. It was influential throughout Brazil. This was the era of [its] obedience to Monsignors Duarte and Leme. I followed and approved of their apostolate, even when they began to lose themselves in the anti-clerical spirit, which began by consolidating their positions and then reversing them, placing the clergy in tow behind a charismatic laity with a monopoly on orthodoxy. Perhaps I gave them support beyond a licit point. I withdrew it only when it became clear that my warnings were not being taken into account. They had become useless.

It is true to note that the mistakes of certain members of the hierarchy… explain the scandal of the “TFPistas”, but this does not justify the positions they have taken. Even less so those of their leader, Plínio.

In this case, as I said at the beginning of this letter, the remedy is to pray. First, because without prayer nothing is obtained: “Ask”, says Our Lord, “and you will receive”. It is necessary to pray, because charismatic fervor produces a certain fanaticism: individuals become incapable of seeing objective reality, of perceiving even fundamental errors, because of this inversion of following a layman instead of the legitimate Pastors of the Holy Church.

Even more so when, as I have observed, members of the hierarchy unfortunately and frequently express words and take positions that any Catholic can see as dissonant with the doctrine and government of the Church of all times…

I ask Our Lord to grant you and your entire family a holy and happy Christmas and many years full of God's grace.

I ask you to pray for me, a servant in Christ Jesus.

Antônio de Castro Mayer, Bishop Emeritus of Campos.

[Plenus Venter]

The TFP and related groups discourage every vocation. Only the single lay vocation is good enough for them.

A letter from Bp. Castro Mayer on the TFP:

Machine translation. Source: https://fratresinunum.com/2008/10/13/carta-de-dom-antonio-de-castro-mayer-sobre-a-tfp/

Excellent post GB, thank you very much for providing this letter of Bishop de Castro Mayer. It is that kind of authoritative judgement that I have been wanting to hear all these years, rather that just the rumours of "anti-clerical", "strange devotions", etc.

For me, that is case closed. Thanks again!

"it is a heretical subversion to habitually follow a layman — therefore, a non-member of the Hierarchy — as the spokesman for orthodoxy. Thus, they do not look at what the Church says, what the bishops say, but at what this or that one says… And it does not end there: this attitude — even if not openly declared — in fact positions the “leader” as the arbiter of orthodoxy, and is accompanied by a sudden but real distrust of the hierarchy and the clergy in general."

"There is a visceral anti-clericalism in the TFP: everything that comes from the clergy is received with prejudice."

"placing the clergy in tow behind a charismatic laity with a monopoly on orthodoxy"

[ThatBritPapist]

Thanks GB and PV for the contributions, I was going to mention the Bishop Castro Mayer Case aswell however as the the infamous Tfpista letter response was already sent, i'll add more to it.

It is ovbious that Bishop Castro Mayer at the starting stages of TFP ,with himself not knowing much about the cultism of Plinio and other shoddy behaviour, signed a TFP  coordinated campaign to collect signatures denouncing what was perceived as Egalitarian Communists in the Church.  Mayer encouraged the campaign. I mean just look at this Image of Bishop Mayer and Dr Plinio!




However in the Biography of Bishop Castro Mayer it states:

“In the early years His Excellency worked closely with Plinio Correa de Oliveira, the eventual founder of TFP. Archbishop Lefebvre would say that “TFP saved Brazil from Communism” but as time went on Bishop de Castro Mayer had to distance himself from the organization due to strange tendencies and stories which he had investigated to his satisfaction. He even advised Catholics to steer clear of the organization. Dr. White speaks about some of these tendencies in Part III, Chapter 7 of the book. To simply name a few of them without context here seems out of place, and I would simply say that Bishop de Castro Mayer worked too closely with Plinio for too many years and was too just a man to arbitrarily dismiss a former colleague and his organization. If the Bishop warned Catholics away from TFP, it was not with an idle tongue.” 


It is important to note as the TIA often acreddit this alot about Dr Plinio being the arictect and bastion of Tradtion during V2 as many in Further the TFP often accredit Plinio for the creation of Coetus Internationalis Patrum  however  Plinio was not the big mastermind of the cœtus. The  Plinio'ites during V2 in Rome were doing office jobs for Dom Mayer and Dom Sigaud, It was Dom Mayer who stopped supporting them (and consequently the SSPX), not the other way round.

Prof. Orlando Fedeli sent him a letter about the the litany to Dona Lucília (PCO’s mother) and it convinced him to stop supporting the TFP.


Bishop Mayer was there right at the start of the CIP ,while Mayer and Bp. Sigaud were very close collaborators with Plínio at the start of the newspaper Catolicismo and the anti-communist activism eventually Bp. Sigaud left some time after the council, as he decided to yield to the liturgical reform, while Bp. Mayer didn’t when Prof. Orlando Fedeli warned him of the cultish practices (which both of them were unaware of due to deliberate gaslighting by Plinio), he distanced himself from them. This Led to the "Letter from Antônio de Castro Mayer on TFP", that GB just sent

[Ladislaus]

"it is a heretical subversion to habitually follow a layman — therefore, a non-member of the Hierarchy — as the spokesman for orthodoxy. Thus, they do not look at what the Church says, what the bishops say, but at what this or that one says… And it does not end there: this attitude — even if not openly declared — in fact positions the “leader” as the arbiter of orthodoxy, and is accompanied by a sudden but real distrust of the hierarchy and the clergy in general."

"There is a visceral anti-clericalism in the TFP: everything that comes from the clergy is received with prejudice."

"placing the clergy in tow behind a charismatic laity with a monopoly on orthodoxy"

As for the first paragraph, that's pretty much every Trad these days.  So what's the end result when 99.99% of the "Hierarchy" have basically defected, and the vast majority of all the clergy.  Of course, there's going to be the perception of rebellion and anti-clericalism, when the "clerics" had nearly all gone Modernist.

That's precisely where the attitude came from, and Bishop Castro de Mayer failed to identify it, that it's not anti-clericalism simpliciter, but anti-clericalism within the context of the current crisis in the Church.

[Ladislaus]

...t the cultism of Plinio and other shoddy behaviour,

There was/is no "cultism of Plinio".  That and the other "shoddy behavior" largely consisted of slanders against them created by a splinter group known as "Heralds of the Gospel" that split off, took over most of TFP's organization and properties in Brazil, and then went completely off the reservation.  There's almost no original TFP left in Brazil as a result.  I'm well acquainted with the low-level details that are unknown to most.