Author Topic: Traditionalism in France (Read 6715 times)

ServantOfTheAlmighty · « **Reply #5 on:** November 08, 2011, 06:31:13 PM »

lovealabama, your arguments are not convincing.

Quote from: PereJoseph

Quote from: ServantOfTheAlmighty
I was talking with some French SSPX priests who said that there's about half-a-dozen St. Mary's, KS, Post Falls, ID-style towns in France. They also said that the socialist system, although evil, makes it easier to have a large family (free healthcare and college and stipends for stay-at-home moms). There's also a very active traditional Catholic Boy Scouting organization.

The priests also said that the youth protests against the blasphemous play would never happen in America (i had to agree with them there) but it does in France because the Catholics are stronger there.

This has me considering moving to France, even though I'm not a Francophile by any means.

Have any other American trad done this? Is there any more information about traditionalism in France I should know about?

It's all true. Moving to France is not a bad idea.

Two warnings : First, the SSPX is more liberal on moral issues and disciplines than it is in the US, such as skirts, modesty, headcoverings, etc.; but it is, conversely, not tainted with the widespread soft Americanism that afflicts traditional Catholic circles in the US.

Second, if you do move to France, you have to understand and accommodate the French, otherwise you will probably not enjoy yourself very much. Imagine going into somebody's house and, rather than being complimentary, imposing the customs and rules of your own house on the host. The French from France, especially, do not appreciate this.

I'm ready to abandon my American ways. I am aware that the French are proud people and that I will NEVER be considered French but hey, my children will.

s2srea · « **Reply #6 on:** November 08, 2011, 07:32:08 PM »

Quote from: PereJoseph

Second, if you do move to France, you have to understand and accommodate the French, otherwise you will probably not enjoy yourself very much. Imagine going into somebody's house and, rather than being complimentary, imposing the customs and rules of your own house on the host. The French from France, especially, do not appreciate this.

You mean, PJ, that I cant go to France saying how great America is, and how much better it is that everywhere at any time, and how American cars are the best thing ever, and how we should rule and police the world, and how people are fortunate to be our friends, and how europeans smell funny, and how we don't eat weird thing like escargot, and how McDonalds is the best restaraunt ever, and dressing like this:

love alabama · « **Reply #7 on:** November 08, 2011, 07:36:09 PM »

[/quote]Two warnings : First, the SSPX is more liberal on moral issues and disciplines than it is in the US, such as skirts, modesty, headcoverings, etc.; but it is, conversely, not tainted with the widespread soft Americanism that afflicts traditional Catholic circles in the US.[/quote]

Why are they stricter here in the US?

Also what do you mean by soft Americanism in the SSPX?

Raoul76 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 08, 2011, 08:33:16 PM »

Something I've noticed about the French is that it requires far more concentration to converse with them. If you make one wrong move, you could be blackballed. There is this rigorous kind of politesse, whose rules are constantly fluctuating, you have to be attuned to it.

Among the French Catholics I know, I can't go in there and say "I don't trust such-and-such a person" if that person has gained a certain amount of respect, even when I have good reason to not trust them. It would backfire and you'd end up being treated as a leper.

Europe breeds a Machiavellian approach. You have to be super-subtle to navigate those waters. I was an artist and a schemer and I know how to play that game; now I just have to turn it to good.

Raoul76 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 08, 2011, 08:36:43 PM »

There is one girl who is extremely snotty and rude, as only the French can be, to me and to her French friends. But while I am very sensitive to it, the French people barely seem to notice. I know that if I said something in public about it, they wouldn't take my side but hers. It would be like "Who are you, American, to criticize our countrywoman?" That is the kind of nuance I'm talking about.

I have to be more patient, more forgiving, more humble than all of them, to remain in the shadows, to know my proper place. They can attack each other but I can't say anything. It's actually quite profitable for the soul, as you might expect. Perhaps if I pass the test, they will truly accept me one day!