Someone asked me why I mentioned Bishop Ramolla's accounts on another thread.

(First of all, he linked to his blog in his profile. But even if he hadn't...)


You and I -- presuming you're a layman -- have more of a right to privacy than a bishop or priest. Especially in "Traddieland" where many priests and bishops are on their own.

A bishop or priest holds a public office. He is not just a common, faceless man. His ordination and/or consecration are public events, and must be publicly known. A priest isn't a priest in secret, or a priest for himself.

If an article is posted about Fr. X's "sordid past" or "scandals", isn't it important for CathInfo readers to know that it was posted by Fr. X's rival?

The very nature of Tradition is that there are several competing groups with bad blood between each other. Lots of rivalries, lots of infighting. Whatever you think of that fact, it's the truth.

CathInfo is a sea of posts -- some are well-researched and worthy of being printed in a book, others merely a layman's random opinion, some posted by borderline trolls, and some posted by people with an agenda. And some are devoid of content -- "me too" posts and the like.

To figure out the Truth -- the goal of CathInfo -- it's helpful sometimes to know who is posting.

With a few exceptions, laymen can expect to have their anonymity. But someone who has made themselves into a "somebody" like Dr. Droleskey or Michael Matt, for example, can't expect anonymity.

Even then -- if a famous Traditional Catholic speaker joined this forum, I wouldn't immediately identify him (assuming I knew who it was). It depends on what he's posting. If he's keeping a low profile, fine. But if he starts posting lots of things that are controversial and/or about his rival group, etc. then it's a different story.

Which leads me to Part III.

My offline life is private. I'm a layman with a family. I have a job, a house, a family. I (and any other layman) can't afford for those things to be put in jeopardy because of posts I make or opinions I give online.

Some people are sore losers when it comes to arguments, for example.

Now a priest or bishop -- his whole LIFE is public. His ministry is public, his online discussions are public. People need to connect his online sermons with his offline ones.

A priest's online work will affect (for good or ill) his offline work. Just like a movie star uses the same "stage name" for online interviews, magazine interviews, etc. that he uses for the movies he stars in. It's all part of a public persona. They all have to be connected.