The SSPX used to be Traditional; now they're conservative.
Very, very profound and perfect point! This explains 20 yrs of change in 1 sentence!
In political terms, the sspx policy towards new-Rome is strikingly similar to the immigration problem the US faces. Let me explain...
In the post +ABL days, the sspx changed its stance towards V2 and the new mass gradually, gradually, gradually, at first, by accepting more and more novus ordo/“conservative” catholics into their chapels without caring too much if they became traditional-minded, (ie had a conversion to catholic thinking). They only cared if they “looked/dressed the part”, then they were accepted.
Much like the immigration policies of the 80s-90s where all kinds of people came into our country because they wanted freedom/liberty and peace. They were drawn by the promise of a better life and many assimilated into our culture as best they could. The govt wasn’t picky; thru needed workers.
After a group/country takes in a bunch of “newbies” there is always a period of change, ie the “transition period”. It can be the group/country that changes to accommodate the newbies, or the newbies change to fully integrate with the group/country. It’s rarely a 50:50 change. One side usually is dominant.
In the transition period of the sspx, many newbies did learn more of the faith and grew in love of tradition, but their novus ordo bad habits/poor chatechism still weighed them down in some areas, and because these newbies we’re not taught traditional fundamentals (ie why we're here, what’s the point of tradition), these newbies loved the Latin mass for the outward message only. And sspx leadership did not (purposefully or neglectfully, I don’t know) fully integrate these people into the group’s mentality. The bad leadership looked at their growth as quantity over quality. They wanted more chapels and more parishioners to look good on paper (and...more money??)
Much like in the US, where so many of our immigrants are from socialized countries. They love the idea of freedom and capitalism and liberty but their backgrounds gave them a distorted view of these concepts. They don’t understand that true liberty means limited govt and self-sufficiency. That true capitalism means working your tail off without food stamps, no free healthcare, etc. That true freedom means being virtuous, God-fearing and kind to your neighbor; it does not mean being able to believe/promote errors, it does not mean we have to accept your atheism nor pay more taxes so you get handouts FROM your neighbor. ...In other words, most immigrants, however nice they are, don’t understand how/why America became great.
And so, in the sspx, they did not integrate their newbies to tradition, they are faced with a group of people who outnumber the true Catholics who built the sspx in the first place. Either the true Catholics have died or left, having been fed up with the compromises to the Faith and lack of focus on orthodoxy. So the sspx is suffering from a crisis of identity (again, whether purposefully or neglectfully, I don’t know, but I will say it’s not all by “accident”.). The sspx is no longer traditional but only conservative because they have forgotten the reasons they came into existence. They exist now to provide the mass, but the Faith they offer is tainted and weak.
Let’s hope this doesn’t happen to the US, which is weighed down heavily with many immigrants who are infected with socialist errors, and no understanding of history. Then, worse, those Americans who SHOULD know better, have been corrupted by immorality, laziness and complacency in keeping Uncle Sam under control so that it’s almost too late.
With both the sspx and the US, the situation seems dire but there’s always hope. Prayer, penance and new leadership is needed! And a re-understanding of the foundation/reasons of the movement is a must!