Author Topic: Life as a Seminarian was like movie Platoon (Read 49991 times)

ggreg · « **Reply #15 on:** August 11, 2014, 05:40:56 PM »

Perhaps this has always gone on, but for the first time, because of recent events people have removed the Rose Tinted glasses and are prepared to consider these accounts at face value. In the past people like this were, more often than not, outcast.

Having been on the receiving end of some degree of injustice or cover up or censure more Trads are more open minded to other people's negative experiences and more willing to consider that the emperor perhaps is not dressed as impeccably as groupthink had made them believe.

It's hard to operate with your own thoughts. Most people want the security of a tribe around them.

PG · « **Reply #16 on:** August 11, 2014, 05:45:52 PM »

I am about half way through, and was under the impression that this was a novus ordo semary story(and feeling like I am wasting my time). However, the "4 bishops of the order" statment and ladislaus post tell me that this is the sspx. So, I want to confirm, is this the sspx?

Matthew · « **Reply #17 on:** August 11, 2014, 05:54:56 PM »

Quote from: Ekim

Sounds like most of this took place under + Williamson's watch. Although the author speaks highly of him, truth be told the "Captain of the ship" is ultimately responsible for the course the ship takes. I wonder if post +Williamson seminarians would relate the same experience? Perhaps the exit of +Williamson was the reason for the greater number of ordinations since he left? One could argue that +Fellay was right in his decision to relieve +Williamson from Winona.

Not a chance.

The number of seminarians was increasing every year, starting in about 2000.

The SSPX had become quite large, and the various schools (including St. Mary's, KS) had been around long enough to bear fruit. Except for myself and one other seminarian, the other 40-60 seminarians were from some SSPX chapel or other.

Bishop Williamson was exiled for one reason -- the same reason he was ejected from the SSPX. He wouldn't compromise on the truth. He had too much influence in the English-speaking world. That's why he was sent to a non-English-speaking country. To limit the damage, as it were.

Ladislaus · « **Reply #18 on:** August 11, 2014, 06:10:22 PM »

I was at Winona under Bishop Williamson. One of the funny points in the story was about showering once a week. That's actually in the SSPX rule for seminarians. So I dutifully obeyed, much to my extreme discomfort. I would often wash my hair in the little sink we had in our rooms because I really couldn't deal with having greasy hair for a week.

Then after a few months of this, Bishop Williamson had gotten wind of this practice among the seminarians who were trying to diligently observe the rule, and mentioned it in one of his daily talks. He said that the spirit behind the rule was that seminarians had to take a shower AT LEAST once a week, not that they could shower ONLY once a week. At that point, I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Needless to say, I started showering every day. Bishop Williamson said that this was because of the French who didn't feel the need to shower for months on end. So the rule was "Seminarians should shower once a week." Ambiguous on the surface. To the American mind, this could ONLY mean that we had to limit showering to once a week because we simply took it for granted that we would shower at least that often.

Luker · « **Reply #19 on:** August 11, 2014, 06:16:56 PM »

Quote from: + PG +

I am about half way through, and was under the impression that this was a novus ordo semary story(and feeling like I am wasting my time). However, the "4 bishops of the order" statment and ladislaus post tell me that this is the sspx. So, I want to confirm, is this the sspx?

Ya he is talking about the SSPX seminary in Winona. Not sure which French seminary he might have been refering to.

I remember listening to the interview given by former NO/SSPX seminarian John Thomson gave on the True Restoration show, he mentioned a purge as well, right after Archbishop Lefebvre died. So that would have been around 1991 or so. Sounds like this type of thing has been going on for a while now in the society, at least since Archbishop Lefebvre passed away.

It's seems the second largest traditional group outside the SSPX is ex-SSPX members clergy/laity :stare: