CathInfo.com

Just when you thought the neo-SSPX couldn't stoop any lower, they've now posted 13 select quotes from correspondence reportedly received from the faithful in response to Fr. Rostand's desperate Easter appeal letter.

The quotes are Twilight Zone-ishly self-repeating along the lines of: "Oh thank you, Fr. Rostand! Thanks for all your hard work! You're the man! We're s-o-o-o lucky to have our chapels. Here! Here's some more money! What an honor!!!"

Just check out this link yourselves:

http://www.sspx.org/district_news/2013/some_grateful_comments_5-22-2013.htm

It starts with the words:

"For the edification of our readers, we would like to share some of the positive feedback received in response to Fr. Rostand's recent Easter appeal letter."

"For the edification of our readers"??? . . . And just what sort of "edification" might that be?

Why not just come out and say what they REALLY want to say? And that is . . .

"YOU BETTER BE DARN THANKFUL YOU STILL HAVE YOUR CHAPELS AND THAT WE DON'T SIMPLY CLOSE YOU DOWN OR REFUSE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THE SACRAMENTS. PAY, PRAY, AND OBEY--AND NOW PUCKER UP AND SEND US A 'THANK YOU' NOTE ON TOP OF ALL THAT SO THAT WE CAN ADD IT TO THE MEAGRE 13 WE HAVE POSTED UP (out of who knows how many hundreds--assuming people were even paying attention--that were actually scathing!)."

Folks, as comical as this might seem prima facie, this reveals a rather disturbing mentality on the part of those "in charge" (for now, at least).

As for Fr. Rostand, who, as District Superior, obviously approved the dronish posting in a desperate but self-congratulatory spirit, one has to wonder. Is his ego SO fragile that he now feels compelled to post up fan mail and in fact DEMAND more under an ever-cheapened, thinly veiled notion of "edification"?

Isn't this the very same type of mentality used in Communist North Korea--the "Lunyville of Asia"--where the poor folks are threatened, under penalty of death or re-education (feel free to substitute in "re-edification") camp, to smile and pucker up to the regime?

Wow. When Russia spreads her errors, she even spreads them to the very shores of the SSPX itself!

In a spirit of openness and honesty, I invite Fr. Rostand to share feedback that wasn't so conveniently "positive." Now that level of transparency would indeed be . . . edifying.

Neo-SSPX tactics resemble marketing more and more all the time. "Here's some feedback from our other customers..."

Here's part of the sales pitch for the Angelus Press Conference:

"If you've never been to one of our conferences before, you will leave having been edified, refreshed, and renewed to live your Catholic life in a world that is ever more hostile to it."

This new way of speaking was one of the things that made me uncomfortable back in the days when I thought the SSPX was infallible and indefectible.

My response was respectful, but highly critical....Their response was " listen to Fr. Laisney's Conference.." I did, wasn't won over.