[Matthew]

Please tell.  I love unpopular ideas.

Yeah, you got my curiosity. Especially since you claim the idea wouldn't be popular here.

I would guess something like strong-arm coercion, mostly in the form of legal threats. Most people would buckle under the first whisper of possible legal action.

Blackmail would be similar, but it would require dirt on the site owners in question! And to acquire dirt on an individual, said dirt actually has to exist.

Like with the blackmail spam I get almost daily, claiming they hacked my PC and all my social media accounts (hahaha!) -- it's nice to have 100% certainty that someone is bluffing. When they claim to have a video of such-and-such, and you know for a fact you have never done such-and-such -- you can rest easy. The best defense against blackmail is to live an upright life.

[Matthew]

Yes, I remember those good old days. I remember making a custom stamp and stamping all the bulletins at our local SSPX chapel with something like "Bishop Williamson expelled! for more info, savesspx.com"

The idea was to get the word out to good priests that we had their back. We wanted to influence and encourage priests to do the right thing, and stand up to Menzingen and not go along with any evils.

I remember I even paid to host it somewhere different than CathInfo, even though I already had a "reseller account" which could have hosted dozens of small websites. But if I had hosted it on my existing reseller account, it would have had the same IP address as CathInfo, and the cat would have been out of the bag.

[SeanJohnson]

Yeah, you got my curiosity. Especially since you claim the idea wouldn't be popular here.

I would guess something like strong-arm coercion, mostly in the form of legal threats. Most people would buckle under the first whisper of possible legal action.

Blackmail would be similar, but it would require dirt on the site owners in question! And to acquire dirt on an individual, said dirt actually has to exist.

Like with the blackmail spam I get almost daily, claiming they hacked my PC and all my social media accounts (hahaha!) -- it's nice to have 100% certainty that someone is bluffing. When they claim to have a video of such-and-such, and you know for a fact you have never done such-and-such -- you can rest easy. The best defense against blackmail is to live an upright life.

Well, since you are intent on dragging out of me that which I was content to let lay:

Why would a blogger take precious time away from family hours, sacrificing for rebuilding another SSPX, when the grand poobah says "pack up your toys" and "hunker down," encourages liberal independence, discourages vocations, wants to do away with seminaries, etc. etc. etc?

Eventually, after hundreds of articles and several years, it hits you: Bishop Williamson killed the Resistance, despite the consecrations:

While speaking very well about the Roman problem, he nonetheless does all in his power to suppress the Resistance (despite the consecrations).

What good are consecrations and bishops, if nonetheless, there will be no priests under them because seminaries are allegedly passe?  Vocations are discouraged.  Authority is shot (what a joke: Ever heard of the SSPX, showing authority in hyper-mode?).  Congregations are no longer possible (ahem: Ever heard of the 700 priest SSPX?).  The end is near!  Abandon all hope all ye who enter here!  All we can do is wait for the chastisement!

Sorry, but that's all one big bunch of crap.

Nevertheless, when the fence-sitter of 2013-2014 heard what +BW was pitching, they quickly left, and went back to the SSPX (where at least they would have some sense of normalcy, rather than the formless darkness Bishop Williamson was creating, er, discussing).

So eventually, it occurs to you: The Resistance was hijacked.

It is not today that which it was intended to be.

It is not that which it was before Bishop Williamson joined it.

It is no longer a contingency for a replacement SSPX (for the litany of excuses given for the morphing/hijacking).

And finally, you reach the conclusion: Why continue to try to bolster a movement with these efforts, when those who outrank you are actively sabotaging?

Today, it is only the religious congregations that offer any hope (SAJM, Avrille, Santa Cruz, MCSPX).  

They had already seen the insanity that comes with a leaderless Resistance, from the USML debacle, and Providence raised up the SAJM and MCSPX (quite against the will of +BW, if the truth be known).  

But to the point, eventually, you just realize you are fighting a losing battle, and wouldn't it be nice to smoke some fish, deer hunt, hit a baseball game, and do something more productive?

I believe some former blogs and fora closed because of legal menaces.

But for the most part, people realize that when there is no hope, there is no point.

PS: I should add for clarity that I admire a good many things about +BW, and that I am on good terms with him, and support the independents insofar as they are worthy of support.  But I don't have much hope for a Resistance that is being led into the catacombs.

[Matthew]

But you have to admit, Sean, that Bishop Williamson doesn't impose his outlook or opinions on anyone.

He isn't angry or refusing to work with Bp. Faure or Bp. Zendejas because they are actively helping with a seminary in France. (Bp. Z was just there for Holy Week)

He isn't angry with Fr. Chazal for the MCSPX and seminary. He isn't angry with Bp. Zendejas for starting a small network of chapels with regular Mass schedules.

You have to distinguish, because some priests these days are like "my way or the highway!" so as soon as you disagree with them on anything, you automatically turn and head for the door, knowing you might as well head for the door before you're thrown out.

But Bp. Williamson isn't like that. He allows for a certain amount of disagreement on non-essential issues. He understands the difference between matters of Faith and matters of opinion or prudence, on which men may freely disagree.

And though Bp. Williamson himself has an apocalyptic outlook on the world, he nevertheless does his best to help the faithful remnant of SSPX exiles with Consecrations (3 bishops!), Confirmations, Correspondence with Catholics, Chalice Consecrations, Catholic Commentary on the modern world (Eleison Comments), and of course Charity. He does have a website, the St. Marcel Initiative.

[Matthew]

For my part, my hope doesn't lie in Bishop Williamson, the SSPX, or some tiny seed of a replacement for the SSPX. My hope lies in God, and I am fully committed to the Catholic Faith, even if that means the catacombs.

I have no choice but to maintain hope. I have a family with many children, all of whom still need to be formed in the Catholic Faith. I'm in this for the long haul. Like St. Peter said to Our Lord, where else can I go? Only the Catholic Church has the keys to eternal life.

Why did God allow the Traditional Movement to be dialed back to a state worse than in 1970? Why did God allow the Muslims to smash Europe so hard back in the middle ages? Why did God allow the Black Death and the decimation of monasteries, convents, etc.? In the aftermath of the Black Death, it caused a priest shortage, which caused men to be inadequately (and hastily) trained for the priesthood, which resulted in immoral, worldly and ignorant priests whose scandals caused the Protestant revolution.

It would seem, in the light of human wisdom, to go counter to what was good for Christendom and the Catholic Church. But God's ways are not our ways. Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?