Well, until about 3 days ago, I considered myself a trad. But with what has been revealed about these people, I want nothing to do with them.
I would suspect that groups such as the FSSP and possibly even the SSPX (which sent a very nice official message to Francis) are going to be fine. There’s an FSSP mass in my part of Florida - but it’s about a two hour drive, so I probably won’t be going. And I sure don’t want to spend time with the loonies in the local EF mass, who are now congratulating themselves on being more Catholic than the Pope.
I now see that one of the reasons the EF hasn’t spread very effectively is the attitude of many of its supporters. But not until now did I realize that it was this bad.
I now see that one of the reasons the EF hasn’t spread very effectively is the attitude of many of its supporters. But not until now did I realize that it was this bad.
I don't know about this overall. I have spent a great deal of time discussing issues with traditionalists, though I am not technically one myself as I don't speak any Latin and have never been to a traditional Mass. I have found them to be no different than anyone else when it comes to their decency or general courtesy. I read a great deal of what was posted this week on sites like Rorate-Caeli and fisheaters and have noticed some noise and discontent, but it was not nearly so bad as I have heard from the many other people regarding them. A few posters have been quite vocal, but these seem mostly to be sede-vacantists rather than run-of-the-mill trads. A number of people on these sites did voice their worries and concerns, but were mostly reasonable about it and generally avoided being nasty overall. And even these seemed mostly to come from a vocal minority rather than a general consensus. At least that was my experience.
But, one of the most interesting things I noticed at these sites and others is how many people are saying they will no longer support the EF because of these people's attitude. I found that very strange. I mean, after all, Mormons are amazingly nice people and yet it has never caused me or anyone I know to consider leaving the Catholic Church and becoming LDS. I have never been to a traditional Mass, but if I were able to go and found it spiritually uplifting and I thought it helped me grow closer to God I would continue to go. If I found it didn't then I would not. The attitudes of other practitioners doesn't seem to particularly enter into it for me.