{"id":8034,"date":"2020-09-06T12:34:33","date_gmt":"2020-09-06T10:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.theotokos.co.za\/?p=8034"},"modified":"2022-11-11T17:14:17","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T15:14:17","slug":"sspx-the-dangers-of-a-cult-mentality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.theotokos.co.za\/?p=8034","title":{"rendered":"SSPX – the Dangers of a Cult Mentality"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Biohazard<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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This is part 4 in the recent SSPX and COVID series:
<\/span><\/span><\/strong>Part 1 \u2013 The SSPX \u2013 when a church goes COVID cult<\/a>
Part 2 \u2013 Update on SSPX sect\u2019s evasion of lockdown<\/a>
Part 3 \u2013 Is the SSPX in schism from the Catholic Church?<\/a>
Part 4 \u2013 SSPX \u2013 the Dangers of a Cult Mentality<\/a>
<\/span><\/strong>Part 5 \u2013 The SSPX \u2013 COVID and religious quackery<\/a>
Part 6 \u2013 SSPX \u2013 turning ordinary Masses into funerals (how to)<\/a>
Part 7 \u2013 The Psychopathy of \u201cTraditionalist\u201d Catholicism<\/a>
The SSPX and COVID \u2013 The Index of Lessons Learnt<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\"Take<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Previously we looked at clear<\/a>, plain statements from three popes (and others) that confirmed that the relationship between the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) and the Catholic Church is not one of “full communion<\/em>\u201d. Now we’ll look at how they are a good example of a group with a cult mentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SSPX defence boils down to, essentially, saying that the three popes had neither the competence nor authority to make the decisions and\/or statements that they made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, squaring the circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The facts about the SSPX<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fact<\/span><\/strong><\/th>Authority<\/span><\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Archbishop Lefebvre\u2019s act was a schismatic<\/strong> act<\/td>Pope St John Paul II<\/td><\/tr>
Archbishop Lefebvre was suspended<\/strong> until his death<\/td>Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Ratzinger<\/td><\/tr>
The SSPX \u201chas no canonical status<\/strong>\u201d<\/td>Pope Benedict XVI<\/td><\/tr>
The SSPX clergy \u201cdo not legitimately exercise any ministry<\/strong>\u201d<\/td>Pope Benedict XVI<\/td><\/tr>
The SSPX lacks \u201cfull communion<\/strong>\u201d with the Catholic Church<\/td>Pope Francis<\/td><\/tr>
The movement of Archbishop Lefebvre was a “schism<\/strong>“<\/td>Pope Francis<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once we have a situation like that, anything and anyone can be questioned, and declared to be false at a whim. Pope St John Paul II didn’t know what he was saying, and couldn’t excommunicate properly. Vatican II was faulty. Pope Benedict XVI was delusional about the status of the SSPX. Pope Francis granted the SSPX something he was too thick to realise they already had all along. The earth is flat.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"The<\/a>
The International Seminary of Saint Pius X in \u00c9c\u00f4ne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Once someone go down that road, then anything goes. Mode and age of baptism are not uniform amongst Christianity as a whole. Belief in the Eucharist is not uniform. The roles of grace and free will are not uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SSPX clung to one thing – a man, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre<\/a>. I don’t believe they clung to tradition. Pope St John Paul II made it clear that their schism was due to a misunderstanding of what tradition is. They clung to a man who told them what tradition was. There are lots of other traditionalists, all being told by other people what tradition is, and they all differ, yet they all live stuck in the past, each at their own preferred time. And when you have a hero like that, it’s very, very hard to admit he was wrong and walk away. This is cult mentality, and fundamentalism rather than traditionalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Worldwide Church of God was a good example – abandoning Herbert Armstrong<\/a> and his cult ideas destroyed the group and the normal Protestant denomination that emerged was tiny, and dozens of splinter groups remained, most claiming to be the true church inheriting Armstrong’s legacy. The same is the case for Seventh-day Adventism – the basis for their interpretation of the Bible is whatever their prophetess Ellen White wrote<\/a>. Likewise the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the failed prophecies of their founders, all of which were true yet never came to pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order for someone in those groups to successfully return to mainstream Christianity, they need to abandon their foundation. Likewise, in order for those deep in the SSPX wonderland to return to the Catholic Church, I think it would take a tremendous psychological force to break them free of Lefebvre and the static, even dying notion of “tradition<\/em>” they couldn’t bring themselves to see beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSPX denialism<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fact<\/span><\/strong><\/th>Excuse for denialism<\/span><\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Archbishop Lefebvre\u2019s act was a schismatic<\/strong> act<\/td>Despite the evidence<\/a>, Pope St John Paul II didn’t have the right authority or knowledge, and so we don’t accept the facts<\/td><\/tr>
Archbishop Lefebvre was suspended<\/strong> until his death<\/td>Despite the evidence<\/a>, Pope Paul VI \/ Cardinal Ratzinger didn’t have the right authority or knowledge, and so we don’t accept the facts<\/td><\/tr>
The SSPX \u201chas no canonical status<\/strong>\u201d<\/td>Despite the evidence<\/a>, Pope Benedict XVI didn’t have the right authority or knowledge, and so we don’t accept the facts<\/td><\/tr>
The SSPX clergy \u201cdo not legitimately exercise any ministry<\/strong>\u201d<\/td>Despite the evidence<\/a>, Pope Benedict XVI didn’t have the right authority or knowledge, and so we don’t accept the facts<\/td><\/tr>
The SSPX lacks \u201cfull communion<\/strong>\u201d with the Catholic Church<\/td>Despite the evidence<\/a>, Pope Francis didn’t have the right authority or knowledge, and so we don’t accept the facts<\/td><\/tr>
The movement of Archbishop Lefebvre was a “schism<\/strong>“<\/td>Despite the evidence<\/a>, Pope Francis didn’t have the right authority or knowledge, and so we don’t accept the facts<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some traditionalists have taken the SSPX logic further, and rejected the papacy of recent popes, and even elected their own. The modern immature neo-traditionalist movement incited by hatred of Pope Francis is all over the place with its ideas about what is reality and what is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some have gone as far as having leaders with multiple wives, blessed by God because they’re special. See the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, as well as schismatic Catholic group “Order of St Charbel”<\/a>. Kamm, leader of the latter, was eventually excommunicated<\/a> by Pope Francis, just as Lefebvre was excommunicated by Pope St John Paul II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And some are even more dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, this is a phenomenon that has played out before in insular sects, even large fairly mainstream ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of cult claims and odd ideas<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cult claim<\/span><\/strong><\/th>Cult in question<\/span><\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Ellen White’s writings are as inspired as the Bible is<\/td>Seventh-day Adventism<\/td><\/tr>
Herbert Armstrong’s writings may eventually be added to the Bible<\/td>Various Church of God spin-offs<\/td><\/tr>
Members encouraged to take jobs that permit sabbath work<\/td>Seventh-day Adventism<\/td><\/tr>
“Escape” to live in rural areas to avoid persecution by Catholics<\/td>Seventh-day Adventism<\/td><\/tr>
“Escape” to live in rural areas to avoid persecution and the world<\/td>David Koresh<\/td><\/tr>
Multiple wives allowed by the leader because God wills it<\/td>William Kamm, Order of St Charbel<\/td><\/tr>
Multiple wives allowed by the leader because God wills it<\/td>Warren Jeffs, FLSD<\/td><\/tr>
Geocentrism<\/td>Catholic fundamentalist conspiracy theorists<\/td><\/tr>
Conspiracy theories in general<\/td>Fundamentalists in general<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes they become more dangerous. The Seventh-day Adventists seem normal \u2026 they gave rise to the Branch Davidians<\/a> run by David Koresh<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Archbishop<\/a>
Archbishop Lefebvre illicitly saying Mass in 1981 while suspended a divinis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Cults lose their objectivity once they lose their foundation in the rational world. They imagine they can have multiple wives, or that science is just one big conspiracy and the Galileo really was wrong. Once they’ve lost that foundation, anything goes. Literally anything can happen. They can become UFO cults, geocentrist quacks, insular suicide cults. Sometimes just their ideas are dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SSPX congregation here is not uniform<\/a>. Some have weirder ideas than others. Almost all believe Pope Francis is the real pope. I got the strong impression that one or two have fallen for the geocentrist theory. I was harshly reprimanded for not believing that SARS-CoV-2 was released from a Wuhan lab as part of a government plot. I remember a sermon on why women shouldn’t be educated, and if they were educated, it should not be beyond the level of nurses or teachers (which is actually also a terrible insult to nurses and teachers who often have degrees in various subjects and then choose the vocation of teaching others). A lot, however, seem quite balanced<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fundamentalists like this are in a world where their own religion – the Catholic Church – has left them behind. No matter what the (real) pope says, no matter what the facts are about their status in the Church, they cling to a sinking ship. The world around them has gone mad, their own Church has gone mad, and their own ideas about the way things should be is all they have. Their own ideas end up being anything – literally anything – that sets them apart from “normal<\/em>\u201d. Some reach the point where, if the pope said the sky was blue, they’d insist it was green. And their obstinacy intrudes on the real world too. Conspiracy theories abound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cult mentality in the COVID era<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"SSPX<\/a>
SSPX chapel quarantine notice, 25 March 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So, when the world is preparing for a potentially massive pandemic that could kill tens of millions of people, the first response of many is to reject the obvious and find some other way to deal with it. So, instead of preparing for disaster, it becomes a government plot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of legitimate government regulations meant to save lives, it’s religious persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of encouraging people to remain isolated to avoid spreading the plague and to save lives, as the real Catholic bishops did, they want to have underground Masses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of wearing masks, they disregard the evidence and the obvious and choose not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of not singing, they fall for their leader’s claim that it’s the devil who doesn’t want them to sing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Francis calls this adolescent behaviour<\/a>, and says of the priests who have supported the Church’s fight against COVID: \u201cThey were fathers, not adolescents<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is how, over a few decades, a small branch of normal Catholics can go from being normal Catholics to people isolated from their own faith by insular thinking, and conspiracy theorists, immunised against external facts, who can, in apparently good conscience, not give a flying rat’s arse about who they kill. As long as they can sing, as long as they can play their underground Mass games, as long as they can feel special about not needing masks, they can go about their holy lives without a concern for the neighbours God told them to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legitimate COVID-19 prevention<\/span><\/strong><\/th>Fundamentalist response<\/span><\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Stay at home, save lives<\/td>We’re being persecuted! Spread the plague!<\/td><\/tr>
Government regulations<\/td>The law doesn’t apply to us<\/a>! The law doesn’t apply to priests!<\/td><\/tr>
Wear masks to prevent spread<\/td>It’s a conspiracy theory! Masks kill most surgeons who wear them all day, it’s prooooven!<\/td><\/tr>
Singing spreads virus extremely well<\/td>The devil hates our singing<\/a> so we’ll sing<\/td><\/tr>
If people work together to take the right precautions, we can save lives<\/td>We’re special because we’re True Catholics\u2122<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It wasn’t only the Cape Town SSPX that did this<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There were similar problems in Canada<\/a>, and France<\/a>, and Switzerland<\/a>. The ordinations in Switzerland on 27 and 29 July, as ceremonies, were beautiful, but the event was simultaneously demonstrative of a disgusting cult mentality. How many masks can you spot in the pictures below?<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"SSPX<\/a>
SSPX ordinations 27 June 2020 – no masks visible<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\"SSPX<\/a>
SSPX ordinations 29 June 2020 – no masks visible<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The outcome of this mentality is sad, but not really unexpected. This is how fringe groups can end up if they’re not careful. And they never are careful, because they were always right to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piety is one thing. Devoutness too. Losing sight of reality and becoming a fanatical cult is another. Pastoral malpractice is even one level lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware of the SSPX, and don’t believe what they tell you about the status of their schism and their suspension in the Church. Beware of the false fundamentalist traditionalism growing out of dislike of Pope Francis. Already bishops are publicly acknowledging schismatic priests who go into schism when they deny the validity of Pope Francis’ papacy. It may not end up like the Branch Davidians, but we could have multiple antipopes running around soon. And you don’t want to be around when a pope particle and an antipope particle collide. It’s quite a bang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further reading:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

SSPX and COVID series:
<\/span><\/strong>Index \u2013 The SSPX and COVID \u2013 The Index of Lessons Learnt<\/a>
Part 1 \u2013 The SSPX \u2013 when a church goes COVID cult
<\/a>Part 2 \u2013 Update on SSPX sect\u2019s evasion of lockdown<\/a>
Part 3 \u2013 Is the SSPX in schism from the Catholic Church?
<\/a>Part 4 \u2013 SSPX \u2013 the Dangers of a Cult Mentality<\/a>
Part 5 \u2013 The SSPX \u2013 COVID and religious quackery<\/a>
Part 6 \u2013 SSPX \u2013 turning ordinary Masses into funerals (how to)<\/a>
Part 7 \u2013 The Psychopathy of \u201cTraditionalist\u201d Catholicism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSPX is generally problematic:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police show up after Mass, warn Canadian priest of fines for allegedly breaking COVID-19 orders<\/a> – LSN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSPX church fined for Easter Vigil service<\/a> – The Tablet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSPX ordinations in \u00c9c\u00f4ne, Switzerland – video 1<\/a> \u2026 video 2<\/a> – beautiful and simultaneously demonstrative of a disgusting cult mentality<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Christian Withdrawal Experiment – SSPX in Kansas, USA<\/a> – The Atlantic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other useful links:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cult Education Institute – Society of St. Pius X<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life in a sect?<\/a> – Jeff Mirus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire\u2019s Story: Life in Two Cults<\/a> – Sarah Steel, Medium … The cults: SSPX and William Kamm’s “Order of St Charbel”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A word of caution about the Society of Saint Pius X<\/a> – Bishop Robert Morlino, Bishop of Madison<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Francis accuses priests who defied pandemic safety measures of acting like \u2018adolescents\u2019<\/a> – Religion News<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Latin Mass becomes a cult of toxic tradition<\/a> – National Catholic Register<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SSPX, Pinelands, Cape Town, 36 Central Avenue, 33 Central Square, 19 St Stephens Road, Latin Mass<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previously we looked at clear, plain statements from three popes (and others) that confirmed that the relationship between the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) and the Catholic Church is not one of “full communion”. Now we’ll look at how they are a good example of a group with a cult mentality.<\/p>

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