The Damage Control Continues...

Traditional Catholicism Has a Fr Rostand Problem

Traditional Catholicism Has a Fr Rostand Problem

Within the last few days (This is being written during the Octave of Pentecost 2024) Catholic Family News (one of the Usual Suspects) has finally penned a followup to their initial announcement of the Fr Arnaud Rostand affair last April 18th entitled, "Principles, Not Priests".  While this article does not bludgeon the issue like Kennedy Hall did by just simply branding Fr Rostand a pathological liar and tossing him under the proverbial bus, it nevertheless fails mightily.
Our unknown author begins by recounting a conversation he had with a Traditional Priest many years ago.  This priest said, in so many words, that we should not expect Traditional priests to be holy or saintly.  The operative phrase was "He explained that if we were entering into Tradition thinking that all the priests would be saints and free of serious sin, we were setting ourselves up for a serious disappointment.  We needed to be on guard against such an expectation because the disappointment resulting from this expectation being shattered could dangerously tempt us to waver in the Faith."
Sorry Father, but the "Crisis in the Church" (Can you say "Great Apostasy"?) is no excuse for mediocrity.  The realization that the vast majority of Catholics, including the Pope, has embraced the Abomination of Desolation should cause us to "step up our game".  Or, as they used to say at Clemson: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going".  Rather, what this Wolf has witnessed in his years with the SSPX in the 1990's was an explosion of the mediocre and the indulgent.  We were always celebrating new ordinations and feast days- as well we should.  But fasts and vigils were sparse, along with, say, vespers and nocturnal adoration.  We were satisfied with the Pius X Lent (meat once a day, eggs and dairy constantly), the Pius XII Communion Fast (which was really a universal indult- read the fine print) and the ancient vigils were rarely observed (Rogation Days?  What are those?).  Moreover, the vast majority of those who attended SSPX chapels continued to watch movies, the Great Ballgames", and partake of all the conveniences of American Suburbia, with nary a thought to the future.  In one sense, I suppose we got the priests we deserved.  There was no talk of imitating the Children of Fatima.  There was very little talk of the warnings of Fatima.  So long as the Priest was saying Latin and the choir was passable, all was splendid for Traditional Pleasant Valley Sunday.
Next, our author attempts to minimize the gravity of Fr Rostand's actions: " Fr. Rostand admitted... to sexual misconduct involving seven boys. The... alleged victims...  claim that they were touched in inappropriate ways and places... [Fr Rostand]  appeared to claim that his behavior did not result in the culmination of a sexual encounter.  He is quoted...  as saying that 'I never engaged in an amorous relationship.' ...It is important neither to downplay nor exaggerate...  It would seem that the prosecutor... did not request prison time... would appear proportionate to the acts admitted by Fr. Rostad."  The author says that we should not be desirous of a more clinical description of the acts perpetrated because that would be undue curiosity, and to a certain extent this Wolf agrees.  But the fact that Fr Rostand did not actually force himself upon his victims is small consolation here.
Next, the author attempts damage control concerning the communique the SSPX issued, retracted, and then re-issued (apparently once it became clear that the proverbial cat was out of the bag and the matter was "beyond salvage") which raises questions about who knew what, when, and where.  In the course of his apologia, the author gives the following revelations: "I have spoken to several people who were aware of the situation of Fr. Rostand in 1998, which information, together with comments Fr Rostand himself made to me about his work at that time, has led me to conclude that it is not just or fair to conclude from his vague statement in court that the superiors in the SSPX were aware specifically of the danger he posed to children as a result of the letter."  To say this is disingenuous would be a massive understatement.  Such a letter should have been the equivalent of an Air Raid Alarm, and immediate and massive action should have been taken, both to preserve the Reputation of the SSPX (which is currently in tatters, pending full disclosure- and nothing less will do) and for the sake of this soul and potential victims.  The author next uses the lame assertion that "nobody could have imagined a pederast priest in 1998".  (Can you say "Franklin Scandal"?)  Somebody needs to remind the author that Saint Peter Damian and the "Book of Gomorrah" predate Martin Luther.

Finally, the author addresses the question of whether or not there should have been Canonical Proceedings on the part of the SSPX.  Apart from the pithy discussion about Bishop Fellay cooperating with the Seat of the Antichrist (aka, The Vatican) in this, and concerning the fact that today the author accepts (which this Wolf most adamantly does not) the subordination of ecclesial authority to the secular state, this section is really irrelevant.  

Catholic Family News has simply joined the Merry Dance in the Minefield.  Don't be too surprised, guys, when things eventually blow up in your collective faces.

In the meantime, let us strive to avoid even a whiff of impurity or impropriety like the plague.  

Before the Fr Rostand Affair, this Wolf would still walk into a typical SSPX Mass.  Sure, he is going to have to hold his nose at times during the sermon, but this Wolf does not go to Mass to hear a Sermon; he goes to be with Our Lord and Our Lady at the Foot of the Cross.  Nor does this Wolf care if Pope Frantic is mentioned in the Canon, which seems to throw some Sedevacantists into a tizzy.  But now, this Wolf has to wonder to what extent the SSPX is absolutely infiltrated with predators, and has become essentially a Den of Vipers- with a few more or less ignorant priests to put Lipstick on the Proverbial Pig.

Are both Fullerton's Folly and Fellay's Folly amorous brothels like the Vatican?  The Smart Money seems to be on the affirmative side of that equation for now.

Yes, SSPX, FSSP, SSPV, CMRI, ICK, and et al- the time has come for full disclosure, a Grand Cleansing, and Beating our Collective Breasts.  Unless we do penance, we will likewise perish.