When Defending Tradition Turns Into Reaction
This is an article I originally posted years ago on my own website. I have republished it here on Substack because I believe its relevance has only grown with time. In this article I identify myself as a Traditionalist but due to the fallout with SSPX, I think it better to refrain from such labeling. I am just an ordinary Catholic (by the grace of God) under the visible head of the Church, the Pope (which is an essential characteristic of Catholicism). So here goes:
Here’s a hard truth every Traditionalist needs to sit with: it is entirely possible to be so busy fighting an error that you sprint right past orthodoxy and land in a different error altogether. Today’s Traditionalist movement has to be careful about this — careful not to become merely reactionary.
And before anyone gets defensive, understand that this isn’t some modern failing unique to us. Even the Saints could fall into it. Take Saint Augustine, the great Doctor of Grace, who …