From the
archives - Published from 1982-96, Fidelity magazine was the predecessor of Culture Wars.
More Letters on “The Society of St.
Pius the Tenth Gets Sick”
From the February 1993 issue of Fidelity magazine
(These letters responded
to the October 1992 Fidelity article, The
Society of St. Pius the Tenth Gets Sick, by Thomas W. Case.)
The Ravings of a Sick Mind
This is in response to the article "The Society of St Pius X Gets Sick" in your issue of October this year, and the "Letters" section of the December issue. I have no intention of answering, or commenting on, all or even a number of the points raised in these two places, since others are in a better position to do so. But I cannot let pass the remarks made about me and my alleged wearing of Nazi or S. S. uniforms or regalia in public, unrolling a Nazi flag at an airport, etc.
No one will question your right to criticize the Society in your magazine.
The Society is a public institution and as such is open to comments, positive
or negative, on its behavior. But what Mr. Case wrote in these two places about
me is totally false. Any writer who is going to take it upon himself to make
these charges has a grave obligation to assure himself of the truth of the
accusations before he writes them. Otherwise he is involving himself in the sin
of calumny, as are the editor and anyone else involved in printing this
material.
I know who "Fr. Abel" is, as well as the two other priests who supplied information to Mr. Case. Two of these priests were expelled from the Society for gross insubordination, and the third one took a leave of absence, during which he decided that the Society was schismatic. I find it interesting that he did not find the Society schismatic as long as he held his position in it, a position of some importance.
The other two priests consulted by Mr. Case for his article both displayed signs of mental imbalance before their departure from the Society. Abundant evidence exists to support this. But this is not too important for my point. My point is that Mr. Case's sources for his rash accusations against me are priests formerly of the Society who are afraid to put their names onto their statements about me.
But I can understand this. If I had made such accusations, I too would be afraid to acknowledge my identity. These accusations are completely without basis in fact. The idea my arriving at an airport dressed in a Nazi uniform is in itself so ludicrous that it is not worth commenting on. But let me throw down this challenge: I hereby challenge "Fr. Abel" or your two other anonymous priests to come up with details about this incident.
When exactly did it happen? What are the names of the parishioners who picked me up at the airport and reported this event to the then District Superior? Precisely when did this superior come to San Jose and talk to the people to calm them down about this? I would be willing to wager quite a bit of money that your anonymous priest friends will decline to answer these questions. And well they might since the alleged occurrence did not in fact take place. Likewise with your telling of my "unroll(ing) a Nazi flag at the airport and later at a reception (wearing) a Nazi officers cap." And who is this nameless Polish woman who had been in a concentration camp and was shocked by my doing this? These are not factual reports but are instead the ravings of sick minds.
It is easily understandable that these three priests who left or were expelled from the Society as a result of their own abnormal thought and behavior patterns would want to try to justify their position by throwing mud back at the Society and its priests. But this in no way vindicates this type of malicious gossip either on their part or on yours. You are as much bound by the Ten Commandments as anyone else and in your case the Eighth Commandment applies in a particularly critical way since you are putting out a magazine that reaches thousands of people across this country.
I would remind you of the gravity of the sin of calumny. If you and Mr. Case have led one person away from the Society so that this person is deprived of the Mass and the Sacraments you will answer for this in eternity. And you will certainly have to give an account for the mindless fabrications contained in Mr. Case's writing.
Fr. Gregory Post, Dickinson, Texas
Fidelity, first of all, doubts that leading people out of a schismatic sect is such a bad thing but beyond that we would like to correct a minor inaccuracy in Fr. Post's understanding of the German military. Contrary to his assertion, the S.S. was not simply "a political organization, totally distinct from the army. "The S.S. did indeed have a political component, the most notorious function of which was the administering of the concentration camps. However, it also had a second equally important component which was designated the Waffen S. S. This particular branch represented in fact an elite fighting force in the German military, similar to our own Marine Corps. The soldiers in this branch fought in their own separate infantry and tank divisions under separate command from the rest of the regular Wehrmacht. More importantly with regard to Fr. Post's letter, these divisions had their own uniforms which were distinct from standard Wehrmacht uniforms. (Most notably these uniforms had the double-lightning bolt S.S. insignia pin on the collar.) Therefore, Mr. Case's term "an S.S. German army officer,"far from making no sense, is simply a way of referring to an officer in the Waffen S.S. in American layman's terms. Ed.
Mr. Case Responds:
Fr. Hector Bolduc was the U.S. District Superior
of the SSPX in the late 1970's when Fr. Post arrived at the San Jose airport
sporting Nazi paraphernalia. I called Fr. Bolduc. He confirms flying out to San
Jose to reprimand Fr. Post after receiving complaints from the outrage
parishioners. Fr. Bolduc mentions a Nazi helmet and a swastika armband as among
the items worn by Fr. Post on that occasion. Other sources recall seeing Fr.
Post's collection of Nazi items, which includes a red armband, guns, daggers, a
Nazi flag, and a peaked cap worn by German officers in the Afrika Corps during
World War II. As an aside, I might say that for all Fr. Post's interest in the
Third Reich, he is woefully ignorant of the S.S., which was not just a
political organization. There were many Waffen S.S. army units in the German
forces. As just one example, the Sixth S.S. Panzer Army took a major part in
the Battle of the Bulge.
"Well, what can
one expect, that's Gregory."
I had hoped to remain aloof from the article
pertaining to the SSPX. However, that is not to be. Mr. Case who wrote the
article learned that I was the Superior of Fr. Gregory Post and called to
inform me that Fr. Post has written to Fidelity and denied the fact that he
wore Nazi items in public, mainly at an airport while on the Mass circuit. He
also denied being reprimanded by his superior. I regret that Fr. Post has
chosen this course of action as he forced my hand on the matter when I would
rather have remained silent.
I did receive many complaints from members of the
chapels in California, mainly at Campbell, California, that Fr. Post had worn
Nazi items at the airport and also at the chapel. I wrote to Fr. Post and
because of the intensity of the complaints I flew to California and discussed
the matter at length with Fr. Post. Fr. Post admitted to wearing the Nazi
material and in fact took great pleasure in showing me his extensive
collection. I told him not to display these items publicly and he agreed not to
wear them either in public or on the Mass circuit. Because some of the
parishioners had written directly to Archbishop Lefebvre about this incident, I
had to write to the Archbishop and inform him that I had taken care of the
matter. It was further discussed with Archbishop Lefebvre during his next visit
to the U. S. The Archbishop shrugged and said (in French), "Well, what can
one expect, that's Gregory." I received no further complaints about that
matter concerning Fr Post. I might add that during my visit to California I met
privately with a number of parishioners to assure them that I had taken care of
the matter.
Fr. Hector L. Bolduc
Gilford, New Hampshire
Graces Emanating
from her Skirt
Still more on the Pius X Society. I wanted to
share a couple of howlers from an issue of Letter from Winona
published earlier this year. Apparently the previous Letter had
exhorted women to give up the wearing of pants. The particular issue I read
contained numerous (and odd) letters in favor of the proposal.
I also found Fr Angles
methinks-he-doth-protest-too-much letter to Mr. Case amusing. Its air of
artificiality was heightened by his use of the third person when writing of himself
(which was basically throughout the entire letter.) Does he really think he can
convince us he's an objective disinterested third party? Further, his crediting
himself with the good he's brought to St Mary's such as the magnificent
flagpole reveals -- at the least -- a rather bloated ego.
Allow me to pose a question: do weird things
happen in the minds of people who leave the true Church or what?
Anne-Mary F. McCauley
Index of SSPX articles
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