STEP I OF XII: SURVEY & ASSESS

The first step toward saving your chapel is to survey the psychological terrain and assess the degree to which your priest promotes and models cult-leader behavior. If he has a low cultish profile, then his reason will be unclouded, and you’ll be able persuade him to accept lay governance. However, if he exhibits the telltale signs of a cult-totalist, then you’ll know the struggle will be harder. (This is the more likely case owing to these priests’ formation under inveterate cult-masters.)

From the sociologist’s perspective, Traddie cells are sects (i.e., offshoots that retain a connection with mainstream religious beliefs) rather than cults (spontaneously formed new religious movements). However, in a Catholic context, cult is the more apt word, for the meaning of cultus, as a term of art, makes clear how far these priests’ behavior deviates from the Catholic religious ideal.

Dogmatic theologians define cult, or cultus, in general, whether civil or religious, as an act by which we honor and esteem someone on account of his excellence. Pietro Parente observes that inherent in this reverence is

the feeling of one’s own inferiority and subjection with respect to the person honored. Thus, in the proper sense, cult is the external manifestation of honor paid to a superior person in recognition of his excellence and our own submission.*

In the religious domain, the cultūs of Christ, our Lady, and the saints are wholesome and due. The problem arises when a mere man makes a cultus of himself.

As we all know, the priests of dysfunctional, cultist Traddie chapels are prone to emulate the indecent civil cult of celebrity, which strives to make an often contemptible human personality the center of everyone's admiration. If you notice any of the following signs, you may be certain your priest is an rabid cultist:

• In bulletins or on websites, an undue focus on the priest’s personality, signaled by details of his vacation adventures, chatty accounts of his visits to up-market restaurants and posh resorts, frequent mention of the antics of his pet cat, pompous personal observations on everything under the sun, photos with himself always at the center, and unflagging efforts to hype his and his colleagues’ (imagined) superiority;
• Establishment of a pyramid-shaped authoritarian regime that refuses to listen to the concerns of the faithful.
•  Highly manipulative behavior from the pulpit, with the goal (a) of creating demons to deflect criticism or (b) of increasing the laity's esteem for the priest;
• Psychological exploitation and cynical abuse of the religious sensibilities of the faithful, from the pulpit, in publications, on the web, and during private counseling;
• Absurdly self-aggrandizing pronouncements  of accomplishment accompanied by the humiliation and patronization of laymen (particularly of those who voice concerns); and
•  Implicit or explicit assertions of authority and jurisdiction.

Once you’ve determined that your priest is a cultist, you should then evaluate the degree to which your chapel has been infected by his malignant mind-controlling strategies. Here's a checklist of eight dimensions of thought-reform and totalist psychology based on psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton’s classic 1956 study of brainwashing in Red China:

Milieu Control. Here the priest deploys tactics to control information and to limit communication with individuals outside the group, including other family members and dear friends. He becomes the exclusive means through which the faithful are to filter all their experiences. Look for attempts to restrict interaction with others outside the chapel, and beware of group-identity catch phrases like “Our [Name of Chapel] Family,” "The [Name of Chapel] Way," or “Our Enemies.”

Mystical Manipulation. Be alert for staged events that appear to be spontaneous as well as sudden “miracles” or intercessions, which the priest interprets as divine intervention. Listen for such phrases as “brilliant” and “eminent theologian,” “world-renowned expert,” etc.  In addition, listen for suggestions that the chapel’s priest and clerical associates alone can interpret history, theology, and scripture because of their special relationship with the divine.

Demand for Purity. Be very sensitive to efforts to induce shame and guilt whenever anyone questions the priest’s motives or attempts to hold him accountable. Key thought-terminating clichés are “it's un-Catholic,” “that's unholy,” “it's uncanonical,” and “they're evil.” Watch carefully for attempts to stigmatize earnest inquiry into his motives or activities and to reward mindless, submissive deference.

Confession. Not sacramental, or auricular, confession, but the demand for self-abasement in public for invented offenses against the “dignity” of the priest. Nothing is confidential; no private communication is sacred: everything is for public consumption. Typical signs are the demand for letters of apology, which are posted on bulletin boards for all to read, and, of course, the shrill call to "make reparation." 

Sacred Science. This isn’t the approved dogma and theology of the Church, but rather the personal opinions of the priest and his clerical coterie. Most often the content of this “science” consists of unwarranted interpretations and audacious extensions of traditional Catholic belief (e.g., the Una Cum bugbear). The priest and his collared associates are above criticism; they even suggest that, in fact, they are the sole representatives of God on earth during the Sede Vacante.

Loading the Language. Sermons, web pages, and published communications are contrived to force the faithful into believing they must conform to the priest’s way of thinking or fall into mortal sin.  Cloying, sugary pieties replace right reason and authentic religious discourse. Genuine Catholic phrases and terminology are perversely manipulated to make it appear as though the faith resides only in the priest and his close associates. 

Doctrine over person. Only the solemnly declared opinions of the priest and his priestly comrades may be tolerated, no matter if these are at odds with the teachings of the Church before Vatican II. Anyone who asserts otherwise, notwithstanding the factual merits of his objection, is branded an outcast to be rejected by the group.

Dispensing of existence. Anyone who opposes the priest’s ideology is considered a non-person. The only credibility allowed is that of the priest; if he is inconsistent or self-contradictory, no one dare tell him so without the risk of becoming a non-existent by way of formal banishment.

If your priest meets four or more of these criteria, you'll be certain that saving your chapel will be an uphill climb (for the simple reason that many of your fellow laymen will have lost much of their ability to think independently and clearly). If he matches all eight, then, unless your investment in your chapel has been substantial, you may wish to consider gathering all like-minded friends and leaving at once.


Staying safely "home alone" is better than dying spiritually in the Traddie Gulag.

* Dictionary of Dogmatic Theology (1951, tr. Doronzo), sub voce