You asked for it...
and Pistrina delivered.
After a long absence from cyberspace, all the information related to the screamingly disgraceful 2009 scandal at St. Gertrude the Great School is now back online at
For those of you who've forgotten or who weren't around in late 2009/early 2010 to read the material posted on the old sgginfo website, you now have complete access to the whip-smart letters, editorials, articles, responses etc. that exposed the cult masters and got out the true story of the shocking events at SGG.
At last, you'll see at first hand the beginning of the end of Tradistan and understand why the cult is now up a creek without a paddle. You'll also find the chronological list of documents very useful as you refresh your memory or learn for the first time whole truth.
Until next week, happy reading!
HAPPY reading?? This is terribly sad. The sheep are indeed scattered. This seems to be all about boys & their power plays. Even the ones that you thought were the good guys, in the end turn out to be not-so-good. I started reading about SGG in 2009 when my own chapel started going crazy too. I thought I was all alone & somehow found (perverse?) comfort in reading the even worse travails of SGG. I've since found a trad church where I can worship in peace, keep to myself & just watch the circus unfold around the world. That's all I can do. I'm glad that you've preserved & exposed SGG. It's a sad but important part of Tradlandia. Hopefully others will learn from it & stop putting their complete faith in men. In the end it's only between you & God!
ReplyDeleteWe're sincerely happy that you've found a decent trad chapel. You are one of the very few lucky ones -- perhaps largely because you were savvy enough to get out when you saw the lunacy.
DeleteWe hope others will see the light and follow your example. We know it's a hard choice, and it can put strains on family life. But in the end, one must do what's right and get away from these controlling men.
As I wrote on the other blog, the lay pulpit, the sggscandal.com should really be a "start here" tab on your blog, if you've seen that convention on other blogs. My memory of these articles is hazy, but I did come across them somewhere before they were [recently?] taken down. Only now do I understand why this blog exists and what grievances you have and the difficulties involved. I may post an analysis of the material on that site on here or email it to you. It stirs up a lot of thought in me about the future of the "traditionalist Catholic movement", whatever that thing is. I'll be going up to bat to fix problems like this and I now have a greater understanding of what I need to fix. Sadly, this seems like too common a story (dysfunctional "trad" chapels), although SGG is certainly unique. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to post comments or send them to our email address. If you'd like, we'll be glad to publish your analysis as a guest post. (You needn't disclose your name since our policy is to let opinion pieces stand on their own merit without the distraction of issues of authorship.)
ReplyDeleteAs far a we know, the articles weren't recently taken down. Originally, they had been suppressed by someone with influence over the immigration status of a priest. They returned later as part of Vipers of Vaudeville after the priest received a favorable judgment re: his case. When VoV was deactivated for practical considerations, the articles likewise disappeared. But now they're back!
I wouldn't be surprised at all if any of the people in the articles that were accosted and harassed by SGG lost their Faith. It truly sounds that bad.
ReplyDeleteLuckily for most of these people, the Cincinnati area has many options, the majority superior to SGG. The folks in the other SGG affiliate chapels were not so fortunate, but most managed to find something. Even the worst of the alternative chapels was far better than SGG.
DeleteThere are many unsuspecting Catholics that have "come over to Tradition." They are completely ignorant of much of the history behind the various groups/chapels. They think they have found heaven on earth. Little do they know.
ReplyDeleteOne of the saddest letters is from Andrew John: "...As for me, and my family as a whole, we have witnessed a scandal of far reaching effect that simply cannot go on tolerated. My sister, who is a fallen away Catholic, recently went to a clergyman at St. Gertrude the Great Church for confession, which was made after a lapse of twenty-five years away from the Catholic Church. My mother, also a fallen away Catholic, two months ago prayed a Novena to Our Blessed Mother after forty years of not attending Holy Mass or issuing a prayer from her lips. These extraordinary events, guiding my family members into the Ark of Salvation, were derailed by scandals surrounding St. Gertrude the Great Church. After all, to those uninstructed in the Holy Faith, how could Her chosen representatives behave in such a fashion? Any rational discussions attempting to achieve the truth of this situation are defeated before it begins by the sense of the deception and hypocrisy on the part of the clergy. In the final analysis, it resolves itself into my mother and sister returning to their prior position of indifference toward religion. It will be a miracle for them to consider the Catholic Faith again...."
The lesson for trade is to be ever vigilant and to never let priests have so much power. Watchful lay governance is what's needed to keep these malformed clerics in line.
DeleteDo you want to know what all of this has done to me? Made me go back to the novus ordo Church.
ReplyDeleteMy good and decent people have shared with us similar sentiments.
DeleteThis is the way I look at it (and I was part of a traditional chapel [both sede and sspx] for almost twenty years). If I am going to suffer lunacy and insanity, I might as well do it legit instead of under men who haven't an ounce of authority.
DeleteI don't mean to laugh, but you can't make this stuff up. It's either laugh or cry.
ReplyDeleteWe agree. That's why we have chosen to laugh at the clergy's antics: it's far better for the psyche than rage or tears.
DeleteI also found http://www.dolan-cekada-scandal.com
ReplyDeleteThe web editor there is not charitable and he adheres to the "Siri" thesis. This was another voice I saw besides sggscandal.com on this topic.
Also there is a Cathinfo thread of threads: http://www.cathinfo.com/index.php?a=topic&t=7888&min=6&num=3
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