Generally speaking, unite the clans is merely a pragmatic call to cancel the circular firing squad among Tradition-minded Catholics trying to hang on during the most devastating revolution in the history of the Church. It is not a call for some unreasonable lockstep strategic consensus, nor is it a demand that the FSSP and the SSPX, for example, unite into one priestly fraternity. Unite the Clans is about families and individuals and does not presume to sermonize whole orders of priests.
Think about it: No matter where each of us comes down on the present crisis, we are all being collectively locked down by Christophobic forces that hate everything we are, everything we believe, and indeed the very God we all strive to serve. Even if you're a sedevacantist, surely you can understand this. And if, on the other hand, you believe Francis is still the pope (albeit a terrible one), you too must admit that the Children of Light would do well to at least refrain from unprovoked attacks on those who also stand against the machinations of the Children of Darkness, even if some of them think Francis an antipope.
Francis is what he is, but our common enemy would have our homeland destroyed, our churches closed, and our children castrated. Put more simply: If you’re a sedevacantist living in my neighborhood, and our families are being threatened by Antifa militants, would you seriously not stand with me against them?
In other words, why would anyone object to the idea that attacking each other at a time like this accomplishes nothing, especially when that which unites us is stronger (and more essential to our eternal salvation) than the divisions which separate us – divisions which were never our doing in the first place? We didn’t strike the shepherd, but we are all scattered sheep just the same, just as we are all in this together, whether we like each other or not.
Yesterday, I quoted St. Augustine’s famous call for unity and charity: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Today we read in the Liturgical Year that St. Eusebius was essentially calling for the same thing 1,700 years ago: "When the shepherd becomes a wolf, the first duty of the flock is to defend itself." Exactly right! And Unite the Clans is intended to be nothing more than an emergency defensive maneuver to defend the flock, and it has as its main objective to stop the mutually assured destruction of those who have at the very least managed to hold on to the old Faith.
We may think our differences are insurmountable, but isn’t it funny that our Christophobic wardens recognize no difference between us at all? The Vatican’s current war on the TLM, for example, was declared primarily against DIOCESAN priests who offer the Latin Mass – priests which many so-called ‘rad trads’ had previously dismissed as 'compromised sellouts.' Well, we now know that the Vatican sees them differently, even as a threat to the Revolution itself. Who knew?
We all benefit from not letting Team Francis be the very thing that blows us apart, especially not when we agree on Augustine’s “essentials” – that God is the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and that we are called to proclaim the Kingship of His Son to a world that hates Him.
Similarly, the FBI recognizes no difference between the various TLM centers. Whether FSSP, SSPX, ICK, sedevacantist, independent, diocesan — we are all deemed "potential domestic terrorists" in need of Big Brother's intervention. But rather than presenting a united front against our Christophobic jailors, some among us prefer to spend valuable time and resources attacking other traditional Catholics. Given the persecution that is certainly on the horizon, this seems supremely counterproductive to me. And I'm afraid the dehumanizing Internet only exacerbates the problem, since it encourages us to vent in a way to which not one of us would stoop were we standing face-to-face on a street corner trying to trace the symbol of the fish in the sand.
Whether you believe Francis is the legitimate pope or not, it seems to me that we all benefit from not letting Team Francis be the catalyst that blows us apart, especially not when we agree on Augustine’s “essentials” – that God is the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and that we are called to proclaim the Kingship of His Son to a world that hates Him. If you can say the Credo with me and mean every word of it, how is it possible that we are enemies? It’s not!
Finally, Unite the Clans is happening already. From the Pilgrimage to Chartres to the Catholic Identity Conference and beyond, I have seen it happening in the real world for thirty years which is why, here at The Remnant, we will continue to promote it as the right thing to do. And if you don’t like it, well, pax domini sit semper vobiscum.
Unite the Clans!
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