Christ Alone. Until we learn this, we suffer.
The video below aired in June 2023, just a few days after traditionalist priest Fr. James Jackson, FSSP, pled guilty to possession of heinous child porn involving infants.
I had been vilified for two years objectively reporting on his case, refusing to buy into wild, unfounded theories that Fr. Jackson was being "persecuted," "set up by the feds," or even the target of "satanic attacks." For this, Fr. Jackson loyalists launched vicious attacks on my personal and professional record.
Even the documentary "Mass of the Ages" had refused to remove a snippet featuring Fr. Jackson, with one of the producers calling him a "holy" man after having spent a brief time with him during production.
The clip was not removed even after Fr. Jackson had been arrested a second time while out on bond, for the same offenses, using a different laptop downloading more child porn. Eventually the producers would have to remove the clip when the evidence became too much to ignore.
While my reporting was eventually (and tragically) vindicated, and Catholics were forced to accept the hard, ugly truth about the pastor they had loved and trusted, problems in the traditionalist community remain: unquestioning loyalty to and obsequious veneration of their clergy, the almost blind faith and trust they place in their community or institution. It's a perfect breeding ground for abuse, as my investigative reporting has revealed time and time again — and this happens in all communities, pre- or post-Vatican II.
Unless these issues are confronted and adequately addressed, they will remain a continuing problem in traditionalist communities, and in the wider Church.
