SGG’s “School”: Still a Bad Bargain

Dannie Dolan’s May 21 Bishop’s(?) Corner was the usual mix of wall-to-wall sanctimony, coupled with his never-ending pleas for more money (ncluding a heavy-handed hint to “remember us in your will”).¹  (The only “saving grace” was that there wasn’t any of his tasteless banter about baby bunnies being shredded by his feral felines.)  But, sandwiched in between the aforementioned claptrap – since it is now “graduation time” -- was a “plug” for SGG’s “school,” after which he lamented, “We only wish more parents would take advantage of the excellent education we offer.”  But why the lament?  Well, it’s pretty obvious why: the enrollment at SGG’s “school” is even lower than last year’s pathetic total.  (Last year there were about two-dozen kids there; this year, there were nineteen.)

But an even more “telling statistic” is that -- buried somewhere else in that same SGG bulletin, safely out of sight of Dannie’s ’Corner -- there was an announcement about four of SGG’s “graduates.”  And what was so “telling” about it?  The four listed “graduates” graduated not from SGG’s “school,” but from “Christian” academies – that’s what!  Yes, they graduated from Protestant schools!  Here, at SGG, whose “school” was created so that the Gerties’ kids could get a “Catholic education” – and whose whole raison d'être is to keep them from (“committing the mortal sin of”) attending a “public” or “Protestant” school – these kids are being sent to a Protestant academy.  Does that tell you something?”

Of course, Dannie could not mention this “in the same breath” with his glowing words about his “school,” because that would make it too embarrassingly obvious: that parents would rather risk sending their children to a Protestant school than send them to Dannie’s sewer.  Knowing full well that they ran the risk of those kids “absorbing Protestant values and beliefs,” they still sent them there, instead of sending them to SGG for a “catholic” education (not to be confused, by the way, with a Catholic education).  Again, “does that tell you something?”

Now Dannie did mention (in a subsequent bulletin) that there were actually three graduates from SGG’s “school” this year – but two of the three were Lotarskis (i.e., the children of the “school principal).” ²  In fact, other than “Lotarski” graduates, the number of graduates in the “school’s” twenty-odd year existence can probably be "counted on one hand.”  Yet Dannie still extols its “virtues.”  And of all the “graduates,” how many have gone on to distinguish themselves academically?  (Hint: the answer begins with a “z,” and rhymes with “hero.”)  “But,” one of Dannie’s trolls might counter, “What about the spiritual life?  What about getting a ‘Catholic’ education?”  Well, the answer to that one (again) is ZERO. As a “for instance,” how many “priests” has SGG produced?  (So far, again, none.)

Those parents who sent their kids to those Protestant academies know this; that’s why they sent them there.  They know full well that the best “career” that an SGG “grad” can aspire to is “supermarket stock-boy.”  These folks want their kids to “be something,” so that they can compete successfully in today’s world – and they know that SGG’s “school” won’t even come close to preparing them for a good career. ³   And the fact that they will even risk sending their kids to a Protestant academy “speaks volumes.” ⁴

But if they think that they can “insulate” their kids against absorbing the “spiritual” side of that Protestant education, they’d better think again.  And the reason is simple: those “Protestant values” to which those kids are exposed, besides being genuine, are consistent – not like the selectively enforced double-standard claptrap that gets dished out at the cult centers every day.  And, although Protestants preach “fides sola” (i.e., that “faith alone,” not “good works,” are necessary for salvation), in practice, they are “functionally Catholic.”  In practice, these people realize that people must adhere to moral standards – and they do.  These people, for the most part, live by Catholic moral standards; and, more importantly, we reiterate that they apply them consistently.  

In double-standard Tradistan, on the other hand, whatever “moral standards” that there are (and there aren’t many) are – to reiterate -- selectively enforced.  That being the case, these kids are not stupid: they’ll “pick up” on that (just as many of SGG’s kids already have in the past); and when they do, chances are that they’ll opt for moral consistency, not for the letter-of-the-law dogmatism wrapped in hypocrisy (that Dannie passes off as “Catholicism”).  Young people in their “formative” years are “sponges”; and they absorb, both consciously and unconsciously, that to which they are exposed.  So, their parents had better not be surprised if their kids come home one day as “evangelicals.”  Given what goes on at those schools vs. what passes for “Catholicism” at places like SGG or MHT, such an outcome is almost inevitable.

The other thing that one must stop to consider is how these Protestant academies “market’ themselves: they welcome people with open arms, and they make them feel “wanted.”  In Tradistan – both in its “churches” and its “schools” – newcomers are treated with suspicion -- like incoming inductees at a boot camp for lepers.  And many newcomers showing up for the first time are unceremoniously turned away at the door for wearing “inappropriate attire” (as if they were supposed to have some foreknowledge of the cult center’s “dress code”).  (Some are even physically “man-handled” by “ushers” as they “escort” them out the door.)  And in some cases (at MHT, for instance), newcomers are even met with open hostility.  What an advertisement for Tradistan, huh? ⁵

So, between the superior “marketing skills” and the vastly superior academics of these Protestant academies, Dannie and Tony (and “the principal”) should have much to worry about.  The fact that “dyed-in-the-wool” traddies are sending their kids to Protestant schools, despite of all the associated “risks,” should make people start to wonder why those parents are not “taking advantage of the excellent education we offer [at SGG].”  After all, if SGG’s “education” is so “excellent,” then why did those parents send their kids, not just to “another school,” but to a Protestant school?”  To reiterate, wasn’t the whole idea of SGG’s “school” to give kids a “Catholic education” – to keep them from “committing the mortal sin” of attending a public (or, “God forbid,” a Protestant) school?  If so, then why are those loyal SGG “Catholics” sending their kids to a Protestant academy?  Once again, the obvious answer: SGG’s academics are abysmal.  

But it’s not just about “academics,” because they’ll also start noticing that, in addition to superior academics, those Protestant academies are teaching their kids real moral standards – which, again, their kids will let their parents know. And those kids will let other kids know: they’ll no doubt start “networking” with their young SGG counterparts, letting them know that, instead of the cult center’s selectively enforced double standards, they’re getting real (and universally enforced) Catholic morality at these “Protestant” schools.  And, in time, both those children and their parents will come to the sobering revelation that SGG is both an academic and spiritual wasteland.

The fact that this year’s SGG “student body” has shrunk to nineteen students should in itself have been enough to convince them that something is very wrong about SGG’s “school” (and reason enough for parents to keep their kids away from this miserable dump).  But this latest revelation -- that those parents are sending their kids to Protestant schools: this is “the icing on the cake.”  It tells us that these parents, whether they choose to admit it or not, are probably aware of SGG’s shady “morality,” and therefore want their kids going somewhere else to get something better.

Sometime back, we wrote an article entitled SGG’s School: A Bad Bargain (click here).  Well, it’s still a bad bargain.  Our advice, in light of this latest “revelation” about those kids going to Protestant academies, is run, don’t walk, away from SGG’s “school.”  In fact, let’s go one step farther: run, don’t walk, away from SGG itself.  Everything about it is POISON: its “school,” its “clergy” – everything.  The cult masters are counting on you to stay, out of “respect for the cloth” (which is just “human respect wrapped in a Roman collar”).  These men are not Catholic.  They are not good.  Leave them.  Leave the cult.  You’ll be glad you did.

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¹ Pleas like this are one of Dannie’s staples, as the atrocious turnover rate at the cult center (coupled with the Lotarski millstone around his neck) necessitate the constant begging of money for his “big ticket” expenses (as he puts it).  Dannie is always calling for people to “remember us in your will” – especially older women – because they are the most vulnerable.  For one thing, women (in general) are more emotional than men – and more likely to fall for Dannie’s sugary sanctimony.  And since, statistically, women are more likely to survive their husbands, there are more of these widows for Dannie (and other cult-masters, such as Ramolla) to prey on.  In fact, Rambozo has one bankrolling him right now.  She’s not a widow per se, but her husband is reportedly in poor health (and probably not aware that she’s feeding the Ham Sandwich his hard-earned money).  And when he dies, she’ll probably “sign over” her entire estate to Rammy.

² The bulletin did mention five other “graduates”; but these were “eighth-graders.”  Normally, when referring to “graduates,” one means graduates from high school or college, not grammar school.  Besides, many of those eighth-grade “graduates” go on to other schools to finish their education.  Dannie listed them as “graduates” (and included them with the high school graduates in the “class picture”) to give the impression (on its web page) that SGG has “a lot of graduates.”

³ Ironically enough, Dannie talked about “A Catholic Education” in his Trinity Sunday sermon, where he implied that teaching a student a trade or skill to be successful in today’s workplace was a “Marxist” notion.  If that’s the case, then the medieval guilds were “Marxist,” as were any “secular” courses (math, science, medicine, astronomy, etc.) taught at the medieval universities to prepare students for professions in those fields.  Dannie seemed to imply that the kids at SGG were getting the “classical academics” that “counted” (including “the sacred liturgy,” as he put it).  Such an education would be at least partly beneficial if that were the case – but it isn’t.  The “academics” at SGG are woefully substandard – and Dannie knows it.  And he also knows that’s why those parents chose to send their kids to Protestant schools, where the academics are good.  Dannie knows that SGG’s “school” is a failure, both academically and spiritually; and he also knows that people are starting to wonder why “the principal” is being paid big bucks to run such a dump -- hence his recent desperate attempt (playing the “Catholic education” card) to “justify” it in any way that he can.

⁴ What also “speaks volumes” is that these parents are most certainly paying big bucks to send their kids to those Protestant academies.  And if SGG’s “school” were “excellent” (as Dannie contends), then it should also be charging “big bucks” for its tuition -- but we bet that it isn’t.  (The families whose kids go there are not “well-to-do,” and can’t afford steep tuition; and “the principal’s” kids, of course, pay nothing.  And who would want to pay big bucks to send their kids to that dump anyway?)  But, even if the SGG “students” were paying steep tuition (which they’re not), nineteen students is not enough to cover the Lotarski family’s “salary” (one of those “big ticket expenses” that Dannie mentioned in his ’Corner, and which, of course, is nothing more than “hush money” that he’s paying “the principal” to keep his mouth shut).  (“The principal” has boasted – more that once – that “they can’t fire me; I know too much.”  So, we wonder, is that why “the principal” survived the 2009 “school debacle”?)

⁵ Whatever one’s opinion of Protestantism, one must admire their “marketing” skills.  That is one of the reasons why, within barely a generation, Protestantism in “Catholic” Latin America has grown form virtually nothing to over 25% of the population – and their percentage of “quality” people – the upper middle classes – is even higher.  Demographically, Catholicism in “Catholic” Latin America is dying: Protestantism is the fastest-growing religious segment in Latin America.

True, in Latin America, the traditional Faith is still strong among many – both rich and poor.  There is, in fact, a well-grounded traditional movement there.  But the difference between there and the U.S. is that the Latino clergy are much more intelligent and much better formed than the gringo “clergy” – and, unlike the cult-masters, they’re not so worldly and self-seeking.  If there is hope for “traditional Catholicism,” it is much more likely to be “south of the border,” not here in the U.S. – and certainly not in Dannie’s or Big Don’s dumpster bin.

Dannie’s “YAG”: Who’s He Trying to Kid?

In his latest clumsy attempt at “social engineering,” Dannie Dolan has decided to sponsor a “YAG” (“Young Adults Get-together” -- for “sedes” only, of course) at the SGG cult center.  Deacon Dan expects people to fly in from all over the country to attend this weekend “event.”  Can you imagine spending several hundred dollars jet-setting into Cincy (plus, spending a few hundred more for your lodging, and other things not covered in the $50 “”registration fee”) to go bowling? 

Ah, but wait – there’s more!  Bowling is just the “grand finale” of this fun-filled extravaganza!  On day 2 of this event, there’ll be “dinner in the social hall, followed by a bonfire (weather permitting), indoor/outdoor games, archery, music, and possibly a square dance” (not to mention, an “ice cream avalanche”).¹  Wow, boys and girls!  Does it get any better than that?!  We wonder, though, who or what will be the “target” for the “archery.”  Bergoglio?  SSPX, FSSP, or SSPV clergy?  Any other “non-sede” clergy?  And what kind of “indoor/outdoor games” will there be?  Perhaps a “fencing” demo by the Lotarski boys)?  Fill us in, Dannie; we’re dying to know!  

And, of course, sandwiched in between all this “fun,” will be several “Masses,” a Benediction (with “confessions offered before”), and a “short talk” (aka, brain-washing session).  So, as Dannie said, “OK, young sedes – it’s time to come and meet your peers!” and “Don’t be shy and check your phone at the door!”  (Why must they “check their phones at the door,” Dannie?  Are you afraid that they’ll call 911 when they find out what SGG is really all about?)

And then there’s Dannie’s solicitation for his “event”:  “Are you feeling isolated?  Are you the only one your age at your Mass center?  Do you long to meet and socialize with other Traditional Catholics who won’t think you’re a relic from the Middle Ages who has somehow time-traveled to the twenty-first century?”  Never mind that Dannie’s invitation reads like a solicitation found buried in the back of a sleazy pulp magazine (or on a website for pedophiles).  Never mind that it sounds like the sort of appeal that one would make to an introverted social misfit (or a deranged sociopath).  Never mind that the entertainment offered is cornier than a grain silo in Nebraska.  Never mind that it was utterly presumptuous of this ego-maniac leprechaun to expect people to fly in from the far-flung corners of the country to come to his “do.”  Never mind that bowling is something that these prospective visitors probably haven’t done in decades (if they’ve ever done it at all).  And never mind that people will think that anyone who comes to Dannie’s “do” is “a relic from the Middle Ages who has somehow time-traveled to the twenty-first century.”  The point is, it’s good, clean fun, right?

Well, let’s rewrite Dannie’s “invite” – only this time, a little more “descriptively”:

Hi, boys and girls!  Tired of that “same old same old”?  Wanna have some real fun?  Well, come to the cult center!  Dannie’s having a “do”!  First, the ‘principal’s’ sons will treat you to some porn, followed by some animal torture flicks!  (Perhaps Puccini or Caravaggio will be starring in one of them – “tearin’ holy hell” outta some baby bunny!)  And you girls: perhaps one of you would like to be “put in a family way” by one of those same sons – no extra charge!

And you sadists in the crowd: stop by the SGG “school” booth, and see the principal reducing a six-year-old to tears, by chewing him out in front of the class (for buying the ‘wrong’ school supplies).  Or -- better still -- witness the “principal” beating a boy with a wooden paddle (for missing his homework assignment).  Is that fun, or what?!!

And for just plain, good old-fashioned mischief, stop by and see one of the principal’s boys (again) threatening his fellow students, -- or even threatening a school teacher (in front of a classroom full of pre-teen kids) – all the while, dropping “F-bombs” in front of that class.

And – oh yeah – stop by the “mortal-sin-of-the-day” booth, where one of our “creative clergy” will invent a new mortal sin for you.  (Two of our “favorites” are riding roller coasters, and wearing “sport” headbands in church.)  But remember, boys and girls: watching porn and animal torture flicks are NOT mortal sins; they’re just “boys will be boys.”

Well, “enough already”: you get the picture.  But one might protest: was our “rewrite” a fairy tale?  Malicious poppycock?  Sadly, NO it wasn’t.  All of this (with the exception of Caravaggio’s “starring role”) really happened – and this is just a sampling of what goes on at the cult center.  The “shepherds” who run SGG (and MHT) would have us believe that they are all about “good clean fun.”  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  The history of SGG has been one long, sordid saga, of which the foregoing was just a sampling.  So, Dannie’s “invite” to this “good clean fun” is just like his “catholicism” -- all for show.  Behind that “wholesome” façade -- as they have proved over and over again – is a spiritual wasteland that is morally bankrupt.²

The truth is, if those “invitees” decide to relocate and stay at SGG, they’ll find out what “the younger set” there has already found out (and has become correspondingly disillusioned by, resulting in most of them having left SGG -- but, unfortunately, not without “collateral damage”).  Many have been left emotionally scarred by SGG’s “catholicism.”  Their disillusionment has in turn made them cynical, many losing the Faith altogether.  But in several cases, it’s even worse: some have degenerated morally and psychologically: family split-ups, juvenile drug use, anorexia, girls having children out of wedlock (or becoming “lesbian” or “transgender”) – and in one case, even incest.  So, if you’re looking for “wholesome,” look elsewhere.  (And “elsewhere” does not include MHT.  According to several comments that both Pistrina and we have received, Brooksville is a hotbed of “unwholesome behavior” – especially amongst the “elite.”)

Can all of this be “laid at SGG’s door”?  Well, perhaps not all – but much of it can.  Actually, SGG has a disproportionately large number of dysfunctional families (as does MHT).  Many are estranged from friends and relatives, because they have been instructed as such by the cult-masters.  (“Non-cult” friendships are discouraged at SGG, and forbidden at MHT.) ³   If anyone at SGG has “turned out well,” it’s not because of the cult-masters, but in spite of them.  The atmosphere at SGG has never been one of wholesomeness, but of fear, double-standard behavior, and hypocrisy – where the “morality” of something is determined not by what is done, but by whom it is done.  If a cult-master (or one of their “elite”) does it, it’s okay.  If anyone else does it, it’s not. 

So, young people, if you are really Catholic and believe in real Catholic morality – that is, if you think that watching porn and animal-torture videos is not “boys will be boys” but is in fact SINFUL, and if you think that fornication (and getting a girl pregnant out-of-wedlock) is also sinful, then we respectfully submit that SGG may not be your “cup of tea” – and certainly not a  “moral oasis” -- and we therefore urgently implore you to decline Dannie’s invitation to his “YAG.”  Instead, we urge you to GAG at the very thought of doing so.  Dannie is in desperate need of “new blood” (to contaminate); and he would just love to see you waste hundreds of dollars to come to his “get-together,” in the hope that you’ll relocate to his cult center to help prop up both its dwindling population and its dwindling finances.  So, do yourself (both your soul and your wallet) a big favor: STAY AWAY.  You’ll be glad you did.

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¹ Even if Dannie’s “get-together” was totally innocuous, why bowling?  Who bowls anymore – especially in the summertime?  Nobody. (Nowadays, bowling alleys are closing up faster than Pork BBQ stands in Tel Aviv.)  And how presumptuous of Dannie to expect that these folks would be jumping at the chance to travel hundreds of miles to go bowling, as if SGG were the entertainment capital of Traddieland – and  as if it were Traddsieland’s “moral epicenter.”   

Then there’s the dinner at The Golden Corral (a local budget buffet that serves up blue-collar steam-table stuff – and a favorite haunt of the morbidly obese).  Are you going to join them, Dannie?  (After all, you’re a “copious quantities” kind of guy yourself!)  Or, while they are there having their peasant fare, will you be chowing down at La Petite France or The Grand Finale (two of your favorite haunts before “hard times” set in)?  And, is their meal included as part of “the package,” or will they have to pay for it themselves?

² We have written often about SGG’s moral bankruptcy, so we will not catalogue it all again here.  Suffice it to say that the “sampling” to which we just referred was just that: a sampling – the “tip of a much bigger iceberg.”  We’d also like to point out that, in addition to there being no real Catholic morality taught in its “school” (except arbitrary, Draconian “rules”), the “school” is an academic sewer.  Most parents there realize this, and hence do not send their kids there.  A recent SGG bulletin (far right column, under “Congratulations, Graduates” heading) touted four SGG “graduates” – but they didn’t graduate from SGG’s “school.”  Instead, they graduated from Protestant academies in the area.  It seems rather “significant” that parents would risk sending their children to a Protestant school rather than to SGG’s “school.”  (More on this in our next article.)

³ It’s ironic how (especially every Guardian Angel Sunday) Dannie waxes poetic about “protecting our innocent children,” when he in fact presided over the 2009 reign of terror at SGG’s school -- and how he wrote off blatant immorality as “boys will be boys” (that resulted in half the congregation leaving).  Is it any wonder that the number of “broken families” and the “turnover rate” at both SGG and MHT has been disproportionately large?