"False Advertising"

For those of you who read Dannie’s ’Corner on a regular basis, have you ever noticed how often he interjects a phrase such as “when I was passing by the grotto one day, saying my divine office,” or “as I was walking one day, saying my daily rosary,” or some other such phrase as that?  “Name-dropper Dannie” is always interjecting such phrases into his ’Corner, giving the impression that he spends most of his days in prayerful contemplation.  Sometimes, he even pretends that his pet cats are in on the act: “We were saying some morning prayers on St. Stephen’s day, the cat [Caravaggio] and I, when he noticed something and jumped down from my lap.”  (Click here.) 

And even when he’s away from the cult center, Dannie likes to give the impression that he’s always praying – such as the time he went to a shrine (near sunny Santa Fe, New Mexico, of course): “’Why stand ye here all the day idle?’ I thought of Septuagesima’s Gospel the other morning myself as I was saying my prayers in front of the oldest shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States.” (Click here.)  Here again, we wonder how much “praying” Dannie was really doing.  And how is it that he had to go to that particular shrine (near Santa Fe, his favorite “getaway” spot).  There are plenty of shrines that are a lot closer to SGG – where Dannie’s “prayer” would be just as “efficacious.”  Could it be that Dannie’s “saying [his] prayers in front of the oldest shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe” was just an attempt to justify wrangling a boondoggle out to sunny Santa Fe?  We think so. 

In a great many of his ’Corners, it turns out, Dannie tries to put on his “prayerful contemplation” act.¹  And that’s just what it is: an act.  How do we know? Because, if Dannie were really “prayerful” and “contemplative,” he wouldn’t have to be trumpeting it to all the world – that’s how.  A truly good and humble person doesn’t have to advertise that sort of thing – nor does he.²  He doesn’t try to play “holier than thou” – like the Pharisee in the parable -- and broadcast his piety for all to see.  He doesn’t do it for public notice or adulation.  He does so privately, disinterestedly “offering it up” -- without publicity or fanfare.

In fact, if one is a truly good person, he does not need to tell anyone at all.  God sees it; and if He knows, that’s all that matters.  If one is truly good, it shows through in his actions.  But Dannie’s actions don’t send such a message – so he must resort to “advertising.”  Like the Pharisee in the parable, Dannie “says all the right prayers.”  And like that Pharisee, he talks about being good; but how “good” is he really?  How does he really treat his fellow man?  What about Schiavo?  What about those SGG school kids brutalized back in 2009?  What about those people to whom he has refused the sacraments (“disqualified” because they were “Novus Ordo,” or because they visited an “unauthorized” chapel)?  Those are the things that really define Dannie – but that he would like to forget, because they don’t fit into his “advertising” scheme.

But Dannie’s “advertising” doesn’t stop there.  One of Dannie’s biggest advertising campaigns is for his “school.”  Here again, if the school were really that good, it wouldn’t need to be “advertised” – and it would be full to overflowing.  Neither is the case.  SGG’s school, built to accommodate hundreds of students, has barely over a dozen.  Yet Dannie “plugs” it on a regular basis, boasting about the “excellent education” offered there. But in the school’s thirty-odd year existence, the number of its high school graduates (other than the “principal’s” children) can be counted on one hand – with none of whom achieving academic distinction of any sort.  The “school,” any way one looks at it, is a proven failure.  (Click here, here, and here for more on the “school.”)

Perhaps, though, the biggest, most blatant bits of misrepresentation of which Dannie is guilty are his pretending to be an “expert” on rites and rubrics, and his portraying Tony as a “scholar” and a “theologian.”  These claims are even bigger “laughers” than those made about the “school.”  Here again, if Dannie truly were an “expert” (and Tony a “scholar” and “theologian”), they wouldn’t have to keep advertising that they are (and singing each other’s praises on a regular basis) -- and they would have real credentials to back up their claims – WHICH THEY DON’T.  In their efforts to promote themselves, Dunce-cap Dannie and Tinhorn Tony have been caught over and over again, making one bungling error after another, to the extent that no one in TradWorld takes them seriously anymore.  The only people who fall for these two amateurs are their gullible, hard-core loyalists.

And gullible they have been – but, even more than that, apathetic and indifferent.  That is, they really don’t care.  Unless they have been living in a total vacuum, they would have heard at least something, for instance, about what happened back in 2009.  And if they haven’t read about the many documented cases of Dannie’s duplicity and hypocrisy that have been brought to light since then, they would’ve at least heard about them by word of mouth.  (And even if they didn’t, these people – if they had any brains at all -- should have seen through Dannie’s affected sanctimony and all the rest of his “false advertising” – and should have figured it out by now.)  

But they won’t – because they don’t care what Dannie is, or how he’s treated his fellow man, as long as they get their “show.”  Some of them, with full knowledge of what kind of a worm Dannie really is, try to “excuse” themselves by saying, “Well, I’m only going there for the Mass; I’m not ‘supporting’ them.”  Well folks, by going to their “Mass,” you are supporting them!  You are giving these lepers a legitimacy that they neither deserve nor have, and you are enabling them to mislead and exploit others – and in doing so, you become their accomplices, sharing moral accountability with these imposters for what follows.  This is especially so for those Gerties who at one time left SGG, but later returned -- because they know better.  They know exactly who and what Dannie and Tony are. That’s why they left.  They left for valid reasons, but returned for an invalid one: “the Show.” They placed “the Show” above their principles.

We have listed, in this article (and in many that have come before it), myriad examples of Dannie’s “false advertising.”  But for those who think that this is “not enough” – or, for those who think this is “ancient history” (and that Dannie is “rehabilitated” since then), they need only look at what happened just a couple of months ago -- yet another dose of Dannie’s “false advertising”: the funeral for the woman sacristan who died recently.  Not only did Dannie pay her his usual disingenuous “lip service” for needlessly sacrificing her life for the cult, but he also issued a phony “dispensation” (from Friday abstinence, because her funeral was on a Friday). (Click hereand here for more.)  How many more “doses” will it take before his Gerties face the hard fact that Dannie is not “rehabilitated”?   How long will it take for them to wake up and see that Dannie really doesn’t care about them?

The “good news” is that many have already woke up, especially in 2009 – and especially those youngsters back then who, unlike their gullible parents, saw through Dannie’s duplicity, and left. But the bad news is that many of those same youngsters became so disillusioned with Dannie’s “Catholicism” that they lost their faith.  (Click here.)  Gerties, don’t let this happen to you – but especially not to your children – before they become disillusioned too.  Your children are just as perceptiveas those back in 2009 were – and remember too that, as their parents, youare responsible for their souls.  Don’t let them become disillusioned as well, just because youfell for Dannie’s “false advertising.” 

Wake up, Gerties, and come to the realization that Dannie is not out to save your souls, but to empty your wallets.  Wake up -- before it’s too late for both you andyour children.

___________________________

¹ And, as we said earlier, he often likes to pair his “prayer contemplation act” with one of his “cat” stories.  That way, he can appear “cute” and “holy” at the same time.  Just this past Quinquagesima Sunday, he commented in his ’Corner, “Puccini woke me up at 3 AM the other night, wanting to play. Well, that’s the Devil’s hour, so I admonished him and said a prayer to St. Michael and went back to sleep. ”Firstly, we have a hard time believing that Dannie ever said that “prayer.”  And we wonder too, with all of this prayerful concern about “Puccini,” why he never offered any similar “prayers” for all those baby bunnies that his feral felines mangled and gulped down.  (Perhaps he was too busy snickering, and couldn’t quite get himself into a prayerful mood.)  If you ask us, we’d say that Dannie’s fanciful musings about his cats are not so much “cute” and “holy” as they are bizarre and deranged – and that Dannie belongs not in a rectory, but in an asylum.  

² And, by the same token, a truly good person doesn’t – without any provocation -- publicly slander an innocent person such as Abbot Leonard Giardina (as the Checkmeister did – click here), nor does he clandestinely call a chapel in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to try to torpedo the ordination of an innocent candidate (as Dannie did – click here).  No matter how much the dastardly duo try to pass off their sanctimony as sanctity, their malicious mischief always betrays them.  They will always be Tradistan’s shining examples of Pecksniffian hypocrisy. They will never project true goodness – because they haven’t any. 

Here We Go Again: More Guilt-Tripping

One can always count on Dannie’s ‘Corner being a disjointed mishmash of mindless drivel, and this one (click here) was no exception.  It was full of the usual ramblings about his cats, and his weekly references to the weather – and, of course, lots of sanctimony.  But beneath the nondescript nothingness, Dannie always has an agenda: he uses these references as “tie-ins” to whatever message he wants to convey; and today’s message was – as it is increasingly coming to be – all about guilt-tripping.

Dannie started off with this anecdote: “I was talking with a nice non-Catholic lady from Southern Kentucky about the crazy changeable weather we had last week and she wisely summed it up in her charming twang, ‘Well, that’s March for you’” – after which Dannie followed with this non sequitur:  “The Catholic in me sees it as symbolic of the greater Lenten struggle going on these days: Light vs. darkness. Fight on, nor be discouraged [sic]. Behold half of our combat is done, less than half remains. Let us rejoice that the true Spring, Easter, comes each year ‘ready or not’ and animate ourselves bravely to fight on, generously to prepare.”

Then, seemingly “switching gears,” Dannie continues: “The biggest enemy we face is not the enemy, in his many guises, but ourselves, as Pogo said. The saints reproach us each day. How hard they were on themselves, how easy on their neighbor. Curious how we manage to reverse it.  But by prayer and penance and…kindness we can change the clock of our crimes, as we did last night with all of our gadgets for Daylight Savings Time. More daylight to do good. Put your neighbor’s virtues in the daylight right next to your own faults.”

Ah, there’s the tie-in:  Dannie is guilt-tripping again: the Gerties must “animate [them]selves bravely to fight on, generously to prepare” -- and “put [their] neighbor’s virtues in the daylight right next to [their] own faults.”  {Alas, if only Dannie would follow his own advice!]  Dannie goes on: “Fr. Cekada and the McFathers were away last week, so several days we did only morning Masses, since that seems to be where the money is.  [“where the money is”: a Freudian slip?]  It’s nice to see the little Baptistry chapel full.  [Apparently, it usually isn’t: more guilt-tripping – and another Freudian slip?]  Still, it was odd for me not [to] be offering my 5 PM Mass. I hope those who are interested in that sort of thing (extra Lenten Masses) are finding our weekday schedule helpful. For the rest, well…?”  Yeah, “for the rest,” it’s more guilt-tripping!  [It also was, by the way, a guilt-tripping allusion to an earlier “survey” that Dannie had sent out.¹}  And then Dannie added this: “Several extra faithful did come to the Vespers on Sunday.”  [But, apparently, not enough – more guilt-tripping!]

Then, to get in one last bit of guilt-tripping, Dannie finished up with two anecdotes, the first of which involved his cats: “I was in my room the other morning, practicing that day’s Vesper hymn. Both cats, however, took exception to my singing, and came personally to remonstrate with me.”   Then, after a little more meaningless banter about his cats, Dannie added, “Well the hymn does say we should be sparing in all things during Lent, except prayer and charity.  I pray your charity increases this Lent, and your prayer deepens.” And in the second anecdote – actually, a post-script to an earlier anecdote about a bird (a robin) who was apparently “obese” from over-eating – Dannie exhorted his Gerties:  “Just don’t end up like that Robin…”

In that first anecdote, Dannie – again hinting that the Gerties were a little “lax” in their “prayer and charity” -- was hoping for a better showing from them this Lent: “I pray your charity increases this Lent, and your prayer deepens.”  And his reminder, “Just don’t end up like that Robin…,” was another one of Dannie’s not-so-subtle reminders for them to be more observant in their Lenten fast and abstinence rules. But such a remark was a bit cavalier coming from Dannie, considering his Mexican “Lent,” when he pigged out on “copious quantities of meat.”  And as for “charity,” what about the “charity” that Dannie and Tony had for Terri Schiavo, and for those SGG school kids back in 2009 – or for all those other people they’ve maligned over the years? Where, we ask, was their charity then? ²

For Dannie, “charity” is a “one-way street”: he expects it from others, but has none himself to give.  Dannie’s “charity,” as he has proved so many times, is non-existent.  Like the new MHT “bishop’s” hokey coat-of-arms, Dannie’s “charity” is as phony as the proverbial three-dollar bill.  The other thing to remember is that when Dannie says, “I pray your charity increases this Lent,” what he really means is, “I hope your obedience increases,” because that’s what Dannie is all about: manipulation and control (because, ultimately, that translates into MONEY).  Dannie knows that obedient people give – and the way to make them give more is by everlastingly guilt-tripping them – to make them feel that they are “never doing enough.”  And, as it is with all cults, he wants them to “sacrifice” and to practice “self-denial” (as he did when he asked them to pay his “high heating bills,” while he was on his “apostolate” in sunny Mexico, pigging out on “copious quantities of meat”).  Dannie and Tony want their Gerties to “do without” -- to “offer it up,” so that they can “live it up.”

But the problem with such a strategy is that people eventually figure out what’s going on.  They come to realize Dannie’s “apostolates” are nothing more than mid-winter getaways, that Dannie’s “CAT” (Car Airport Transportation) Club is just a free taxi service for Dannie and his fellow drones, and that – while they’re being asked to pay Dannie’s “high heating bills,” their young mothers with babies are shivering in SGG’s unheated vestibule.  (They are also beginning to notice – and resent – being constantly tapped for money to fix SGG’s prematurely crumbling infrastructure, and for its know-nothing “school.”)  This kind of exploitation can go on for only so long, and then such a “strategy” becomes unsustainable.  People can only take so much of this before they “get a belly full of it,” and revolt – and that is precisely what is happening. 

Unfortunately, there are still many Gerties who haven’t woken up to the obvious fact that they are gradually (but inexorably) being squeezed by Dannie and Tony.  Like the frog that is put in a pot of tepid water, and then slowly “cooked to death” (because it doesn’t notice that the pot is being heated), the Gerties are unwittingly being “cooked” by Dannie.  But the good news is that many are “waking up” – because both attendance and revenues are down at the cult center.  The other good news is that this “waking up” will continue (because Dannie will keep exploiting, and hence more and more Gerties will “get the message”) – because Dannie just doesn’t know when to quit.  In time, people will realize, at long last, that Tradistan is just a mechanism for self-serving parasites to profit at the expense of the unsuspecting and the gullible.

Pistrina Liturgica’s recent article (click here) on the new MHT “bishop’s” coat-of-arms – and what a pretentious, shabbily crafted bit of fakery it is – is yet one more proof underscoring just how phony Tradistan really is: a place where costumed con men fabricate their own heraldic “pedigrees” and “play church,” and make up rules for everyone else but themselves -- and where “self-denial” is for everyone but themselves.  From Schiavo on, the cult-masters have shown over and over again that they’re bogus – and that they are not about “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you,” but about “doing unto others as they damn well please.”  For the cult-masters, there are no rules, no accountability -- and certainly no charity.  In short, there is no Catholicism.  To repeat, Tradistan is “all for show”  -- and nothing else.  It’s time to put an end to this “show” – to trade in this sham for the real thing – and that time is long past due.  So, how about doing it now?

Starve the Beast!

___________________________

¹ Dannie recently sent out a “survey” to his Gerties, where he asked them which Mass times would be good for them.  Later, after not getting much of a response to his survey, he followed up by sarcastically asking them, in one of his ’Corners, “What would be the best Mass time for you not to attend?”  (Click here for more on this.)

³ The litany of abuse and cruelty is a long one – and one with which most of our readers are familiar.  So, rather than repeat it here for the uninformed, we simply ask them to “get up to speed” by reading past Pistrina) and Lay Pulpit articles.  (Actually, we recommend that they start by checking the website sggscandal.com.)  It’s a lot of ground to cover – but a necessary step for anyone who is really serious about seeking the truth.

“Excess Baggage”

Well, the Floridian Farce – Swamp Fest 2018 -- is now over with, and Joey Selway has his miter – and all the attendees have traipsed back to their respective cult centers, ogling their fellow culties with their tales of having been at “the big show” –Tradistan’s “event of the millennium.”  And among them, of course, was His Self-Importancy, the Rialto Road peacock, no doubt still wallowing in the luster having had the (seemingly) heady role of being a prestigious “co-consecrator” for the "boy bishop.”¹ But the “bottom line” on this affair is that it was just Tradistan’s latest bit of pretentious, pharisaic ostentation.  In Tradistan, you see, “pomp and ceremony” equals “Catholicism.”

But that is precisely what is wrong with Tradistan: pomp and ceremony is just that – pomp and ceremony.  It is NOT Catholicism.  In fact, it is anything BUT Catholicism.  First and foremost, it’s deception -- and Tradistan’s chief architect of such hypocrisy is, of course, Dannie Dolan.  Dannie’s pontifical pageantry is all designed to give the impression that he is a good man – which he isn’t.  To cite just one of many examples of his hypocrisy: for Dannie to stand there, “waxing poetic” about “protecting our innocent children” on Guardian Angel Sunday, then expose them to the cruelty of “the principal” (and to the blatant immorality of his sons), and then to have condoned it all, absolutely reeks of hypocrisy – and of evil.

What “good” is all that “pontifical pageantry,” coming from a man who thinks that watching porn is a case of “boys will be boys,” or who can condone what happened at SGG’s school in 2009 – or who can justify the murder of Terri Schiavo?   What kind of “Catholicism” can one expect from such a man?  What kind of moral guidance?  What good is all of this “pontifical pageantry,” coming from such a man?  Has it “improved” his character in any way?  No, it hasn’t.  Just as the skill of a surgeon (or the beauty of a composer’s music) is no indication of either one’s character, neither is Dannie’s “show” an indication of his character.  For all his “holy talk” and over-the-top ostentation, Dannie has absolutely no moral fiber.

Now the fact that we have mentioned this (and other things) several times before has led to comments by some of the cult-masters’ apologists that we are “repeating the same old stuff over and over again.”  They accuse us of “harping” – especially about Schiavo.  Well, yes, we do repeat such things – and why not?  But one is to accuse us of “harping” about such things, then he might as well accuse his parish priest of “harping” about "the same old Gospel” and “the same old parables” every week from the pulpit.  He might as well complain, “Oh, are you harping about the Crucifixion again?  Give it a rest!”  The logic of such a mindset is indeed empty and absurd – but it is the only ploy left for those who cannot deny the truth, and who cannot defend the indefensible.

Do these people think that, just because these things happened years ago, their severity is somehow mitigated by the passage of time?  Perhaps they think that we should just “forget about what’s happened in the past” and “let bygones be bygones.”  Or perhaps they might point out that the events of 2009 (or Schiavo) are ”water over the dam” and/or that Dannie and Tony have “mended their ways” since then.  Well, if they had mended their ways, we might be inclined to feel differently, and give them the benefit of the doubt.  But they haven’t – and they have demonstrated that time and again since then. Their whole tenure at SGG has been one of deceit, of misrepresentation, and of exploitation, which continues to this day. 

Dannie still expects his Gerties to be his serfs, catering to his every whim; and he continues to invent new ways to take financial advantage of them (such as his “CAT” club” – “Clergy Airport Transportation” club) – as if the Gerties have nothing else to do but play “taxi service” for Dannie and his band of boondoggling “clergy.”  Dannie also continues with his guilt-tripping in his everlasting efforts to shame his Gerties into coming to “the show” more often (and/or he hands out phony “dispensations” to entice them to come).  And he is everlastingly touching them for money to subsidize his trips to sunny Mexico (or to some other “apostolate” destination).  And then, of course, there are Dannie’s never-ending pleas for money to fix the prematurely crumbling cult center.

Dannie’s attempts at exploitation will never end – because he can’t afford to stop.  He’s hurting for money.  With the Lotarski millstone around his neck, and with the mounting expenses of his crumbling cult center,  he just can’t afford to let up.  And what compounds his problems is that, because of his (and Tony’s) past profligacy, what money they should have accumulated by now is not there – and no more is coming in.  The Gerties are catching on: attendance is down, and collections are downright anemic.  Plus, Dannie’s prestige is at an all-time low.  His trek down to the swamp for Joey’s “consecration” was just a bread crumb thrown to him, to keep the SGG-MHT “alliance” on life support, until Joey (or his old man) decides to “pull the plug.”

Joey doesn’t need Dannie (or Tony) anymore.  As PL pointed out, the association of MHT with SGG was not so much the Selways’ but Sanborn’s.  Joey owes no particular allegiance to Dannie or Tony – nor does he have any.³  And, for that matter, he doesn’t need [Not-so-] Big Don either.  Joey has his miter now; and he’ll still have the support of Brooksville’s “elite” families (and his own family's), whether Donny stays or not.  All that Sanborn represents for him now is one more mouth to feed.  The Donster is no longer an asset, but a liability. And, actually, so are Dannie and Tony.  Those losers can’t even sustain themselves – so what would Junior have to gain from any continued association with them? 

In Joey, the Swampland now has its “new blood.”  And whether he brings any new brains to the mix, that’s a moot point: the cult doesn’t need brains; it just needs money – and, between the Selways and the “elite” families, there’s plenty of that to sustain them.  The old regime – Dannie, Tony, and Donny – are no longer “relevant.”  They are redundant – “excess baggage,” if you will.²  And, as Brooksville becomes more insular and withdrawn into itself (which, as PL noted, is a distinct possibility), the over-the-hill threesome will only become more irrelevant and unneeded.  Big Don, for instance: any pipe dreams to the contrary notwithstanding, he is no longer the dynamo he once was.  With his heart problems, the Flatbush firebrand cannot be his bombastic old self anymore – nor have any energetic “expansionist” plans.   And Dannie and Tony?  Dannie’s dreams of turning SGG into a Midwestern Mecca have evaporated; and, because of Schiavo and the 2009 school scandals, both Dannie’s and Tony’s credibility in TradWorld is now ZERO -- so they too are not about to do any “expansion.”  For all three, their dreams of prestige and glory are now a distant memory; and they have nothing to which to look forward, except a few years of retirement. 

The good news is that, as their prestige and effectiveness decline, the less spiritual harm these lepers can do.  But the bad news is that the “new blood” might carry on where "the old blood" leaves off -- Joey at MHT, and (probably) Uneven Steven at SGG.  It is our sincere hope that they do not – that Joey will one day wake up and realize that he is not suited for this job that his daddy forced him into, and that McFaker will not follow in Dannie’s footsteps – but so far, the likelihood of that happening doesn't seem very promising.  We can hope, though, that – if Brooksville does become more “insular,” this may at least help keep that cancer from spreading.  And we can also hope that, as more people continue to find out about Dannie and Tony, that tumor will dry up too.  We hope that, one day, people will no longer be victimized by these malicious predators – or any others like them – so that Traddieland can, once and for all, be rid of such “excess baggage.”

___________________________

¹ But the harsh reality for Dannie is that, though he was a “co-consecrator,” he wasn’t the main one: Geert Stuyver got that nod.  Dannie was just a dummy co-pilot “along for the ride” – no doubt picked (by Big Don) because of SGG’s and MHT’s “seminary” relationship (that is, for “political reasons”).  But, as PL pointed out, it was absolutely necessary to have Stuyver (because of “One Hand’s” doubtful orders).

But, in retrospect, perhaps the “political risk” of not having Dannie outweighed that other risk.  In Tradistan, politics – and the power and money it brings – reigns supreme.  In Tradistan, politics has always outweighed principles.  Also, like it or not, Big Don’s and Dannie’s fates are intertwined, because they are both seen as one entity by much of Tradistan.  So, keeping their political alliance alive (at least for the time being) was probably to their mutual advantage.  (The Jellyfish might have been a “safer” ecclesiastical choice; but, given the enmity of the Highlanders for Big Don, it was a bad political one.  So, Big Don probably chose “the lesser of two evils” by having Dannie as a co-consecrator instead of Neville.)

² One might also think of the Jellyfish as being part of “the old regime” – intertwined with both SGG and MHT.  But his “relationship” with both of them has always been “tentative” at best (and, lately, pretty well non-existent).  Besides, Jelly really doesn’t need either of them: he comes from money, so that’s not a problem for him.  And given the estrangement of his “Highlander” folks with Big Don – and the fact that Donny is on his way out – there’s no longer any material benefit in Jelly’s being chummy with Big Don.  (And as for being chummy with Dannie and Tony, they can offer him no material benefit as well.)

³ The general consensus among many traddies is that Joey never really had much use for Dannie (or Tony) anyway.  And, now that he’s got his miter, Joey loses little by “cutting the cord” with those two.  Funny, isn’t it?  Dannie did the same thing to Pivvy: used him to get his miter, then dumped him.  And now, it seems, Dannie may end up reaping what he has sown!  [Well folks, perhaps there is such a thing as “poetic justice after all!]

Dannie’s in Trouble – and He Knows It

In SGG’s January 28, 2018 bulletin (click here), Dannie Dolan’s ’Corner had all the usual “ingredients”: syrupy sanctimony, “name-dropping” – and even more gory anecdotes about his (and Big Don’s) cats.  But the salient theme was -- as it often is – guilt-tripping.  Of course, Dannie tried to be “subtle” about it; but the guilt-tripping message came through loud and clear (and it wasn’t all that “subtle”).  In fact, it wasn’t subtle at all (and even had an added note of sarcasm to it).

Dannie started off by wistfully recalling SGG’s “Friday night Lenten sermons back in the palmy years of the 80’s. Sermons ran as long as 45 minutes, and the darkened church was well filled!  Anybody remember?”  [Yes, Dannie, we do remember: those interminably long sermons (during which the Gerties had to keep their little ones from crying, and/or squirming in their seats, lest it “offend” you) – and we remember the dimmed lights, the affected, hushed whispering, and all the other histrionics you ginned up to enhance “the Show.”  It all sounded so splendid, and it “packed the house” (and kept them spellbound) -- for a while.]

Dannie then added, “Well, those days are done. Many souls, well fed, have departed to the Everlasting Banquet. But we still have our Sunday Masses, and some Sundays the Mass is well filled.”  [Our bold emphasis.]  Then, as if to reassure himself that things would get better, Dannie added, “Of course, we still do have Friday evening Stations…” after which he then added, “Today’s purple tells us it is planning time for Lent. What will we give up, what will we do ‘extra?’” [The “we,” in this case, are the Gerties, who, Dannie is hinting, must -- come Lent -- make sure that SGG’s pews are “well-filled.”]

But then, with his next dose of guilt-tripping, Dannie decided to embellish it with something extra.  Dannie started off with this: “I’ve only heard from one or two souls about a good daily Mass time. One individual said he wouldn’t be attending but that 7 AM would be the best time. How about you?”  But then came this fitting exclamation point on his guilt-tripping:  “What would be the best Mass time for you not to attend?”  “Not to attend?”  Wow, that bit of sarcasm was the “icing on the cake”!  [Careful, Dannie!  Through your cheesy smile, your fangs are showing!]

Recovering somewhat after that acerbic post-script, Dannie -- after regaling his Gerties with another one of his tasteless “cat stories” (this time, involving Sanborn, with whom Dannie is trying to give us the impression that he is a “bosom buddy”)² – Dannie continued with one last bit of guilt-tripping by (not-so-subtly) hinting that the Gerties come on Candlemas for “Winter Soup Supper, and All Night Adoration,” adding, “You will not want to miss any of it, I am sure. We would miss you if you did.  In the meantime, we’ll get started on taking down the Christmas decorations. You could help, maybe. But don’t miss Friday Mass! Our Lord would miss you.”   Wow!  The Gerties are not only being guilt-tripped into “taking down the Christmas decorations,” but coming to Friday Mass and All Night Adoration too.  Otherwise, it’s not only a case of “we would miss you,” but “Our Lord would miss you” as well.  [Wow!  A “double-whammy” guilt-tripping!  It doesn’t get any more “emphatic” than that!]

Well, Dannie, “don’t hold your breath” for the Gerties to come flocking back.  That bit of sarcasm before -- “What would be the best Mass time for you not to attend?” – turned out to be a Freudian slip: the Gerties indeed aren’t attending!  And do you now why, Dannie? They aren’t because, since then, they’ve been finding out the truth about you, and that all your theatrical whispering and lighting effects are just that: theater – just part of “the Show” – an act put on by an imposter who is the exact antithesis of all those sweet, pious words that you so melodramatically whispered out in those sermons. 

Since then, Dannie, they’ve witnessed the litany of scandalous events of 2009: how you ignored – actually, condoned -- the abuses at the school, and how you rebuffed those parents who came to you with their grievances (even Bernie Brueggemann, your main benefactor, whose grand nephew was so maliciously treated by “the principal”).  They saw how you also ignored what “the principal’s” sons did – a school girl impregnated, and the watching of porn on the school computer – and you wrote it all off as “boys will be boys.”  They’ve since found out how you treated Bernie Brueggemann – your main benefactor – and tried to guilt-trip him into returning to SGG after he had left in disgust.  (And, too, many of them recall Schiavo -- and how you and Tony actually condoned that travesty.)¹   And, adding all of this up, Dannie, they now realize that all of those nostalgic Friday night Lenten sermons that you want them to recall ere just so much empty rhetoric, that now rings hollow in their ears.  They now realize that, again, it was all just part of “the Show.”

For the past several months – for the past several years, in fact – Dannie has been whining about attendance at “the Show” being down.  And as time goes by, Dannie’s whining has become more strident and shrill -- and desperate.  Just recently, Dannie again invoked another one of his phony “dispensations” (from abstinence) to get his Gerties to come to “the Show” on Friday.  And whether it fills the pews or not, it is (as Pistrina noted – click here), proof that Dannie has had to resort to bribery to get his Gerties to come – and is, as we’ve just noted, a sign that he is getting desperate.

That Freudian slip of Dannie’s that we mentioned earlier -- “What would be the best Mass time for you not to attend?” -- was perhaps even more “telling” than anything else, because – besides being a sign of Dannie’s obvious frustration -- it is a telltale admission by Dannie that the Gerties are indeed tiring of his “show” – that he’s losing his grip on them.  (That “individual [who] said he wouldn’t be attending” was telling Dannie, in effect, “I really don’t care what time it is; I’m not coming anyway.”  And the diminished crowds at “the show” are a reinforcing confirmation that this indeed is the case.)³ 

We also feel that the Gerties are finally starting to realize what real Catholicism is all about: that it’s not about – as with that Pharisee in Our Lord’s parable -- “saying all the right prayers” (aka, “coming to ‘the show”), but about “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  And perhaps they are also finally realizing that the way Dannie has been “doing unto others” is NOT what Our Lord intended.  And -- that being the case -- why then, Gerties, do you support such a leper?  Why go to the cult center out of “convenience” (or because of some “technicality” that Dannie invents to disqualify others), or out of the (false) notion that SGG is “the only game in town”?

Do not enable this predator, and in doing so, become his accomplice – which gives you a share in moral responsibility for those he victimizes.  Don’t let that continue to happen – to them or to you.  Get out now – and don’t let your “inertia” or your pride stand in the way.  Just get out.  But, for those of you who can’t yet find the courage to do that, you can at least stop supporting the mitered maggot.  You can…

Starve the Beast!

___________________________

¹ No doubt, too, they’ve been exposed to at least some of what they've heard from fellow (and former) SGG parishioners, and what blogs such as PL (and ours) have reported – either by reading us directly, or, more probably, by “word-of-mouth” from former SGG parishioners (which, in this latter case, represents independent corroboration of what we say).  And coupling that with what they have observed or discovered by themselves, all of this is starting to “sink in” for them.

² And tasteless it was: “Bishop Sanborn and I were trading cat stories. In my absence, Fr. Cekada was feeding ours. An over-enthusiastic Caravaggio (he does enjoy his dinner) suddenly body blocked Fr. Cekada, and cat food was spilled all down the front of Father’s new Polish cassock. Bishop Sanborn was awakened recently by munching noises under his bed. The cat had deposited a finch there and was eagerly consuming the little bird, bones and all.  [Our italics.]  Wow, what a nice, depraved touch -- and just before mentioning the Candlemas “Winter Soup Supper”!  What an appetizing “lead-in” for the “supper”! 

For that “supper,” by the way, the Gerties had to bring their own soup -- another way for Dannie and his indolent “clergy” to enjoy yet another freebie.  (That’s a common practice of Dannie’s: many of the “celebrations” that he has are “B.Y.O.” – “Bring Your Own” – affairs, where the Gerties must supply the goodies.)  It’s like inviting someone to dinner – and then asking them to pick up the tab.

³ Upon further reflection, one might also add that it was actually stupid of Dannie to mention this, because it is public confirmation on his part as well.  And mention it he does.  Just last week in his 'Corner, he started off by stating, "Like last week's rain you came in dribs and drabs all day, rather than a downpour."  (Dannie just can't seem to stop guilt-tripping, can he?!) 

Unity? Forget About It!

In the January 14, 2018 SGG bulletin, its Bishop’s(?) ‘Corner (click here) had this item: “The whole Church is called upon to pray for the precious grace of unity come Thursday, the opening of the approved, indulgenced Chair of Unity Octave. We pray for the return of different non-Catholic groups to Mother Church. We would do well to remember all of the confused Catholic groups out there as well in this great chastisement.”  This was just part of the token lip service that Dannie piously intones every week in his ‘Corner – empty words about things that he knows won’t come true, nor does he want to come true.

The fact is, Dannie doesn’t want unity.  Unity implies hierarchy; and hierarchy means that Dannie would have to report to a higher authority – which he doesn’t want.  Dannie wants to be the boss of his own little realm, making up his own rules (and selectively applying and/or breaking them).  If Dannie were part of a larger, unified organization, he’d be reporting to superiors, and having to do their bidding, not his.  It also means that he couldn’t control his own purse-strings, use the sacraments as “weapons” (arbitrarily deny people the sacraments, etc.), or go on his winter getaway “apostolates” whenever he pleased.  In short, “unity” would put him out of business.

In our last article, we noted that Dannie acted “as if this were the High Middle Ages, and Dannie were some sort of feudal lord ‘prince of the church.’”  Well, that’s almost literally true.  Dannie does treat his Gerties as if he was a feudal lord, and they were his vassals (and the rank-and-file his serfs).  And that word -- feudal -- signifies in more ways than one.  First, “feudal” implies feuding factions, all fighting with one another over “turf” (which was usually the case in medieval Europe’s feudal society -- and is certainly the case in today’s Traddieland).  Most of the trad groups fight with one another – usually over technicalities – in order to expand their turf (at one another’s expense).  And when they do “unite,” it’s usually some sort of loose “confederation” (as it was back in the Middle Ages), and usually temporary in nature -- where each group keeps its own autonomy.  In Traddieland, it’s not about “the common interest,” but about self-interest.

And that’s the way it is with Dannie & Co.:  SGG does not report to MHT (or to CMRI): they’re all separate dominions, each with its own “lord” (aka “bishop,” “superior general,” etc.) – and “cooperation” occurs only to the extent of agreeing on “safe,” non-turf issues (“Bergie bashing,” etc.).  Dannie will never submit to Donny, and vice versa (nor will Marky and the CMRI, for that matter).  All three of them – at one time or another – have dreamt of being “Emperor of Traddieland” – but not by cooperative unification, but by imposing his will on the others.  They’re all rivals with one another – and NONE of them would ever voluntarily submit to being under one of the other’s suzerainty.

Big Don, whose MHT got “aced out” (at Our Lady of the Sun in Arizona) by the Pivmeister, will never merge with CMRI -- or with anyone else, for that matter.  (Besides, Big Don’s “merging” days are over.  He’s turning MHT over to “the Kid” now.  Plus, his declining health will keep him from playing a “major role” anywhere from here on.)  And as for the Pivmeister and CMRI, they’re not interested in “merging,” either.  They have been content to carve out a “niche” that is mainly “domestic” (the continental U.S) – plus some isolated outposts in Australia and elsewhere.  And Dannie?  Well, he and Big Don, despite their seminary “collaboration,” have never been “chummy” – especially after SGG’s Schiavo and 2009 school scandals fiascos created a lot of unwanted “guilt-by-association” publicity for MHT.  And now, since those same scandals (and other strategic blunders) have trashed Dannie’s (and Tony’s) one-time “reputation” here in the U.S., their only hope now seems to be to carve out their “niche” somewhere else: in Latin America, where their blunders are not so “well-known.” 

That – Latin America – is where Dannie is pinning his main hopes these days (and now, to some extent, Africa).¹  That is why Dannie is always braying about his “apostolates” in far-off lands: it’s about the only “prestige” that he (supposedly) has left with his Gerties anymore.  With his junkets to Latin America, Dannie can give his Gerties the impression that he is a “world player” – especially with ”Africa” (the Nigerian mission) thrown in. Dannie can plaster pictures of both all over his website -- both for his cyber suckers, and for his Gerties back at the cult center.    (Note, however, that when Dannie travels, it’s only to Latin America, not Nigeria.  The latter is too expensive and too dangerous for Dannie – and not nearly as much fun.  Nigeria has only propaganda value for Dannie.  Monetarily, it’s a sinkhole.)

But even that – Dannie’s “world player” image -- is getting to be pretty tarnished these days – especially in Latin America.  Dannie’s clumsy meddling in Lawrence, Massachusetts (click here) raised the ire of Argentine-born Bishop Andres Morello, amongst others; and other Latin American clergy (such as Fr. Siordia) seem to be getting Dannie’s “number” as well.  Dannie’s one-time charisma with Latinos is evaporating fast.  Nowadays, the only “south of the border” folks with whom Dannie (supposedly) still has any influence are those whom he can “buy off” (by playing “Gringo Santa Claus” for them).² 

More and more, folks in Latin America are “jumping ship” with Dannie.  As we intimated before, the only ones who have anything to do with him are those he can “buy” – and even their numbers are dwindling (because Dannie can’t afford to play “Santa Claus” for them as he once did).  Plus, “word is getting around” about Dannie in Latin America: word about Schiavo, about Dannie’s doubtful orders – and about his opulent life-style.  (At one time, Dannie could “hide” such adverse publicity from them – but not now in this age of the internet, where news travels fast, and knows no boundaries).  “Santa” or no “Santa,” Dannie’s “prestige” there is eroding – and people are seeing him for the sham that he is.

So then, what does the future hold for Traddieland’s “feudal lords”?  We’re not sure.  Some of it hinges, as PL said, on what happens after “the Kid” gets his miter at the Swampland.  Will MHT (as PL opined) become more “insular,” or will “the Kid” try to play a major role in Traddieland? ³  And, whether it goes one way or the other, will that set off another “turf war”?  But, whichever way it goes, don’t look for any “unity” in TradWorld. That’s a myth, because – to repeat -- no one (least of all, Dannie) wants that to happen.  They’ll all “pray” for “unity”; but they’ll do everything they can to prevent it, because – again -- it’s bad for business.⁴  Traddieland’s “feudal lords” don’t want to give up their positions and privileges –their “turf” – for some “ideal.”  They’re all pragmatists – “political animals” -- who are not about to sacrifice their self-interest for some intangible, unprofitable “principle.” 

So, don’t hold your breath for “unity.”  “It ain’t gonna happen”!  What will happen, instead, is that Dannie will continue to keep SGG as a separate entity – answerable to nobody, and free of interference from any “watch-dog” group -- so that he alone can benefit from exploiting his flock.  (And his recent plea to join his “CAT Club” was just another “installment” in that exploitation.)  Gerties, Dannie will continue to “sweet talk” you with his pious sanctimony, and “pray” for goals that he knows are unreachable (and, again, which he doesn’t want to be reachable).⁵  In the end, he’ll just keep telling the Gerties all those “sweet nothings” that they like to hear – and keep emptying their wallets.

One would hope that the remaining Gerties will eventually see what many others have seen (and borne witness) – and heed those warnings.  (Heaven knows – they’ve been warned often enough!)  But, realistically, if they haven’t woken up by now, they probably never will – until it’s too late.  But whether they do or not, the good news is that the rest of us have woken up.  And if the Gerties don’t – well, “that’s their problem!”

___________________________

¹ Dannie has a “mission” in Nigeria, run by a “Fr. Nkamuke,” who was “ordained” by Dannie (which, of course, makes him orders doubtful).

² Of course, another big personal reason (besides playing “Santa Claus”) for Dannie going down south is to get away from the cold gringo winters, and -- equally as important -- for dodging fast and abstinence rules during Lent.

³ One scenario that Pistrina opined is that “the Kid” will not play a major public role in Traddieland, and that, under him, MHT will become more “insular.”  This is probably a good guess, because “the Kid” doesn’t have the “leadership” skills (and forceful personality) that the Donster has; and education-wise, he was “educated” at MHT (which means that he has no credentials whatsoever).  Add to that the fact that, as PL also pointed out, he comes from a rich family, and has been pampered and indulged all his life.  That, combined with his lack of leadership skills, says that he’s not the “type” for putting out any “major effort” in Traddieland.  Lastly, remember that not only “the Kid’s” family, but the other “elite” families, have plenty of money -- more than enough to sustain their operation comfortably – so why take on anything (or anyone) else?  After all, “merging” or “unification” with anyone else might very well dilute their resources (monetarily or otherwise) – so why take that risk?

⁴ And, for the bishop-led cults, that’s just what they are: businesses.  Their “Catholicism” is not so much a belief as it is a business model; and they differentiate themselves from one another with the “products” that they “market,” to keep their sheep loyal to their “brand.”  We seriously doubt if any of them believe in what they “sell,” because their “product” often doesn’t match their “advertising.”  Example: Dannie talks about “protecting the innocence of our children” – yet overlooked (and even condoned) the scandalous events of 2009.  And he and Tony preach about “the sanctity of life” – yet they condoned the murder of Terri Schiavo.  They tell their audience one thing, then do another.    

⁵ The same, of course, goes for the other “bishop-led” cults of Tradistan.  None of them wants to see “unity,” because that would mean reconciliation with Rome – and then they’d have to give up their cushy life-styles, their autonomy, and all the rest of it.  (Besides, none of them are adequately trained; so, “post- reconciliation,” they wouldn’t last five milliseconds anyway.)