POLICIES AND OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER FOR THIS SITE
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT CATHOLICISM IN GENERAL
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THIS WEBSITE
FOR A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM
FOR A DETAILED INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM

POLICIES AND OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER FOR THIS SITE:

1. This site is not affiliated with any particular diocese or religious organization, but is the work of an individual concerned Catholic layman who merely seeks the salvation of his own soul, and of the souls of anyone encountered, especially those who are upset and concerned about their Catholic Faith and Church in these confusing times.
2. The positions taken by this Writer and Webmaster, and which are seen throughout are intended for research and edification purposes only. No official status or ecclesiastical jurisdiction is claimed by either this writer or this site.
3. This Writer professes no membership in any Religious Order, Society, or Community except the local Praesidium of the Legion of Mary. Furthermore, the preparation and maintenance of this site is not among the assigned works nor operating under the auspices of that Legion Praesidium, even though some information of interest to Legionaries is presented here.
4. The Magisterium which is taken as authoritative here is that taught and enforced by every Pope who is clearly recognized as such by the entire Church. Since legitimate questions have been raised as to the reliability, orthodoxy, sanity, or even Papal claims regarding certain recent and current leaders of the Vatican establishment, precedence is given to the clear teachings of those reliable Popes from Pius XII on back to Peter himself. More recent teachings, if taken at all, may only be taken to the extent to which they can be reconciled to the previous teachings.
5. Regarding the above mentioned questions about the Papal claims of the current and recent leadership of the Vatican establishment, this site takes no side either for or against. Courteous, cordial, and above all respectful discussion of these topics is encouraged, so long as it is clear that respect applies as much for the Vatican leadership and representatives, and other claimants to such offices, as for the discussion participants.
6. Listing of a link here does not necessarily mean endorsement of all opinions expressed on that site, but does imply either that some material of real and substantial merit is contained therein, or that overall Catholic Faith and perspective is demonstrated, despite any possible minor detail disagreements. Such links have been listed only as they have been brought to my attention and omissions of any other possible links may merely indicate that I am as yet unaware of those links.
7. Links are chosen from on the basis of their subject matter being about the Church, the current crisis, or various traditional priests, bishops, orders, parishes, or the opinions of traditional Catholic individuals. Many other links on more general matters, such as Latin, chant, lives of the Saints, Church history prior to Vatican II, Biblical exegesis, etc. are omitted from this list despite their unquestionable value, but are available from many of the Websites to which links are provided here.
8. A seperate set of links to authoritative sources of the Magisterium, in the Encyclicals and Bulls of Popes, and Documents generated by Councils, are also maintained as the source of authority for all claims made on this site. Their references (and links) can be found wherever the documents are quoted, mostly in the First Appendix.
9. All material on this site is copyrighted. With certain specific exceptions, for all material here, each person (corporate or individual) with electronic access to this site is permitted to print no more than three copies of any chapter or document by this author, for their own personal use, or the use of close associates who lack electronic access to this site. Short quotes may be given in any sort of book, speech, or article for review purposes provided that it is given in context and that the source title and author are also given.
10. The first exception to this copyright is the other sites linked to as external links, for which their respective authors determine copyright policies regarding the information (including graphics and Java applets, etc.) contained on their sites.
11. The second exception to this copyright are certain chapters and articles which are permitted to be used by any others, providing that the copy is complete, correct, attribution to this author (Griff Ruby) is given, and no attempt is made to construe such free permission as ownership of the information or right to control this or any other information provided on this site. The permission given for these certain chapters and articles extends to electronic hosting, printing, and sale, even for profit. The chapters and articles for which this permission is given consist of: Appendix One - The Pope Condemns Vatican II, Epilogue - A Parable for the Church Today, What Would You Do? - An Address to my Fellow Legionaries of Mary, "Schism" Versus Tradition - A Resonse to Mr. Greydanus, and Your Webmaster's Review of the "What We Have Lost" Video.
12. The third exception to this is the book, The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church, for which only one copy may be printed from the net by any person, but which may be purchased in any quantity Online directly from the publisher.

QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM: Many common questions regarding traditional Catholicism are answered in the Answers to Questions and Objections page. It is subdivided into the following categories: General, Liturgy, Vatican II, Crisis, Traditional Groups, Religious Liberty, Questioning of Popes, and Miscellaneous. Other questions the users have sent in (and my responses) can be found under Member Discussions in the Questions from Readers section. If it is merely a question of the definition of a term frequently heard in traditionalist circles, the Glossary should be helpful. Any other question about traditional Catholicism should be passed on to me, so I can respond, typically within a couple days.

QUESTIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM IN GENERAL: Other questions about Catholicism should be answered in the traditional Catechetical or Apologetic works of the Church. The key concern here is that one obtains one's answers from the Church. One of the goals of this site is to define the current boundaries of the Church, so as to know who is visibly a part of it and who is not. For reasons brought out in this site and documented in many other places, the Directories published by the Vatican institution no longer demarcate the visible Unity of the Roman Catholic Church today. Such a directory is reasonably approximated (valid only for the Latin (Western) Rite in the US and Canada, unfortunately) by Fr. Morrison's Directory of Traditional Latin Masses and Resource Book. While I maintain that the traditional Catholic orders and priests advocated on this site (and listed in that Directory) can all be trusted to provide correct and accurate information regarding the standard questions about Catholicism (even if not questions about the current situation), until one understands my claims for such, the safest course is to resort to Pre-Vatican II sources. However, it is of great edification and necessity that one also have before them a living example of Catholic life and practice, that one may benefit from the association, and for that, one must have recourse to the groups of which I write, for there, alone, does the living example of authentic Catholicism survive.

ABOUT THIS SITE: For information regarding the policies, position, and disclaimers regarding this site, see Policies and Official Disclaimers. The color scheme of this site is meant to give each main page a distinctive character to differentiate its function and different workings and approach from other pages, or at least its special function. For those who have a problem with the color scheme, alternate style sheets are provided to give one the option of a simple monochrome color combination, as well as large font size for visually impaired persons. For information regarding the person who prepared this site and also functions as Webmaster, see my biography. Some additional biographical information may also be found at My Life and the Eucharist. The Webmaster (and this author) may be contacted under the "Ask Me, and Responses from Readers" page, where the guestbook is located, and various reader/author interaction is provided. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me with any questions or comments that you might have. Click here for personal testimonies to the value of my site or book.

The Topical Subject Index is a concept driven search engine which serves to take the reader directly to the relevant passages in the relevant documents to the entered subject. This is not a word search (such as google.com, which can be directed to search only my site by using its advanced features) but an actual concept search leading to where the topical subjects are discussed. Enter the letters of the word(s) in bold of the words you have chosen and press the <Return> or <Enter> key. On that following page showing links into various places on my site, most more advanced browsers will tell a little bit about what to find in that link if one merely positions the cursor over the chapter or article title.

This site has a number of features which makes it of value as a research and edification source to all traditional Catholics. The principle feature and flagship of this site is the on-line book, The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church. It is now available to be purchased Online in book form directly from the publisher. A hardcover edition is also available here. This book is a comprehensive account of the growth and spread of the traditional Catholic movement since the need and jurisdiction arose for such to exist as a distinct corporate entity from the Vatican institution. Each occurance of each term which is unique to traditional Catholicism, or used within traditional Catholicism, or within this book, in a particular and technical way, or else which may be unfamiliar to some Catholics, is defined in the glossary, which particular definition can be obtained by simply clicking on the term as it occurs within the text of the book. References to traditional Catholic organizations or Web sites can be clicked on to go straight to the organization's Website. References to the Magisterial documents of the Church, or official documents of the Vatican institution, may be clicked on so as to view the entire document, and the quoted portions in context. Regrettably, one may have to scroll within the document to the specified paragraph to find the quote given, and sometimes a different translation is used. I strongly recommend that one familiarize oneself with the contents of those official documents that it may be seen that the quotes and extractions I give have not been quoted out of context, and furthermore that one may see for themselves the primary source documents which govern and define the entire cause of traditional Catholicism.

Another feature found in this site is the Traditional Catholic External Links. These links to other sites are checked at least weekly for validity and correctness, and updated on a frequent basis so as to be kept current. In a few cases, sites or information deemed to be of interest are sustained within this site, but still as "external links" owing to the fact that the sites and information remain the property of the authors who are, for whatever reason, no longer in a position to maintain their own sites. In the event that any of such authors should desire the removal or revision of their site or information, they must request that of me. Anyone aware of any new or undiscovered sites should send me the URL of the sites so they can be incorporated on my list.

The "In the Spirit of Chartres" Committee site is hosted by your humble webmaster and shares space with the remainder of my site. There are many opportunities for Catholic action organized by them, and it is my privilege to host their site. There is also the P. C. Morantte Memorial Web Page in honor of the one man (a published author himself) who most encouraged my writing

Another feature of this site is its limited use of graphics, so as to speed up the downloading of all pages. Each of the few graphics which are contained here can be seen in further detail by clicking on it. The one exception to this is the Resurrection Picture which is a devotional meditation on the present situation by comparing it to the time of the original Resurrection of Christ. In this case, backward compatibility with even the most primitive graphical browsers has been maintained. See Site Technical notes page for details.

QUICK INTRODUCTIONS TO TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM: Several essays contained on this site are of particular value for those seeking a quick introduction and/or defense to or of traditional Catholicism, and coming from a certain perspective. In particular, if someone comes from the Conservative Novus Ordo perspective, and would like to understand traditional Catholicism's stand in relation to the teaching of the Pope, I most strongly recommend What Would You Do? - An Address to my Fellow Legionaries of Mary. For those who have heard or get the feeling that there is something "schismatic" about traditional Catholics, I recommend "Schism" Versus Tradition - A Response to Mr. Greydanus. For those who already keenly appreciate the fact that there is a Church crisis, and who wish they could understand what is going on in a simple and quick picture, I recommend A Quick Picture to See Where the Church is Today. For those who want a quick but relatively diocese-friendly introduction to the issues, I recommend Excerpt from a letter to a Philippine Mayor Regarding the Latin Mass. For those coming from a sedevacantist direction, I recommend the article Is Sedevacantism the Right Approach? A short and amusing allegorical story of the events in Catholicism is contained in Well, I Can Tell Stories, Too! A far more in-depth, but richly documented presentation of the traditional Faith and its Papal authority is my Appendix I - The Pope Condemns Vatican II. It is in dedication to and honor for all of the Popes quoted therein that I gave this site the "the-pope" URL. For those who would rather watch a one hour film about the crisis in the Church, and learn from it the overall stance taken in this site, I strongly recommend ordering the What We Have Lost Video.

A DETAILED INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM: The most detailed introduction to the entire understanding of traditional Catholicism and the history of its greatest heros (and others) is in my flagship work, The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church, which is truly comprehensive, authoritative, carefully documented, and THE definitive history of the traditional Catholic movement. This is the book, to which "What We Have Lost" is the movie. As is typical for such "book-of-the-movie" works, much material is contained in the book which the movie cannot get to.