On My Scandalous Character

A recent development within the organisation that runs the London Latin Mass, prompted me to take some steps toward ensuring that parishioners who wished to approach clergy of their choice could do so freely, without dictates from people who have no canonical authority to rule otherwise, regardless of their position in the Church Structure. As a result my “scandalous character” was mentioned by certain parties. Without further ado then, let me tell you all about it, as I did to the relevant people by the email below.

Dear All,

As expected, there have been some rumours concerning me and my character, actions, etc. so let’s clear them up too.

I have had an online presence at least since the early 2000s or earlier and been involved in many things outside of normal life for most people. Until at least about early 2014 or so I also had very little, if any, belief, grasp or knowledge of Christianity even in its broad sense. I have lived pretty much most of my life as what the Bible calls a “wild ass”. That is, a stubborn donkey, whose main characteristic is to fight anyone and anything that gets in their way and whose only quality might be persistence, but certainly not wisdom.

This means I have had dealing with everything ranging from working as an armed bodyguard that dealt with armed criminals, corrupt police, client’s vices, including prostitutes they had on retainer, and seen more than my fair share of evil, sin and perversion on a scale most people fortunately never encounter.

I also lived without God as a guiding principle most of my life, and only a sort of warrior code based on honour, truth and justice that probably most resembled samurai philosophy as that was a large influence in my upbringing.

I was baptised on the 25th May 2017 and my online presence has in any case evolved over the years and no doubt, will continue to do so, but I have zero interest or concern in “doctoring” or covering up any of my past, blog posts, etc. Firstly because it would be an intrinsic dishonesty in denying factual reality, something I am constitutionally averse to doing in the  extreme, and secondly because all this can be summarised into 5 simple points:

1. Who I am, was or will be is of little relevance to you, your salvation, relationship to the Church, God, your priest, bishop or anyone else. I am not a leader, I have no wish to be your leader in anything, as I said in my first email, and if it seems like I am leading something it is simply because others are either failing to do so or too scared to act directly on things that matter. My intent is to do what’s best for the faithful, the Church, civilisation in general and my family, but I have always strongly rejected anyone trying to follow me as if I am some guru. I like to express my views and opinions and if you find them useful, you’re welcome to them, and if you do not, then ignore them and me. Ultimately, the only person responsible for your soul is you.

2. My past is irrelevant to my present as far as I am concerned and not only do I not care to hide it or pretend it is not what it was, in fact, quite the opposite, because if even someone like me can come to the Church then there is hope for everyone, and this is a good reminder for others to see.

3. Paul used to torture and kill Christians because he was what today would be called a fanatic. Then he had his road to Damascus moment and he wrote half the New Testament and guess what, he was no less of a fanatic after his conversion, all that changed was his intention and focus. Now, I am no Paul, but I relate. Jesus hung out with prostitutes, soldiers, and (what’s worse in my opinion) tax collectors, again, far be it from me to compare myself with our Lord, but I can tell you in all honesty that some criminals I have known had a better sense of honour, truth and justice than many fake clerics of the Novus Ordo Church (or Novus Orco, as I call it). Or even your average trader (banking) for that matter. So again, I don’t care in the least what a person supposedly is or is not. I will judge them based on their actions towards me and the things and people I care about. If you prefer to do differently, then that’s up to you, but I assure you either way, it’s not going to keep me up nights.

4. To those persons who would try to assassinate my character or use any of my past or present or future actions etc, I say, have at it. You have no idea how little I care. I have had death threats from special forces trained people, I had armed men come to my house to kill me and a number of other confrontations of just about every type, be they physical, emotional or spiritual that not only do I not wish on anyone, but would probably crush most people. My point here is simply this: Who I am or what I have done or what I do, does not change the facts or the lies, injustice, or errors that others who purport to be leaders in the Church make. And their attempts to shame me into silence are going to have only the opposite effect. Unlike the hypocrites, I have never denied, nor will I ever, my past or my present. Nor will I change it or doctor it or try to hide it. In time I hope to continue to become a better person, but I generally talk like a sailor and am certainly no one’s idea of a pious wallflower. If that scandalises you, then so be it. My sins are mine and imperil only my soul. I am not a Priest giving guidance or worse, a Bishop ignoring Canon Law. At best I’m a very flawed human being that has a true belief in God, Jesus Christ and who will not be cowed into silence by anyone on such matters, regardless of who they are. My accounting for my sins will be done in front of my Lord when my time comes, and not before any human being on Earth who presumes to have such authority over me.

5. Martyrs are very much higher on the hierarchy of saints than warriors, and I have no illusion which type I am, but God loves His warriors too, so if you don’t, or find them offensive and don’t want to associate at all with them, don’t worry about it; I’m certainly not going to invite myself into your life against your will.

This same message will also be posted on my blog tonight, which I have no intention of taking down. And if you want to know my personal current stance on things, it is changing every day, but if you really want to dig into this, you can get a fair idea of it in my latest short book Believe! I have in fact already moved somewhat beyond it, in what I hope is an even more Catholic direction, but it’s not light years away from where I was when I wrote it, and as a matter of fact, that little book has inspired at least 7 confirmed conversions to the true Catholic Church and interest in doing so from many others, the exact number of which I do not know with any precision.

Lastly, to all those rumour mongering, I issue a simple challenge: I am perfectly happy for every bit of communication I had relating to the current troubles in the London mission to come to the full light of day. Why aren’t you just as happy to let everyone see your true face when you’re hiding behind a screen or “not wanting to cause scandal” or communicating your strategy to browbeat the “dissidents” in plain terms? Do let us know. I for one want more happiness in the world and I found that sunlight always helps.

Most Sincerely,

Giuseppe Filotto