Nineteenth-century counterrevolutionary Catholics were part of a movement of rediscovery of the fullness of the Christian past leading them back to the insights of Church Fathers regarding the message of the Incarnation and the consequences for human perfection of the full cooperation of nature and grace. They eagerly applied what they learned to one of the burning questions of their own day, the relationship of authority and individual freedom. Article after article in journals such as the Jesuit review, La Civiltà Cattolica emphasized the conviction that strong natural and supernatural authority was a precondition for the perfection of personal liberty as well as all other human goods. For obedience to the fullness of authority was bound to ensure the fullest opportunity for self-correction and introduction to the Truth that really set men free. Rejection or limitation of the fullness of authority, on the other hand, entailed an opening to passion and a stubborn commitment to ignorance which was certain to work in favor of the strong, at the expense of the weak, but to the ultimate disadvantage and perdition of both.
A romantic view of the counter-revolutionaries? Were they conservative (i.e. seeking to preserve true communities) enough?
During my talk with MB we touched upon the counter-revolutionaries, the throne & altar traditionalists, and he had apparently read that some had been involved with the occult. (Just like some of the "traditionalists" of the 20th century?) True?
Related:
A review of Dr. Rao's Black Legends and the Light of the World
Catholic News Service interviews John Rao
Chris Ferrara, A Resolute Denial of Reality
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