More secretive Christians

Why are all these cryptic Christian movements suddenly popping up in news articles?

They generally operate outside the authority or oversight of the official church, often maintaining their own chapels, schools, seminaries and clerical orders. Central to the movement is the Tridentine Mass, the Latin rite that was codified by the Council of Trent in the 16th century and remained in place until the Second Vatican Council deemed that Mass should be held in the popular language of each country. Latin, however, is just the beginning -- traditionalists refrain from eating meat on Fridays, and traditionalist women wear headdresses in church. The movement seeks to revive an orthodoxy uncorrupted by the theological and social changes of the last 300 years or so.

That's from a story in Sunday's NYT. The hook in the story is that one of the big funders of this movement worldwide is movie star Mel Gibson, whose father is one of the movement's leaders. The reporter wrote:

When I called the church elder who was Holy Family's representative at the county meetings, he agreed to an interview and accepted my request to attend a service, on the conditions that I not identify him or any member of the congregation beyond Mel Gibson, and that I withhold details that might invite the interest of fans or paparazzi. He also asked that I refrain from speaking to the priest, the congregants or anyone else during my visit. He told me that anyone seen speaking to me ''will not be welcome back at our church again.''

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, there's all this secret shit going on. On the other hand, there are all these news stories about them.