The Feet Washing Kerfuffle is long over. Yet since then I have seen a number of weak bloggers continue to misrepresent the arguments of others and feign outrage over the imagined slights to the person of the Pope. Since I was on the receiving end of such nonsense, I have just laughed it off and tuned it out as flaccid attempts at fearlessness by the milquetoast set. Ho hum.
But I came across one that I just cannot let go. Bomb-thrower extraordinaire, Steve Kellmeyer suddenly gets the pretend vapors over Father Z.’s commentary and completely unjustly attacks Father Z. ending with this little hissy fit.
Frankly, Z is pretty sickening.
If this is the best the traditionalists can do, it’s no wonder the rest of the Catholic world finds traditionalists disgusting.
Yet his critiques of Father Z.’s comments, as have other’s critiques of some of my commentary, are juvenile out of context excerpts punctuated with jejune derision passing for commentary. Father Z. does a fine job of clarifying his comments and he certainly doesn’t need me to defend him, but I just couldn’t let it go.
The reason I couldn’t let it go is that Master Kellmeyer’s stock and trade is over-the-top criticism. And now suddenly he pretends outrage over the reasonable and balanced statements of Father Z.? And all this a weak week after the fact?
I think Master Kellmeyer doth protest too much.
The thing with ulterior motives, it is usually best to keep them ulterior. When you do ridiculous things this obviously, people might think you are obviously ridiculous.
April 9, 2013 at 7:09 pm
Who in the blazes is Steve Skellmeyer? I thought I knew all the Catholic blogosphere bomb throwers (being one myself on occasion).
April 9, 2013 at 7:17 pm
Don't feed the trolls, Pat. This is what people, myself included at one time or other, do to increase blog traffic. I had no idea who he was till you said something.
Love your use of "jejune."
April 9, 2013 at 7:42 pm
As someone who's been around the block a few times at St. Blog's, I concur with Paul. Who?
April 9, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Who? Is he from that rag National CINO Reporter?
April 9, 2013 at 9:12 pm
Oh, I think you're just feeding a troll here. Steve Kellmeyer is just a guy who tried to make a name for himself riding on Chris West's coattails until he realized that was all going to crash, now he's a nobody who baits Mark Shea to get attention (easy to do, btw). So, today he trolled Fr. Z. Meh. He's still a nobody.
April 9, 2013 at 9:20 pm
Do you mean Steve Kellmeyer? I think he wrote a book (or books?) that was publicized on Catholic blogs and web sites about ten years ago. I had a positive impression of him based on what I vaguely remember reading about his book back then, but I haven't heard much about him since.
April 9, 2013 at 9:23 pm
Do you mean Steve Kellmeyer?
Yeah, Patrick has a typo in his post.
April 9, 2013 at 9:34 pm
Steve goes by the online handle "SKellmeyer" when he trolls forums, so it's an understandable mistake.
April 9, 2013 at 9:38 pm
""I think he wrote a book (or books?) that was publicized on Catholic blogs and web sites about ten years ago.""
Yep. When Chris West was making money on TOTB, Steve wrote a "me too" TOTB book. He went around the web bashing everyone who had any reservations about his and Chris's take on Catholic morality. Then Chris West exposed himself (ironic) as holding indefensible ideas for a Catholic teacher, and now Kellmeyer relentlessly criticizes West and all of Wests associates from a bunker somewhere under the Texas prairie. Awesome. Protesting too much is sort of his life's work.
April 9, 2013 at 9:57 pm
These people make personal attacks because they cannot argue reasonably on the issue. They politicise, sentimentalise, relativise the Deposit of Faith for their ideological purposes.
April 9, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Yeah, sorry about the typo. His blog is sklellmeyer, so I had that in my head.
April 9, 2013 at 10:56 pm
A puerile blog at best.
April 9, 2013 at 11:35 pm
It is Father Zuhlsdorf, not Zuhlsdorf. Any way, I was unaware that the rest of my Catholic brothers and sisters found me and my family disgusting. I think it is ok to occasionally show the morons for who they are. I don't troll liberal Catholic sites so I have any idea on who these people are. I do like Father's Z description of me (and others I assume) as hyper traditionalist. Father Z if you are listening I like the term uber-traditionlist, thanks!
April 10, 2013 at 4:04 am
He's wrong about some things (so I think) but right about others. Please don't write people off because of one imperfect thought or post. None of us are perfect. By all means play hard but play the idea not the person.
April 10, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Kellmeyer has ticked off so many people left and right that nobody pays him any attention anymore. He's like your crazy uncle Harry, whom makes everyone sigh and shake their heads when he rants. His attack on Fr. Perrone was pretty vile. As for Fr. Z., I've lost a great deal of respect for him over the years.
April 10, 2013 at 7:06 pm
I stopped reading his articles a long time ago for such horrible rant and raves.
April 10, 2013 at 7:13 pm
"Frankly, Steve Kellmeyer is pretty sickening."
April 11, 2013 at 4:02 pm
I am not certain who Steve has left. He's blasted charismatic Catholics, Ave Maria types, Christopher West officianados, ecumenists, the Novus Ordo (but now he apparently feels the Mass is beyond criticism), almost all the hierarchy, and now traditionalists. He was stridently against female foot washing before he was for it. He was for Christopher West before he was against him. He assists at a TLM exclusively but apparently he's now against "traditionalists." He once denounced bloggers who use their blogs to hawk books, then Mark Shea pointed out Steve did exactly the same thing. I'm sure I'm missing many more such instances. So, what sub-group in the Faith has he not attacked? What meets with Steve's approval?
Apparently, only Steve.
I also note that he seems to have a habit of collaborating with Dawn Eden and Fr. Angelo Geiger. When those two declared their latest jihad against "traditionalists," Steve jumped on board. Previously, those three did much of the work to attack Christopher West. Which, may have been a good thing, I've never read West, but I know there are many good Catholics with serious concerns about his material. The point is, they seem to collaborate on the various targets of their ire.
There is much more, too much to go into. It's quite a sad soap opera.