I’ve gotten some emails from folks lately about their comments disappearing. A couple months ago, when the comment boxes were being raided by sedvacantists, I cranked up the filters to 11.

This means that certain words automatically triggered moderator approval. Words like “antipope”. There were a handful.

I’ve found that moderating these consistently means big time lags when it comes to comments going live. Particularly when I have a hectic day and can’t get to them, since I perpetually seem to have around 700 unread emails in my inbox, and that’s where the notifications go.

So I turned the filters back down – for now. I will remind you of our comment policy. If you need to hash things out here, that’s perfectly acceptable. If you’ve reached the conclusion that something is fishy with the Bergoglio election, or the Ratzinger resignation, or whatever, and you want to talk that out here in a spirit of humility and openness to correction, I’m not going to stop that, though I do think it’s a dead end, as I said recently (and will say again soon.)

Please, however, avoid your definitive proclamations on who is pope. This is your chance to show docility and obedience to the Church you love, and await her judgment on this matter, which will certainly come in God’s time. (If you have neither docility nor obedience in you, this is not the place for you anyway.)

Also, I ask that you all please treat each other with the kindness that you would show someone who you know has had a very bad day. Because at this moment in history, we’re all having the equivalent of very bad days, every day. Let’s make the most of it by reminding each other that there’s goodness and decency in the world.

Thanks,

The Management