The Princess and the New York Times

The other day the New York Times ran a lengthy article on Princess Gloria Von Thurn und Taxis. 1) She has been a fixture in the German-language media for so many years now and has also drawn the attention of American media from time to time. For many years too, she has been known as a supporter of the Traditional Mass. Why this sudden interest in her?

We recall our own direct experience with the Times in December 2009, when it dispatched a team to cover the Latin mass at St. Mary’s parish, Norwalk. Why would the Times suddenly show an interest in the extraordinary form, when it had studiously avoided Traditional Masses and associated events for so many years? The answer soon became clear. You see, someone had requested a requiem Mass for a prior pastor, who had hanged himself years ago at the infamous St.  Luke’s institute. Whereupon a further person appeared and requested a mass for the victims of clerical sex abuse. This the then pastor of St.  Mary’s refused, and this “news” made its way to the Times, courtesy of some Catholics at other Norwalk parishes.  The entire purpose of the Times’ visit was to build the case that traditionalists blindly supported the clerical establishment against the victims of abuse.  Anyone with the remotest knowledge of the relationship over the years between the hierarchy and Catholic Traditionalism would know how preposterous this claim is. 

The same is true of Mr. Horowitz’s article. – as always, the political angle is paramount. You see, according to Horowitz, Princess Gloria, and other wealthy Catholics are funding an offensive of Archbishop Vigano and other conservative bishops against Pope Francis. Steve Bannon, of all people, (who a year and a half ago our progressive media had preposterously depicted as the wire-puller behind Trump) has joined the team. The article provides a portrait of Princess Gloria that is not exactly flattering;

Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis breezed through her 500-room German palace, keys in hand, a bracelet of rubies and a Virgin Mary charm on her wrist… In the crypt chapel…she removed her rose-colored designer glasses, knelt in her Comme des Garcons pants on the upholstered kneeler…colored light poured in through the six stained glass windows and on to the 58-year old’s Yves Saint Laurent jacket….

In the patented modus operandi of the Times, the reporter weaves into his story assertions masquerading as statements of fact:

In August, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano published a letter accusing Francis covering up abuse. His charges have so far proved unsubstantiated, but Princes Gloria called him “a whistle blower.”

I think great parts of Vigano’s letters have indeed been “substantiated” – but little or nothing of this has been due the efforts of the Times, which has not followed up on the most obvious leads.  Why should it do so?  – Francis continues to give the secular establishment results beyond their wildest dreams (such as favorable treatment of homosexuality). One doesn’t easily let such a man fall!  This very article reaffirms the strong commitment of the establishment media to Francis – after some wavering this year because of the Pope’s incompetent handling of the abuse issue.  

What are the efforts of the “conspiracy” (all out in the open) compared to the massive scale and resources of the secular pro-Francis bloc: the establishment media, prominent corporations, representatives of “think tanks” and NGOs  to which should be added the Western European episcopates, the Vatican bureaucracy, the mainstream religious orders and the pro-Francis Catholic media funded by  the Knights of Columbus….

Truly I am grateful to the Princess and others mentioned in the Times for organizing resistance against these overwhelming forces! And she has made clear (apparently to Mr. Bannon) that this is not a matter just of politics – any participants in this campaign need to clean up their personal religious act first.

Yes, Princess Gloria is a celebrity. She even has co-authored (with Todd Eberle) her own coffee table book. 2) In it we do get to see her family, her castle, her art collections, and read of her friendships. But we also see her serious commitment to the Church and to the Traditional Mass.  We find a bibliography including writings of the princess on matters religious and Catholic starting in 1999. 3) 

Indeed, she has inquired into the state of the Traditional Mass in New York City.  Martin Mosebach, who just visited New York once again, contributes his own assessment to this volume:

Princess and mother-figure Gloria von Thurn und Taxis possesses a courageous temperament she manages to communicate to all about her.  For her, “princess” is not simply a title, but a duty…She seizes the good fortune of her birth…as a rare opportunity to live a life out of tune with her times: as both feudal princess and democratic contemporary, as pious Catholic and collector of distinctly un-holy art, as patriotic Bavarian and member of the fashionable smart set who wander the world – all at once and at the same time without ever betraying a single one of these roles. 4)

1. Horowitz, Jason, “80s Party Girl Now has a Salon for Conservative Catholics, NYT 12/8/2018)
2.  House of Thurn and Taxis (2015, Skira/Rizzoli.)
3. Ibid. at 236-37.
4. Ibid at 219.