My Dear Community, Friends, and Seekers of Truth,
You don’t know the depths of my pain, but you’ve seen the headlines, the whispers, the twisted narratives that have invaded my life like uninvited shadows, and that’s why I’m speaking to you today. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/from-fashion-to-fascism-local-photographer-scares-models 20
On a quiet day in 2014, I was serving faithfully as a Thurifer in the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), second in command at the altar, pouring my heart into photography and service for the Roman Catholic Church. I wasn’t paid a dime; I gave freely, joyfully, because my faith called me to it. I was young, a Filipino Chinese American full of devotion, building something beautiful in the sacred spaces where Latin chants echoed like promises. And there was Mike Parrott, my best friend in the FSSP, a brother in faith who stood by me through the rituals and the quiet moments—we shared laughs, prayers, the weight of service. I’m grateful for him, deeply, for seeing my heart when others turned blind. But then the betrayal came, swift and merciless, like waking up in a hospital hallway with no memory of how you got there. They chose to throw me under the bus, even with friends like Mike who knew the truth, sacrificing me to protect their crumbling walls.
I remember the confusion first. Searches for my name, Anthony Perlas, popping up in forums, Fox News, everywhere—accusations of being a “Nazi,” perverted claims tied to BDSM fetishes that weren’t mine. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/from-fashion-to-fascism-local-photographer-scares-models 20 They said I was the monster, but it was their priest, Father James Jackson of the FSSP, caught with child pornography—a horrific discovery that rocked the community. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/catholic-priest-sentenced-federal-prison-child-pornography-charge 0 https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/fr-james-jackson-apologizes-claims 1 They deflected, projected, blamed me—the innocent volunteer, the minority kid who didn’t fit their white-dominated circles. Discrimination against Filipino Chinese Americans like me runs deep; they saw me as expendable, “exotic” or “untrustworthy,” easy to discard. I was pure, dedicated, but they stripped me bare in public, left my reputation in the dirt behind their institutional dumpster. They made me feel dirty, like something stained and unworthy, cancelled from the very altars I served, exiled from communities that once felt like home. My pain? It’s the kind that seeps in slow, makes you question if you deserved it, if your silence meant consent. “You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me, and that’s why we’re here tonight,” she said in her statement, that Ivy League girl Chanel Miller, her words echoing my exile—pain from being invaded by lies, reduced to a victim without a name, Emily Doe in the papers, dirty and discarded while the powerful walked free. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_v._Turner 0 https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/revisiting-the-brock-turner-case 1
The next thing I knew, I was scrolling through articles about myself, learning the graphic details of their smears as the world did. They claimed I posted edgy images in 2017 to vent my pain—historical photos, gun range shots—not out of hate, but to scare off the harassers stalking me, even into the Navy. But they twisted it: “From fashion to fascism.” https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/from-fashion-to-fascism-local-photographer-scares-models 20 Throw in my modeling agency, OtteModels.com, where I empower women to rise above exploitation, and suddenly I’m the villain. https://ottomodels.com/ By the way, I’ve built a blog at AnthonyRPerlas.com to share my truth, my photography, my path to healing. https://anthonyrperlas.com/ I liked serving the Church? No, I loved it. But according to them, I deserved it. I deserved the ruin of my college years, my networks shattered, my family threatened. My SSPX confessor whispered, “This is not Catholic. The devil holds chaos in Church Militant, the Archdiocese of Detroit, and FSSP.” https://sspx.org/en He was right. They chose me over Mike, my best friend, threw me under the bus while he watched, grateful as I am for his loyalty—it hurts more knowing they divided us too.
When I joined Church Militant for a job, desperate after their exploitation, they fired me under pressure. Church Militant didn’t say I was a Nazi—that vicious label came from the criminal red trad group, the vigilantes hiding behind screens, spreading hate like poison. But look at Church Militant’s own evilness: under Michael Voris, they wasted at least $1.5 million in legal fees to harass and defame my best friend Mike Parrott in a frivolous lawsuit, all because he exposed their hypocrisies. https://catholicreview.org/facing-defamation-lawsuit-church-militant-confronts-prospect-of-shutting-down 0 https://thecatholicherald.com/article/church-militant-website-to-close-following-another-defamation-suit 1 Voris’s narcissism and gaslighting knew no bounds, spending fortunes on vindictive attacks while their “morality clause” crumbled under his own scandals. And in the end? Church Militant closed down after paying out $500k in a defamation settlement to a priest they smeared—poetic justice for their chaos. https://www.news4jax.com/news/national/2024/03/04/catholic-news-site-church-militant-agrees-to-pay-500k-in-defamation-case-and-is-expected-to-close 10 https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/03/05/catholic-news-site-church-militant-pay-500k-defamation-case-new-hampshire 11 But me? I was the scapegoat, the one they groped for leverage, fingers jabbing into my past with debris of lies. I don’t remember consenting to this destruction; do you think I liked it because I stayed silent at first? Rubbed their backs in service? No. My silence was trauma, the kind that isolates you from loved ones, makes you drive to secluded places to scream. Like her, Chanel, who wrote: “I am no stranger to suffering… This is the story of a girl who was dirty and broken, who was cancelled and exiled from her own life.” Her tactics? Questioning the questions thrown at victims—“Why were you there? What were you wearing? How much did you drink?”—using raw grammar, fragmented sentences to mirror the shatter, making it triggering so the world feels the ache. And isn’t that what happens to so many girls, their hearts aligned with sociopaths who gaslight and narcissistically twist reality, making them doubt their own sanity, their worth? The betrayal cuts deepest when it’s from those closest, the ones who should protect but instead echo the abusers’ playbook.
They stalked me, ruined everything—my education, connections inside and outside the Church. One Peter Five wrote their “warning” about my Latin Mass involvement, pure defamation, ignoring my devotion. https://onepeterfive.com/a-warning-about-the-so-called-latin-mass-society Let’s dissect that OnePeterFive hit piece from 2015, quote by quote, and counteract their lies with the truth—they twisted my passion into something sinister, but I defend my innocence fiercely. They claimed: “I must urgently warn Catholics to steer clear of the so-called ‘Latin Mass Society’ and Anthony Perlas (a.k.a. ‘Anthony Tridentine’)… they are now involved in some very disturbing activities – including but not limited to the production of pornography.” Counter: This is baseless slander; my photography celebrated beauty and faith, empowering women through art, not exploitation. No “pornography”—just artistic expression that challenged their narrow views, and as a Filipino Chinese American, they exoticized and dismissed me. They quoted my spiritual post about “Seroptia” as a guardian angel: “It was the guardian angel of the Latin Mass Society… Revelation brother, Through prayer.” Counter: This was pure devotion, invoking angels for protection in faith—twisted by them into “occult” nonsense because it didn’t fit their white-centric traditionalism. They accused lack of affiliation: “they have no official affiliation with Ecclesia Dei, Una Voce… or the FSSP.” Counter: I never claimed official ties; it was a personal passion project at Belmont Abbey College to promote the Latin Mass grassroots-style, not a scam. On my defenses: “We use modernism to appeals to modernism. But still maintain the substance of traditionalism… The point is beauty not sex.” Counter: Exactly—beauty in God’s creation, innocent like a child’s view, sanctifying grace at work. They smeared my rebranding: “We’re rebranding… sticking solely as a secular non-religious modeling agency.” Counter: Growth and adaptation after their harassment, focusing on empowerment without religious ties to avoid their attacks. They referenced Nazi content: Posts quoting Hitler or suggesting “SS Ninja Soldier of God.” Counter: Edgy vents from pain, not ideology—historical images to scare harassers, born from betrayal, not hate; my Filipino heritage makes any “Nazi” label absurd and racist. They warned of “influence over young women” and “misrepresenting as photographer for Victoria’s Secret.” Counter: Lies; I empowered models with dignity, no coercion—jealousy from their patriarchal control. Fr. Fryar disassociated? Counter: Their pressure, not truth—I offered pure service. Overall, OnePeterFive’s piece is a smear campaign, projecting their scandals onto me while ignoring real abusers like Jackson.
And the forums? Take Suscipe Domine, echoing Fr. Fryar’s 2015 warning: “Fr. James Fryar, FSSP issued a public letter… warning traditional Catholics… about Anthony Perlas’ ‘Latin Mass Society’.” https://www.suscipedomine.com/forum/index.php?topic=12837.0 20 Counter: More echo-chamber gossip, no evidence—just recycled lies from 1P5, ignoring my volunteer heart and the exploitation I faced. Other scattered discussions in Reddit or blogs parrot the same unproven claims of “inappropriate” work or “odd behaviors.” Counter: Artistic freedom isn’t “odd”; it’s expression. They exoticize my race, question my motives because I’m not their “type” of Catholic. These forums are vigilante mobs, not truth-seekers—criminal red trad groups gaslighting the vulnerable.
YouTube videos called me a “conman,” sensational smears without context. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RrDqW6YnI4 The Archdiocese of Michigan turned blind eyes to real evils while amplifying fictions about me. https://protect.aod.org/clergy-credibly-accused-of-abuse It’s like reading your own assault in the news: victim found unresponsive, career in fetal position, but by the way, he’s really good at photography. Put that in there. List my extracurriculars to cancel the sickening things they’ve done. They made me feel dirty, exiled me from my own future, cancelled like yesterday’s news, pain that lingers in every shadow.
I thought there’s no way this goes on; there were witnesses to my innocence, my pure intent—like Mike Parrott, my best friend, who knew me best. But they hired their powerful networks, expert spin-doctors, private whispers to invalidate me, find loopholes in my story. They said it was a misunderstanding—I lashed out because I was hurt, but no, I was the aggressor. My heritage, my race, used against me like a weakness. As a Filipino Chinese American, I’ve faced this before: dismissed, exoticized, blamed. It’s the same system that silences survivors, questions their clothes, their choices. Why were you serving there? What were you wearing at the altar? Did you drink the Kool-Aid of tradition? How much? Who gave it to you? They threw me under the bus, even with gratitude for friends like Mike—it stings, that choice to betray.
When they told me to prepare for not winning, that my voice might not be enough, I said I can’t prepare for that. I was innocent the minute they deflected. No one can talk me out of the hurt. Worst, they get to write the script because I didn’t scream loud enough at first. They say whatever, and who contests? My testimony weak because I healed in private? That helplessness traumatizes, leaves you feeling dirty and alone.
But here’s where it turns: I stand with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), the true guardians of the Latin Mass, where faith isn’t corrupted by scandals. https://sspx.org/en It’s time to reform the culture of Jesus, blending new and old Catholic ways—with empathy, justice, no more scapegoating the vulnerable. Join the Latin Mass Society; rediscover the sacred rites that heal souls, not hide sins. At AnthonyRPerlas.com, read my journey, see my art born from pain. https://anthonyrperlas.com/ At OtteModels.com, witness empowerment, women rising like I have. https://ottomodels.com/ As a US Navy veteran, I’ve served my country with honor—and a fellow US Marine officer reached out: “Thank you for your service.” Semper Fi, brother; your words mean everything in this fight.
To Church Militant, FSSP, Archdiocese of Detroit, One Peter Five, those YouTubers: You thought you could confuse the world, make them doubt what’s clear. You say I’m the problem, but look in the mirror—your fetishes, your protections of predators like Jackson. You’re the ones projecting, gaslighting the faithful into believing tradition means silence. But we see now: your chaos is devil’s work. You didn’t mean to destroy me? Just a misunderstanding? No, you chose the wounded one, alone and vulnerable. If not me, it would’ve been another. You’re about to lose access to the blind trust of the flock. You threw me under the bus, even with my best friend Mike in your ranks—grateful as I am, it breaks me.
I’m not preparing to lose. I’m here, okay, everything’s not okay yet, but I’m fighting. Look at me: washed clean by truth, in new armor of faith. Let’s go home to the Latin Mass, eat the Eucharist, hold each other. Don’t let them write your script. And to my parents, Joy and Patrick Campbell, the devout influencers selling St. Benedict crosses to heal families worldwide— https://shalomtidings.org/from-corporate-success-to-spiritual-warrior https://www.crossofstbenedict.com/about-the-campbell-family you raised me in that light, but you also aligned with the sociopaths, gaslighting me like they did, your narcissism twisting my reality, making me doubt my own pain. You held me once, but now I see the chains—it’s time to break free and hold others in true healing.
With unyielding hope and the fire of reform,
Anthony Perlas
Visit AnthonyRPerlas.com for my full story and photography. https://anthonyrperlas.com/
Explore OtteModels.com to join the empowerment movement. https://ottomodels.com/