Fringe Watch

Christopher Pryor at the JSA Annual Conference on Anti-Semitism

2011-01-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

The First Annual Conference on Muslim Antisemitism was held on October 3rd, 2010.

Christopher J. Pryor -- a familiar name on, and ally to, Fringewatch, participated in a panel discussion on "Theological Antisemitism".

A Dialogue with a Troll

2011-01-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like a blog-post about Israel to bring the loons out of the woodwork. So when Dr. Philip Blosser (aka. Pertinacious Papist) circulated a video demonstrating UCLA college student's appalling ignorance about Israel, it came as no surprise that his comments box would be infested by a troll.

That said, insofar as the consecutive stream of comments compile a number of issues, rumors and/or allegations in a single place, I've decided to use this as an opportunity to address them.

Jesus in the Talmud

"Which religion reveres Jesus as a prophet and honors His Virgin Mother? Which religion condemns Jesus as a conman, now spending eternity boiling in excrement, while claiming his mother got pregant [sic] by a Roman soldier?" Or, as another alternative, he could have asked, "Which religion honors Jesus as Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus, son of Mary, the sister of Moses), and slays his followers as infidels."

The short answer is, "The Talmud." But then, what exactly does the Talmud say about Jesus? -- The Talmud is a vast collection of rabbinic discussions about, well, practically everything: Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. It has been the subject of much disputation, criticism and censorship in Jewish-Christian relations, particularly in Medieval times.

Anti-semites have referred to Jesus' alleged portrayal in the Talmud in their invectives against the Jewish people (and/or Judaism). They commonly refer to the work The Talmud Unmasked; The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians by Justinas Pranaitis (1861-1917), a Lithuanian Catholic priest and Professor of the Hebrew Language from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Pranaitis was called as an expert witness in the famed the blood libel case of Menahem Mendel Beilis in 1912 -- he was, however, publicly humiliated when the defence demonstrated his ignorance of some simple Talmudic concepts and definitions.

Extremists like David Duke and Michael Hoffman have made frequent use of the Talmud to denigrate Judaism as a perverted or immoral religion. In response, the Anti-Defamation League chargs that such attacks are the fruit of erroneous translations or selective quotations in order to distort the meaning of the Talmud's text, and that "fabrication of passages is not unknown." See the ADL's report, The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics (2003).

A recent serious (non-crackpot) academic treatment of the subject is Peter Schäfer's Jesus in the Talmud (Princeton UP, 2007), which claims that, far from being unreliable distortions of the historical Jesus, the Talmud's stories "represent a deliberate and sophisticated anti-Christian polemic that parodies the New Testament narratives" in a deliberate campaign to assert Judaism's superiority over Christianity. Some have criticized Schäfer's scholarship -- Joshua Kulp finds that "in cooking up 'a well designed [rabbinical] attack,' Schafer exaggerates the evidence" and that his "interpretations of rabbic texts are simply incorrect." (Shofar: Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies Vol. 27, No. 2. 2009). If one does accept Shafer's concusions, we can conclude

Rabbinic Judaism and orthodox Christianity did not evolve in igonorance of each other. From the beginning, these two nascent orthodoxies, more sisters than mother and daughter, vied for influence and narrative sovereignty. Anxiously defining themselves, they listened to one another, echoed each other, and fashioned themselves against each other. ["Talmudic Jesus" Benjamin Balint. First Things Jun/Jul2007, Issue 174, p41-44].

Contra Schafer, one should also explore Gil Student's "The Real Truth About the Talmud", an exhaustive exploration of the various charges against the Talmud -- in particular the following sections:

The Jesus Narrative in the Talmud - What, if anything, does the Talmud say about Jesus?
The Jesus Narrative in the Talmud - Does the Talmud's narrative of events correspond or differ from the Gospels'?

It is not the intent of the troll in Dr. Blosser's comments box to engage in a serious academic discussion of this topic. Rather, he wishes to dredge up from 2,000 years of history some (alleged) remarks made by Jewish teachers about Jesus and Judaism, in order to denigrate the Jewish people and foment further discord between Jews and Christians -- a deplorable tactic, and attitude in itself.

The troll would be further disappointed to learn that Jesus' alleged portrayal in the Talmud represents the sum-total of Jewish teaching about Jesus. Excluding such groups as the "Jews for Jesus" and other Jewish converts to Christianity, one might say that Jews don't have a single, formal and authoritative teaching about Jesus, save that most of them are in fundamental disagreement with the claims made by the Church as to his divinity.

In the twentieth century, there have been various, and fascinating, attempts by some Jews to wrestle with Christianity and its claims. See David Hagner's The Jewish Reclamation of Jesus (Wipf & Stock, 1997)
; Matthew Hoffman's From Rebel to Rabbi: Reclaiming Jesus and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture (Stanford UP, 2007); the scholarship of Geza Vermes or Jacob Neusner's A Rabbi Talks With Jesus -- a remarkable book made popular by Pope Benedict XVI's detailed exploration of it in the first volume of Jesus of Nazareth).

* * *

Muslims or Jews - which are more hospitable to Christians?

For a religion that slays Christ's followers as infidels, those followers certainly seemed to have been treated far better under under the yoke of dhimmitude pre-1948. How else to explain all those ancient Christian communities in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq?

If the author is willing, perhaps this might be an opportune time to suggest the works of Bat Ye'Or, including: The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude : Seventh-Twentieth Century. Likewise, you can read a number of her lectures on the myth of a 'tolerant pluralistic Islamic society' on her website, dhimmitude.org.

It makes you wonder why so many purported followers of Christ betray such slavish devotion to that sh*tty little country halfway around the world. By the way, whatever became of that 40 percent of the Holy Land that counted itself Christian? Did Christian (sic) Zionists have anything to do with their displacement?

It is possible -- or rather, true -- that Israel was complicit in the displacement of the Palestinian population following the establishment of Israel in 1948, and that a portion of the refugee population were Christians. But does this really come as a surprise, considering that Christians in the Middle East tend to identify themselves as Arabs. Displacement of populations and the creation of refugees is a sad but all-too-common consequence of any war.

That being said, I don't think you can render blame squarely on Israel without acknowledging the role of the Arab states seeking Israel's destruction. One cannot grapple with Israel's complicity in Palestinian-Arab suffering and the creation of the Palestianian refugee problem without likewise acknowledging the Arab states' complicity in the Jewish exodus (and/or expulsion) from Arab lands. Consider that the number of Jews fleeing Arab countries for Israel in the years following Israel's independence was nearly double the number of Arabs leaving Palestine.

The causes of the Christian exodus from the Holy Land is hotly debated. Blame is by and large attributed to Israel and the socio-economic conditions within Palestine as a result of its policies. At the same time, you could certainly find a role played by Islamic extremism (see Jonathan Adelman and Agota Kuperman's examination of the Christian Exodus from the Middle East). Likewise, in pointing to the establishment of roadside checkpoints and the infamous "security fence" (or wall, in some areas) as a source of hardship for the Palestinian Christian community, one is obliged to recognize that it was born by practical necessity.

It may well be that Americans and Christians will invariably find themselves in the crosshairs of the vile Mohammedans. But America's one-sided support for the Zionist state has done nothing but create and incite extremists in their camp.

As far as "one-sided support [of Israel]" is concerned, I'll refer you to this analysis of the topic.

* * *

What does it mean that Christians "had it better" under Saddam Hussein?

How many Christians lived in Iraq before the U.S. launched its invasion and occupation of that poor country? How many live there now? Gee, you think there's a connection?

Prior to the Gulf War in 1991, the Christian population of Iraq numbered approximately 1 million. The Baathist regime kept a lid on anti-Christian violence and subjected some to "relocation programmes". Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Christian population fell to an estimated 800,000. (Iraqi Christians' long history" BBC News, November 01/10).

Some Iraqi Christians rose to the top of Hussein's regime -- notable among them Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, who, in his own words, "had the honour to work with the former regime and with the hero Saddam Hussein," (2007) -- howebeit in a more recent interview portrays himself as a Arab natonalist occupying a "political position" whose "moral duty" was to defend the decisions of Hussein:

"I don't say that I am a great man and that I was correct in everything that I did. But I am proud of my life because my best intention was to serve Iraq. There were mistakes though, there were things that were not completely correct."

"Paradoxically, Christians were more protected under [Hussein's] dictatorship," remarked French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (Catholic News Service 2003). That is a sentiment shared by many or most Iraqi Christians. As one Iraqi Christian put it in 2007:

"When Saddam was in power there was no fighting. Saddam loved the Christians. We were safer with Saddam; now we just leave the country."

One may question whether Saddam had any "affection" for Christianity, but there is no disputing that Christians under Saddam Hussein enjoyed a higher standard of safety, security and an overall standard of living than they do in present-day Iraq. Terrorist intimidation, kidnappings and outright attacks (such as the frequent bombings of churches and mosques) are directed particularly at Shiite and Christian minorities, and the Iraqi government appears powerless to protect them.

So, Christians had it better in Iraq.

But at what price?

That's the question. Considering the record of atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein's regime against other non-Christian segments of Iraq's population: the wholesale destruction of villages, deportations and mass executions of Shiite Kurds during the 1988 "Anfal" genocide campaign and the Halabja poison gas attack; crackdown on Kurdish and Shiite uprisings in the North in 1991; An estimation of casualties from various sources on Wikipedia runs as follows:

According to The New York Times, "he [Saddam] murdered as many as a million of his people, many with poison gas. He tortured, maimed and imprisoned countless more. His unprovoked invasion of Iran is estimated to have left another million people dead. His seizure of Kuwait threw the Middle East into crisis. More insidious, arguably, was the psychological damage he inflicted on his own land. Hussein created a nation of informants — friends on friends, circles within circles — making an entire population complicit in his rule". Others have estimated 800,000 deaths caused by Saddam not counting the Iran-Iraq war. Estimates as to the number of Iraqis executed by Saddam's regime vary from 300-500,000 to over 600,000, estimates as to the number of Kurds he massacred vary from 70,000 to 300,000, and estimates as to the number killed in the put-down of the 1991 rebellion vary from 60,000 to 200,000. Estimates for the number of dead in the Iran-Iraq war range upwards from 300,000.

Indeed, whatever stability and security Iraqis enjoyed under Hussein's dictatorship was obtained by way of secret police, the torture (even of women and children), government-sponsored rape, murder, deportation, forced disappearances, assassinations, chemical weapons and genocide. (For documentation see: SADDAM HUSSEIN: crimes and human rights abuses Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London. November 2002).

And this is precisely why I am unable, while acknowledging that the Christian population in Iraq probably did enjoy a relatively higher and secure standard of living under Saddam Hussein, to derive any kind of conclusion along the lines of: "Saddam Hussein should have remained in power."

* * *

Which Mideast democracy, recipient of untold billions in U.S. military and financial assistance, banned "The Passion of the Christ"?

Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ was never formally banned by Israel. This is not to say, however, that groups like the Anti-Defamation League didn't lobby for its banning. However, Israeli distributors did not seek permission to market the movie, according to the country's Film Censorship Board, the official arbiter of what cinematic fare is fit for public viewing (Los Angeles Times March 15, 2004). The concern was that it would probably not do well because of the controversy. Case in point: Scorcese's The Last Temptation of Christ opened with a comparative level of controversy and fizzled at the box office. We may take issue with it, but Jewish movie distributors are entirely within their rights to reject a film.

That said, a BBC News report does indicate that the film was shown in various venues around Israel:

An art house cinema in Tel Aviv will show the movie within three months. The film will be followed by a post-screening seminar to examine the depiction of Jesus. Pirated copies of the film have been circulating in Jerusalem. During Easter, there were nightly private showings in East Jerusalem hotels, where most of the Christian Arab population lives.

* * *

At this point, the troll goes on to embark on a broader indictment of European nations (and presumably Germany in particular) for "imprisoning those who dare to question any aspect of the orthodox Holocaust account", and the United States for "meddling incessantly" in the affairs of Islamic nations, "while claiming any blowback it suffers (q.v., 9/11)stems from those nations' extremist elements." One could engage these matters further, but time is valuable and this post has gone on long enough.

SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson Ordered to Remove Lawyer Affiliated with Neo-Nazi Movement

2010-11-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson Ordered to Remove Lawyer Affiliated with Neo-Nazi Movement, Before Germany Appeal Begins:

Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of Saint Pius X recently hired lawyer, Wolfram Nahrath, to conduct his appeal against a €10,000 fine imposed on April, 2010, in Regensburg, Germany, (Regensburg Court) for comments he made in a 2008 Swedish television interview regarding the Holocaust.
The Society of Saint Pius X recently learned via Germany’s Spiegel news magazine that Bishop Williamson hired Nahrath, a lawyer who is affiliated with the so-called neo-Nazi movement in Germany.
The Society of Saint Pius X Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, on Saturday, November 20, released the following worldwide statement from Menzingen, Switzerland:
FRATERNITAS SACERDOTALIS SANCTI PII X
GENERAL HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
The Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, has learnt by the press of Bishop Richard Williamson’s decision, just ten days before his trial, to dismiss the lawyer charged with his defense, in favor of a lawyer who is openly affiliated to the so-called neo-Nazi movement in Germany, and to other such groups.
Bishop Fellay has given Bishop Williamson a formal order to go back on this decision and to not allow himself to become an instrument of political theses that are completely foreign to his mission as a Catholic bishop serving the Society of Saint Pius X.
Disobedience to this order would result in Bishop Williamson being expelled from the Society of Saint Pius X.
Menzingen, November 20 of 2010.
Fr. Christian Thouvenot, general Secretary

Traditional Catholicism and the teachings of Bishop Richard Williamson

2010-03-04T17:38:00.001-08:00

An article by J. Christopher Pryor has just been published in the Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism. Titled "Traditional Catholicism and the Teachings of Bishop Richard Williamson", it explores the anti-semitic worldview of the notorious bishop of the Society for Saint Pius X.

Mr. Pryor begins by "highlighting key experiences [he] had while studying in Bishop Williamson’s seminary in Winona, Minnesota", in order to "illustrate his process of indoctrination, the particular methodology that ensured that his philosophy was thoroughly absorbed by the seminarians."

Worth reading in full.

Bishop Williamson on SSPX-Vatican talks: "dialogue of the deaf"

2010-01-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

Via Reuters' Faithworld): Bishop Williamson is at it again -- this time dismissing the talks between the Vatican and the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) as a "dialogue of the deaf" - "Either the SSPX becomes a traitor or Rome converts."

Richard Williamson in the News

2009-11-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

Holocaust-denying bishop appeals $16,822 fine in Germany Associated Press October 11, 2009:
[Richard Williamson], who was fined 12,000 euro $16,822 in Germany for denying the Holocaust has appealed the fine, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Matthias Lossmann said that the bishop, Richard Williamson, objected to the fine, which means there will be a trial.
(Full story in the UK's Daily Mail).
Meanwhile, in his latest weekly article, Williamson renews his attacks on the Jews by way of criticizing the Frankfurt school. (To criticize an intellectual movement is one thing; to criticize a movement on account of their Jewishness, as does the resource that Williamson cites, is another. Note the difference).

Judge issues ruling on John Sharpe defamation case

2009-08-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

John Sharpe -- the subject of prior investigations of this blog -- recently sued the newspaper (The Virginia Pilot) and a columnist by the name of David Mastio for defamation.

The ruling came on April 9, 2009. While we have yet to hear reporting of this matter in the mainstream Catholic press, we have come across a few outcries protesting the summary judgement on various anti-semitic blog sites.

The article by David Mastio, to which Sharpe took offense, can be found here: "Rank is wrong for Navy supremacist" The Virginia Pilot March 15, 2007. Vivian Page (All Politics is Local) relays the background:

Back in 2007, the Pilot printed an article about Lt. Cmdr. John Sharpe, who was relieved of his duty as the public affairs officer on the aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson. Sharpe was being investigated for heading two anti-Semitic groups, the Legion of St. Louis and IHS Press. The Southern Poverty Law Center identified these groups as “two of the most nakedly anti-Semitic organizations in the entire radical traditionalist Catholic pantheon.” (This article was the result of an earlier article printed in Portfolio Weekly which is no longer available online.)
The article prompted this editorial, written by then editorial writer David Mastio. In it, Mastio takes the Navy to task for not having noticed that Sharpe’s writings had been available on the internet for five years. In the process, Mastio – as only Mastio can – uses some inflammatory language to describe Sharpe, like the following: "His views veer from insanely pacifist conspiracy theories to chest-thumping jingoism with barely a speed bump in between."

What follows are excerpts from Judge Norman A. Thomas' summary judgement in the matter of John Sharpe v. Landmark Communications, Inc., d/b/a The Virginian-Pilot and David Mastio [PDF format].

With respect to the particular public controversy inquiry, the Court finds that Sharpe, writing from the perspective of an advocate of his personal interpretations of the very conservative Catholic Social Doctrine, frequently writes or compiles, re-publishes, or endorses the writings of others that criticize the alleged role of Jews and their perceived conspiratorial efforts to dominate the United States Government, world financial markets, the media, and world events, including but not limited to, the September 11, 2001 attacks by Islamic extremists in the United States and the resultant United States’ and other western nations’ involvement in armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. While relatively broad in their scope, Sharpe’s writings and those which he otherwise published or endorsed on the websites of the Legion of St. Louis or the IHS Press (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Sharpe’s writings” or “his writings”) coalesce around one common denominator, that is, suspicion and criticism of the role of Jews in world events, including the perceived cause and effect of such Jewish efforts on the downfall on western Christendom and, in particular, Catholicism. Sharpe’s writings take a macro view of perceived Jewish influence, variously referring to it in such ways as “Judeo-Masonry”, the “Jewish Nation”, “World Judaism”, “World Jewry”, and “depending upon who is asked, what makes someone Jewish, is anything from their religious persuasion to their ethnicity, to their nationality, to the religion or ethnicity of their maternal parent.” Special Feature: WTC and the Pentagon Attacked. Part III, a writing authored by Sharpe and published circa October 16, 2001, on the website of the Legion of St. Louis. [...]
In paragraph three of the March 15, 2007 editorial the defendants state that, “Sharpe’s views aren’t dangerous because they are openly racist and anti-Semitic, though that would be bad enough. His ideas are dangerous because they’re crazy, and when uttered by a commissioned officer, they take on the aura of authority”. Although one might argue that the defendants uttered only opinion in stating that Sharpe’s views are “openly racist and anti-Semitic”, Sharpe claims that the defendants therein make factual assertions and defamed him by doing so. Complaint, paragraphs 6 and 20.
Viewed as allegedly defamatory factual statements respecting Sharpe’s views, the Court grants the defendants summary judgment. The Court, having thoroughly reviewed the corpus of Sharpe’s writings, and especially those selections personally authored by him, concludes as a matter of law that the writings do espouse anti-Semitic and racist views.
[...]
Sharpe’s views, as expressed in his personally authored writings, align almost perfectly with both the traditional and more modern expanded definitions of the term “anti-Semitism”. Indeed, on one occasion, Sharpe admitted, in effect, that a hypothetical enlisted member of his command might well have considered his writings to be anti-Semitism.
[...]
No reasonable person can read Sharpe’s individual writings and conclude that he espouses anything other than a deep, abiding and pervasive suspicion of and hostility toward Jews, whether considered as a collective people, religion, nation or ethnic group. From his perspective as an advocate of the Catholic Social Doctrine, he considers Jews to be in direct competition with western Christendom, in fact, seeking to bring about its end, and also responsible in whole or in part for nefarious and self-centered domination of the United States Government, one or more of its former Presidents, the media, the world financial markets, and, bearing responsibility for such events as the terrorist attacks on
United States soil occurring on September 11, 2001.

Robert Sungenis is at it again.

2009-07-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

"Lies, Plagiarism, and Anti-Semites: Sungenis Comes Full Circle", by David Palm. July 14, 2009:

Despite an explicit directive from his ordinary, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, to cease writing about Jews and Jewish issues (see here) and despite his own numerous promises to stop doing so (his promises are documented here), Sungenis has repeatedly returned to the topic, each time with the same blatant disregard for truth, Catholic morals, and scholarly standards. As a direct result of Sungenis’ embarrassing and vile extremism, he has now had presentations halted by Archbishop Raymond Burke (St. Louis) and the Diocese of San Bernardino (in concert with the Knights of Columbus).
Well, the dog has once again returned to his vomit. His latest salvo, however, is of particular interest because of what agitated Bob this time - a document that was promulgated by the USCCB precisely to correct the problematic positions taken by the Reflections on Covenant and Mission document in regard to the dual covenant theory and the evangelization of Jews.

2009-07-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Watchdog group: Dozens of active-duty troops found on neo-Nazi site, by Kevin Baron, Stars and Stripes. July 10, 2009.

2009-06-10T00:12:00.000-07:00

BNP's soft sell masks the poison, by Peter Hitchens. May 30, 2009.

Pope Benedict XVI on the Williamson controversy

2009-03-13T21:03:00.001-07:00

An unforeseen mishap for me was the fact that the Williamson case came on top of the remission of the excommunication. The discreet gesture of mercy towards four Bishops ordained validly but not legitimately suddenly appeared as something completely different: as the repudiation of reconciliation between Christians and Jews, and thus as the reversal of what the Council had laid down in this regard to guide the Church’s path. A gesture of reconciliation with an ecclesial group engaged in a process of separation thus turned into its very antithesis: an apparent step backwards with regard to all the steps of reconciliation between Christians and Jews taken since the Council – steps which my own work as a theologian had sought from the beginning to take part in and support. That this overlapping of two opposed processes took place and momentarily upset peace between Christians and Jews, as well as peace within the Church, is something which I can only deeply deplore. I have been told that consulting the information available on the internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news. I was saddened by the fact that even Catholics who, after all, might have had a better knowledge of the situation, thought they had to attack me with open hostility. Precisely for this reason I thank all the more our Jewish friends, who quickly helped to clear up the misunderstanding and to restore the atmosphere of friendship and trust which – as in the days of Pope John Paul II – has also existed throughout my pontificate and, thank God, continues to exist.

Excerpt from Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre (March 10, 2009).

Williamson apologizes; Vatican: "not enough"

2009-02-27T19:55:00.000-08:00

Bishop Richard Williamson released a public statement apologizing for his remarks on the Holocaust:

The Holy Father and my Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, have requested that I reconsider the remarks I made on Swedish television four months ago, because their consequences have been so heavy.
Observing these consequences I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them.

On Swedish television I gave only the opinion (..."I believe"..."I believe"...) of a non-historian, an opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available, and rarely expressed in public since.

However, the events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused. To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize.

As the Holy Father has said, every act of injust violence against one man hurts all mankind.

+Richard Williamson,

London, 26 February, 2009

* * *
Federico Lombardi says an apology from Bishop Richard Williamson is not enough:

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said in a verbal statement today that the apology is lacking. He told journalists that the statement "does not seem to respect the conditions established in the Feb. 4 note from the [Vatican] Secretariat of State, which stated that [Bishop Williamson] must distance himself in an absolute, unequivocal and public way from his positions regarding the Shoah."
The spokesman also noted that the prelate's declaration was not a letter directed to the Holy Father or to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which oversees the Church's efforts to heal the schism with the Society of St. Pius X.

Williamson's anti-semitism no secret to former SSPX seminarians

2009-02-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

Former seminarians under Bishop Williamson say his anti-semitism was no secret:

"He got his point across, right from the start," said the Rev. John Rizzo, who in 1985 was ordained a priest of the Society of St. Pius X, which broke with Rome over the liturgical and theological reforms instituted during the Second Vatican Council of the mid-1960s. John Rizzo left the Society of St. Pius X in 1993 and joined a different traditionalist society, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which is in union with Rome.
"I have a sizable nose, and he would say to me, 'Rizzo, are you baptized, or are you a Jew?' " John Rizzo, who is now based in New Zealand, said in a phone interview from Australia. "There was another seminarian named Oppenheimer, and he would say: 'Oppenheimer, I don't like your name. If you keep it up, there's a gas chamber waiting for you at the boathouse.' "
[...]
John Rizzo's twin brother, Joseph, who left the seminary without being ordained, also recalls Williamson's rhetoric. Joseph Rizzo is now back in Weymouth, where he has four children and is a general manager for Tedeschi Food Shops.
"He called the Holocaust the biggest theatrics known to mankind - I remember sitting in a conference one time when he said those words, and I couldn't believe it - he looked around the room and saw the jaws dropping," said Joseph Rizzo. "I walked around the lake with him, and I said, 'Why would you say that?' and he said, 'There's no documentation.' He said it was all staged, and when I asked why, he said because the Jews own the country, they own the banks, and he felt it was some kind of effort to generate some sympathy toward them."

Charming.

On a related note, however, The Times reports that Williamson has been give ten days to leave the country or face expulsion:

The Argentine Interior Ministry said Bishop Williamson’s statements on the Holocaust “profoundly insult Argentine society, the Jewish community and all of humanity by denying an historic truth”.
Bishop Williamson had been head of La Reja seminary in Buenos Aires since 2003 but he was removed from that job last week.
The Argentine interior ministry said that Bishop Williamson had not declared “his true activity” as the director of the seminary on immigration forms, and had “concealed the true motive for his stay in the country” by claiming to be an employee of a non-governmental body.
The government said it had been unaware of Bishop Williamson’s position until recent publicity, but added that his views were a factor in the decision to expel him.

Bishop Williamson delivers pseudo-apology; Bishop Fellay: "The Jews are 'our elder brothers'"; "Antisemitism has no place in our ranks"

2009-02-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

Letter of apology to Pope Benedict XVI from Bishop Bernard Williamson:

Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.
For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12:
"Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."
Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.

Unfortunately, this strikes me more as an apology for making his remarks at an innopportune moment in time, rather than a remorseful retraction of the content itself.

That said, it also sounds like Williamson's superior is sincere in his convictions:

SSPX To Discipline Bishop Williamson Mittelbayerische Zeitung February 2, 2009. (Translated by ,Catholic Church Conservation).
Fellay: "The Jews are 'our elder brothers'"; "Antisemitism has no place in our ranks" Rorate-Caeli - first declaration made yesterday to French Catholic Weekly Famille Chrétienne; second by email to Dr Alcuin Reid. February 2, 2009.

Superior General of the SSPX: "Bishop Williamson forbidden to speak on political or historical matters"

2009-01-27T21:28:00.000-08:00

Superior General of the SSPX: Bishop Williamson forbidden to speak on political or historical matters January 27, 2009:
Communiqué of the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay
It has come to our attention that Bishop Richard Williamson, a member of our Society, granted an interview to a Swedish network. In this interview, he also commented on historical issues, especially on the genocide of Jews by the National-Socialist regime. It is obvious that a bishop speaks with religious authority solely on matters of faith and morals. Our Society claims no authority over historical or other secular matters.
The mission of the Society is the offering and restoration of authentic Catholic teaching, as handed down in the dogmas. We are known, accepted, and appreciated worldwide for this.
We view this matter with great concern, as this exorbitance has caused severe damage to our religious mission. We apologize to the Holy Father and to all people of good will for the trouble it has caused.
It must remain clear that those comments do not reflect in any way the attitude of our community. That is why I have forbidden Bishop Williamson to issue any public opinion on any political or historical matter until further notice.
The constant accusations against the Society have also apparently served the purpose of discrediting our mission. We will not allow this, but will continue to preach Catholic doctrine and to offer the Sacraments in the ancient rite.
Menzingen, January 27, 2009
+ Bishop Bernard Fellay
Superior General
Note of the District Superior for Germany of the SSPX:
As District Superior of the Society [of Saint Pius X] in Germany, I am very troubled by the words pronounced by Bishop Williamson here in this country.
The banalization of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazi regime and of its horror are unacceptable for us.
The persecution and murder of an incalculable number of Jews under the Third Reich touches us painfully and they also violate the Christian commandment of love for neighbor which does not distinguish ethnicities.
I must apologize for this behavior and dissociate myself from such a view.
Such dissociation is also necessary for us because the father of Archbishop Lefebvre died in a KZ [concentration camp] and because numerous Catholic priests lost their lives in Hitler's concentration camps.
Stuttgart, January 27, 2009
Father Franz Schmidberger

Thank you.

Vatican lifts excommunications on SSPX hierarchy; Bishop Williamson - an obstacle to reconciliation

2009-01-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

From Vatican Radio comes the news that Holy See today has lifted the excommunications of the four bishops of the SSPX by a decree of the Congregation for Bishops.

Amy Welborn offers a good assessment of the situation and a roundup of responses to the Vatican's move -- among them the helpful post from the clerical blog Rationabile Obsequium (What precisely has the Pope done?) and this analysis from Carlos Palad of Rorate Caeli; a good aid in discerning what this means (an invitation to reconciliation with the Catholic Church); and more importantly what it does not ("The lifting of the excommunications on the SSPX bishops does not signify that the SSPX is back in full communion with the Holy See").

The ball is now in the SSPX's court.

* * *

Earlier this month, SSPX Bishop Williamson gave an interview to the Swedish press, in which he espoused his oft-repeated view that none of [the Jews] died as a result of gas in gas chambers."

Williamson has previously endorsed the anti-semitic forgery Protocols of the Elders of Zion ("God put into men's hands the Protocols of the Sages of Sion... if men want to know the truth, but few do") and has asserted that the Jews are fighting for world domination "to prepare the Anti-Christ's throne in Jerusalem."

In the past, he has also indulged in 9/11 conspiracy theorizing and denounced Vatican II as "the religion of man, of man put in the place of God ... it's a new religion, dressed up to look like the Catholic religion, but it's not." (See Catholic Herald March 5, 2008) and "The Politics of Bishop Richard Williamson" (Fringewatch January 25, 2006).

I fear that the Pope's gesture will not go over well with the Jewish people or those sympathetic to the betterment of Christian-Jewish relations. Some will see the lifting of excommunication without a concurrent demand for a change of mind and heart on the part of avowed anti-semites like Williamson as a tacit acceptance.

Writing to Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Commission on Religious Relations With the Jews, Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation league expressed his concern that lifting Bishop Williamson's excommunication "could become a source of great tension between Catholics and Jews.":

"The re-admittance to full communion of a bishop who appears to publicly reject key teachings of the Second Vatican Council could provide succor to those whose views threaten the Jewish people and the Church's desire to improve and deepen its relationship with us to benefit all mankind."

From my understanding Williamson's views have scandalized some within the SSPX; however, Bishop Fellay has taken a 'hands off' approach in his handling of the controversy. In a stern reply to the Swedish television studio, he castigated them for their "vile attempts" to question Williamson's views on the Holocaust, stating:

It is obvious that a bishop can only speak about questions of faith and morals with any ecclesial authority. If he deals with secular issues he is personally responsible for his own private opinions. The Society I am governing has no authority to address such issues, or will it ever claim such authority.

No doubt that if the SSPX has any desire to reconcile with Rome, particularly after Pope Benedict's significant gesture in their direction, they will have to confront the obstacle of Bishop Richard Williamson.

"Abortion and the Catholic Right II" - Dr. James Hitchcock and critics

2008-09-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I drew attention to an article by Catholic historian James Hitchcock: "Abortion and the Catholic Right" (Human Life Review Spring 2007), which observed how the Catholic (re: "traditionalist") Right -- as represented by Joseph Sobran, Paul Likoudis and contributors to The Wanderer & The Remnant -- have been obsessed with their opposition to democratic-capitalism, "neoconservatives" and the Bush administration, to such an immense degree that they now hold the aformentioned issues as being "more pressing" than abortion.

In the Winter 2008 issue, James Hitchcock responds to his critics -- among them Christopher Ferrara of The Wanderer and John Rao of The Remnant. As he observes, "the most common response to my article was simply to change the subject-from abortion to the war in Iraq, the economy, or whatever else seemed important to a particular individual, without apparently realizing that changing the subject exactly proved my point."

Hitchcock's dealings with the "fringe right" and their attitudes toward the Republicans (and/or "neocons") are reminiscent of some recent skirmishes with a few Catholic blogs on the "progressive left" -- politics makes for strange bedfellows. Consider:

In their repeated denunciations of "neo-conservatives" over the Iraq war, right-wing Catholics ignore the fact that neo-conservatives, especially in the pages of their leading publication, The Weekly Standard, are among the few secular commentators enrolled in the pro-life cause (for example, a strong article [November 5, 2007]-not by any means the first-on the Terri Schiavo case). Christopher Manion, a regular Wanderer columnist, regularly charges (e.g., November 15, 2007) that neo-conservatives' attitude to pro-lifers "seldom rises above thinly disguised contempt," an assertion for which he offers no evidence. Only a week before Manion made this claim, The Wanderer itself provided evidence of strong neo-conservative support of pro-life causes without acknowledging it, when it cited a Standard article that was one of the most thorough and effective exposÃ©s of Planned Parenthood ever published.
Manion's "proof that neoconservatives are not pro-life consists entirely of raw assertion, on the assumption that Wanderer readers know nothing about the movement except what he tells them. For example, the ecumenical religious journal First Things has over the years published innumerable articles on the life issues, but Manion (January 31) falsely claimed that in its pages '"national greatness' conservatism . . . crowds out the pro-lifers."
[...]
Until he did so poorly in the primaries, it was right-wing dogma that neoconservatives were planning to impose Giuliani on the nation, an assumption that was used to justify blanket condemnations of the Republicans. In reality, however, neo-conservatives were predictably divided over the various Republican candidates, and one article in the Standard (October 2, 2007) argued that Giuliani was unacceptable precisely because of his position on abortion, a judgment also tendered by National Review (December, 3, 2007), a magazine that right-wingers dismiss as having been captured by neoconservatives. (Manion [December 13, 2007] distorted the Standard's argument against Giuliani by calling it a "lament.")
The assumption by right-wing critics of the Republican Party (and many on the Left as well) that the party's official pro-life stance is hypocritical is a dogma that, like all dogmas, is irrefutable, in that Republican inaction on abortion proves the charge, while any action is dismissed as a political trick.

And so on and so forth. It comes as no suprise that Hitchcock is lumped together with Fr. Neuhaus and George Weigel, renegade Catholics who wish to replace the saints of the liturgical calendar with "John Locke, David Hume, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig von Mises, and maybe Mickey Mouse."

Hitchcock concludes:

Those who reject electoral politics as a way of combating abortion offer no concrete alternative. Disdaining the work of painstaking, step-by-step political activity, they leave the field to their enemies and direct much of their fire at those ostensible allies who consider the battle still worth fighting.

Does the SSPX formally endorse John Sharpe?

2008-07-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Michael Semin appears to lament that only the SSPX, The Angelus, and other Traditional Catholics, back John Sharpe's work Neo-Conned. The Chambers Initiative, however, begs to differ:

My guess is that Semin will be hard pressed to obtain an official approval from any religious organization, Traditional or otherwise, that officially backs John Sharpe and/or Neo-Conned. If Semin does obtain any, we will gladly post any official endorsement from a Catholic General Superior stating such approval. If there are not any, it is time that Semin and his friends stop acting as if they are running a Church approved movement.

Out of Touch? The Scandal of Leon Podles

2008-07-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

In this post we take a break from the political periphery to look at some religious fringe behavior. At the beginning of this year Touchstone magazine came out heavily endorsing Leon Podles' new book Sacrilege (Crossland Foundation), which claims to expose, in excruciating detail, the Catholic clerical sex scandals.

Plenty of reliable and faithful Catholic writers have grappled with this problem. But Podles goes even further and indulges in unsubstantiated reports which undermine his credibility. This even prompted Fr. John Neuhaus at First Things, in his January 2008 commentary, to say:

It is a rambling essay of more than five hundred pages on a potpourri of items picked up from the public media and the blogosphere, including, along with the kitchen sink, stomach-turning details of abuse, mainly with boys, and a scathing, if familiar, indictment from a conservative perspective of liberal depredations that brought things to this sorry pass. Regrettably, the tone is shrill, and even righteous anger does not justify the author’s suspension of caution and charity in attributing motives.

Given Touchstone's otherwise outstanding reputation, it is troubling that the magazine insisted on running a full-page back-cover ad for Sacrilege (with a close-up photo of a man in a clerical color), month after month. No doubt it helps that Podles is a senior editor for the magazine. That may also explain why people who have contacted editors about the ad have simply been ignored. The only response that we could find was a ribald bit of doggerel by S. M. Hutchens (another senior editor) on the Touchstone blog which lampoons Fr. Neuhaus. It's not much of a response to legitimate criticism.

If Podles' book were just an obvious left-wing anti-clerical rant, we would ignore it. What concerns us is that—like other scandal-mongers and fringe commentators we've covered—he tries to pass himself off as a "Catholic in good standing." Yet a little digging reveals some interesting things. Both the book and the Touchstone ad carry a prominent endorsement by Thomas Doyle, author of conspiracy-obsessed work Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse. Doyle is a professional Church-basher who argues that Catholicism has suffered from sex abuse from the very beginning, due in large part to its traditional teachings on marriage and clerical celibacy.

The problem with Podles is that he is a theological freelancer who buys into the view that sex abuse is endemic and institutionalized. How is this attitude any different from the heterodox opinions of Doyle? Though he tries to disarm critics by saying that "attacking sexual abuse is not attacking the Catholic Church" (true enough), the tenor of his argument contradicts this stance. For example in the preface to his book, Podles makes the following assertions:

The toleration of abuse was not necessary. It was and is convenient. A canonized saint tolerated abuse. Rings of abusers go back at least to the 1940s in America, and abuse involved sacrilege, orgies, and probably murder (and perhaps even worse). Bishops knew about the abuse and sometimes took part in it. Those who complained were ignored or threatened, and the police refused to investigate crimes committed by clergy.
....The distortions in Catholic life that allowed the abuse to continue with little rebuke are, I think, of long standing; Catholic attitudes, in fact Western attitudes, to morality have been distorted for centuries by seeing morality as essentially obedience to an external law....
....The Vatican helped set the stage for the abuse by cultivating a clericalist mentality that saw the clergy as the real church, and making the purpose of canon law the protection of the rights and reputation of the clergy, not the protection of children from abuse.

One can see where this is headed. So, apparently, did Spence Publishing. Podles admits that they "refused to publish the book they had commissioned" because of gross descriptions of abuse that the author deemed "essential to the book." Spence puts out some excellent conservative works, and it is to their credit that they turned down Sacrilege.

Aside from the potential for voyeurism, such as one finds in pulp "true crime" shockers, there is the fact that Podles' attitude seems disingenuous. It is not surprising that it has been picked up by people who want a stick to beat Catholics with. In addition to Doyle there's A. W. Richard Sipe, author of Sex, Priests, and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis. Sipe contends that

The scandal of priestly sexual abuse of minors... is primarily a symptom of an essentially flawed celibate/sexual system of ecclesiastical power.... Sex has always been problematic for the Roman Catholic Church.

It is this same author who calls Sacrilege "indispensable for anyone seriously concerned about" the sex scandals. Of course, Podles, Doyle and Sipe overlook the fact that the problems in the Church are part of worldwide moral meltdown and that abuse is just as prevalent (and in some cases even more so) in other religious groups and secular institutions like public schools. This in no ways excuses clerical misconduct, but it does put it into a broader context. What Podles lacks is a sense of proportion. And in something as sensitive as this, a lack of nuance can be disastrous. A far more accurate and dispassionate study of the issue was provided in a special 2004 report by the Catholic League.

The fact that Podles is attacking a real evil is one thing. But there is a point at which criticism becomes self-destructive. Podles has found major allies amongst anti-Catholics, which shows that he may be more concerned with his pet project than in real reform of the clergy. As for Touchstone, up till now they have provided thoughtful commentary on religious and cultural topics. But this current lack of sensitivity is distressing.

"Conservatives" Who are Part of the Problem?

2008-07-16T09:16:00.001-07:00

As someone once said of Joe Sobran: "He is so far out to the right he's met up with his far left counterparts by way of the back door." The problem here is with conservatives who cease to be conservatives, but are afraid to give up the label, and so they become disingenous and evasive enablers for lunatic ideologies. Not surprisingly Sobran has lost his broad support over the years, but manages to occasionally fool people into thinking he stands for traditional beliefs. For our readers' reference, here are some helpful discussions from the blog Liberty Corner:

The New Anti-Semitism

2008-05-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

Actually the new anti-Semitism isn't that "new" (as will be shown below), but it does reflect a change in the direction of anti-Jewish paranoia over the last twenty-five years.

In the decades just after World War II, animosity towards Jews was typically confined to racialist neo-Nazi organizations. Amongst neo-fascists, of the Italian variety, anti-Semitism was less pronounced or simply non-existent. After all, Mussolini's original Fascist Party allowed Jewish members and had no racial program until 1938, when it came under the ideological pressure of its new ally Nazi Germany. Even then, anti-Jewish measures were relatively lenient (when compared to Hitler's program). Part of this was because Jews were a small and highly assimilated minority in Italian society.

But a new synthesis of radical nationalism emerged in the 1980s. Anti-Semitism took a slightly different turn. It became less markedly "racialist," but it was also more widespread. One reason for this change was that anti-Semitism was sold as "anti-Zionism" and opposition to Israel in conjunction with attacks on "capitalism" and America (which was seen as a multi-cultural cesspool as dangerous as, or more so, than Soviet Russia).

Contemporary hostility towards Jews can therefore be seen as part of a broader "anti-liberal" (anti-Western) crusade with roots in a gnostic "traditionalism". This anti-Jewish view is less the product of social Darwinian theories than it is of an apocalyptic political mentality. Jew-haters can be found across the racial spectrum. Even among white anti-Semites and Hitler-admirers there are people who are not your typical racialists. In the Holocaust revisionist camp, Ted O'Keefe—who writes admiring studies of the Nazi Waffen SS—is (or was) in a long-standing relationship with a Japanese woman. Bradley Smith, organizer of the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust (CODOH), has a Mexican wife. John Sharpe (leader of the Legion of St. Louis) is married to a Lebanese woman.

While these attitudes might seem less malevolent than "Aryan" race worship, it is in some ways more insidious. For one thing it allows people like John Sharpe or E. Michael Jones to deflect criticism by saying that they aren't "anti-Semitic," as if racial standards were the only determining factor. An excellent response to this rhetorical sidestepping is found on Christopher Blosser's Against the Grain entry for January 19, 2007. The relevant point is made in his comments about the religious anti-Semitism of Fr. Dennis Fahey

A common strategy of those who intellectually flirt with (or worse, embrace) the ideological right is to confine the definition of anti-semitism to a purely racial hatred of the Jewish people, so as to excuse or explain away any other form of animosity toward the Jewish people.... Unfortunately, Fahey's restricted definition of anti-semitism didn't prohibit him from indulging in fantasies of Judeo-Masonic conspiracies so off the wall that Hillaire Belloc was moved to say "The thing is nonsense on the face of it."

Yet another way of understanding the apparent contradictions of anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism is to recall that even Hitler's Germany was far from consistent in its race policies. Berlin was not only allied with the Asians of Japan, but it allowed the recruitment of Crimean Tatars (also Asians) into its armed forced in the war in Russia. Even its anti-Slavism was selective. German Nazis persecuted Poles and Russians, but allied themselves with Slovaks, Croatians and Ukrainians. Ultimately, claims about racial purity are belied by animosities which are driven more by political and cultural factors than purely biological ones. This was certainly the case in Hitler's support for Muslim and Arab nationalists, which has come to light since the publication of Der Mufti von Jerusalem und die Nationalsozialisten ("The Mufti and the Holocaust") by Klaus Gensicke (see book review in Policy Review). When the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, was first received by Hitler in Berlin (where he would take up residence for the remainder of the war), the Nazi leader assured him that "the sole German aim will be the destruction of the Jews living in the Arab space under the protection of British power." Arabs were racially as Semitic as Jews but their cultural and political position was totally different.

Nazi racial views boiled down to an irrational prejudice rather than a "scientific" worldview. Of course, Hitler looked with disdain on non-white Arabs, but during the war he was willing to modify his bigotry to suit wartime ambitions. Likewise we see that since the first Gulf War of 1991, anti-Semites and Hitlerites sought alliances with the Muslim world. They praised the late Saddam Hussein and now support Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (for his anti-Israeli diatribes and promotion of Holocaust revisionism).

This is not to say that racism isn't a problem. The hatred of any racial or ethnic group is an attempt to "simplify" some deep-seated social problem. And plenty of racially-motivated anti-Semites are still around. In fact a lot of them are to be found at events attended by people like Jones and Sharpe who, even as they publicly disavow racism, are nevertheless willing to join with old-fashioned bigots in "common cause" against the perceived global threat of the Jews.

More on Fiore: Partying with Nazis

2008-05-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

As noted in our last post, the "traditional Catholic" paper The Remnant has come out endorsing groups involved with Roberto Fiore, who is a major figure in the far-right, not only participating in violent Italian political gangs but in Europe-wide neo-fascism. Some solid proof of this is from a report by an Italian site that describes a 2006 Nazi rock-fest in Italy, attended by Fiore, which featured openly pro-Hitler displays.

During that event, called "Campo d'Azione 2006", souvenir stands sold badges showing the face of Hitler to be sewn onto sweaters as well as books denying the existence of the Holocaust, like the one written by Carlo Mattogno and entitled "Auschwitz: fine di una leggenda" (Auschwitz, the end of a legend). Until very late at night, in the large hangar that during the day was animated by speeches and discussions, we assisted to a very disquieting show featuring several rock bands frantically acclaimed by a crowd performing the nazi-fascist stiff-arm salute and sporting a huge banner, printed for the occasion and stating in large capital letters: "MORE NAZISM FOR US ALL".

But this is nothing new, since Fiore's political beliefs have been an open book for years. Fringe Watch has discussed his activities on a number of occasions:

Strange Ecumenism: The Pagan/Christian Fascist Front (1/23/06)
The Political Soldier: Part II (1/22/06)
The Third Position: The New Nationalism and the New Racialism (1/19/06)
John Sharpe's Ties to Holland and Fiore (12/31/05)
Brandsma Review on "Catholic" Extremist Infiltration (12/28/05)

Awareness of Mr. Fiore as an outspoken fascist is important since he has been trying to inject extremism into Catholic circles since the early 1980s.

The Remnant-Fiore Connection?

2008-05-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

In late 2006 the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued "The Dirty Dozen," its expose of alleged political extremism in Catholic circles. As noted previously on this blog, "the Southern Poverty Law Center—being inexperienced in the doctrinal nuances of Catholicism... really does more harm than good in addressing these matters, in that they tar 'traditionalist Catholics' with a wide brush."

Still, there is a sad irony in that some of the SPLC's charges are sticking. One example is Michael Matt's Remnant newspaper, which is nothing if not idiosyncratic. The Remnant has seen fit to maintain neo-fascist and anti-Semitic connections despite growing criticism. And the odd thing is that just a few years ago Michael Matt was denouncing these same trends. What changed his mind? He'll have to answer that himself.

Certain points made about The Remnant by the SPLC are impossible to explain away, like articles which endorse Holocaust revisionism or indulge in paranoid Jewish conspiracy theories (see bottom of this page of the SPLC site). Now, if it had been a one-off thing, a mere journalistic eccentricity, it could be overlooked. But there's a real trend here which has only hardened in recent weeks with Michael Matt's endorsement of a website called Tradizione, Cattolicesimo & Politica, which is in league with the neo-fascist Forza Nuova of Roberto Fiore. For more details, see the May 24 report by The Chambers Initiative.

As much as one might dislike leftists rummaging in the dirty laundry of fellow Catholics, until we see fit to clean it ourselves, we can expect outsiders to complain about the mess. Nor should the SPLC reportage become a red herring. After all, how can Michael Matt's paper treat the SPLC reports as paranoia but do nothing to distance itself from the political lunatics?

To sum up, it was Fringe Watch and other Catholic commentators (conservative and traditional) who warned about this problem long before the professional purveyors of leftwing "tolerance" got hold of it. But people didn't listen. Perhaps they thought it was a nuisance that would just go away. Maybe... but at the offices of The Remnant it hasn't.

Robert Sungenis vs. Bishop Rhoades: a Chronology

2008-05-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

July 2007 After an extended period of controversy and public argument with former supporters and volunteers to his website, "Catholic Apologetics International", about his derogatory views concerning the Jews, Sungenis was given two weeks by his bishop -- Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades -- to "desist from commenting on the Jewish people and Judaism both online and in all other publications" or his bishop would denounce him publicly.
Sungenis claimed that after a subsequent meeting with representatives from his diocese and the USCCB, he was allowed to “continue publishing and speaking on those matters of Catholic doctrine which pertain to the Jewish covenant and the role of Israel in salvation history, provided that you take an approach quite different in tone and content from the one pursued in the past.”
August 2007 Sungenis published a letter on his website acknowledging that his bishop and the executive director for ecumenical and inter-religious affairs of the USCCB indicated that “I have crossed the line into inappropriate language and accusations” and Sungenis eventually acceded to their assessment of his work, acknowledging that his writings had "caused confusion regarding what is and is not the authentic position of the Catholic Church towards the Jewish people." He also conveyed a willingness to obey their directives by removing his objectionable articles, at least until such time as they can be rewritten with “a human and Christian spirit,” as per the requirements of Catholic canon law (c. 822, 2-3). However, he expressed doubt as to whether he would ever have sufficient time to accomplish that task. Sungenis further declared that his bishop and vicar are "the shepherds God has placed as overseers of my life and work" and that it is "a privilege to obey them." At the end of this letter, Sungenis opted to list seven “theological positions about the Jews” to serve as a “permanent fixture on the website of CAI [now BTF] so that everyone will know where we stand from here on out.”
October 2007 - Sungenis publishes a new article claiming that as the bishop did not agree with his viewpoints, he changed his mind and ordered Sungenis to “remove the recently posted letter and that you refrain from publishing on all topics directly or tangentially related to Judaism or the Jewish people.” The letter was eventually removed from his website. However, Sungenis purportedly wrote to the bishop stating that he is not required to obey him if he issues orders that are in conflict with the faith and morals of the Catholic Church, and that Sungenis would only comply under the aegis of a canonical trial. Additionally, Sungenis indicated that he would be "quite happy to expose" to the Vatican the errors he claimed Bishop Rhoades adheres to. According to Sungenis, the bishop did not respond to his proposal.
February 7, 2008 Sungenis' bishop replied in writing to a letter from Sungenis' former vice president, Michael Forrest. In the letter, the bishop confirmed that he had been in contact with Sungenis about his Jewish writings and that he had "hoped for a more positive outcome." However, while Sungenis has indicated that his bishop "ordered me to stop writing about the Jews and Judaism altogether", the bishop himself made no mention of whether or not Sungenis was currently under any formal command.
The primary thrust of Bishop Rhoades' letter was a clarification of his doctrinal beliefs in regard to certain covenantal issues involving the Jewish people. The bishop also judged the statements Sungenis made about him and his beliefs as "slanderous and erroneous." (See: "Bishop Rhoades, Sungenis, and the Jews", by Leon Suprenant Catholics United for the Faith February 23, 2008).
January 2008 Sungenis responded with an article entitled My Reply to Bishop Rhoades, claiming that the questions posed to Bishop Rhoades may have been designed "specifically to side-step the most crucial issue at hand" (ibid, p.3) and that the bishop must affirm three statements composed by Sungenis in order to establish his orthodoxy (ibid, p. 12).
April 2008 Catholics United for the Faith and 10 individuals (many former colleagues of Sungenis' Catholic Apologetics International) published a lengthy rebuttal entitled "By Sungenis Alone". The authors of the rebuttal claim that Sungenis has been more than satisfactorily answered by his bishop and that the reasons for the bishop's cease and desist order are unrelated to any covenantal issues involving the Jewish people.
* * *

Sungenis’ bishop also purportedly threatened to “deprive him of his right to use the word ‘Catholic’ on his website and written material" in the summer of 2007.
In early fall, 2007 the "Catholic" moniker was removed from the title of Sungenis' organization, which now operates under the name Bellarmine Theological Forum.

Historical summary provided by Wikipedia; a reading of "By Sungenis Alone" is recommended, as it provides detailed documentation on the conflict with his bishop.

Summary of Derek Holland Interview

2008-04-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

The following is a response by Matt Anger, creator of Fringe Watch. Mr. Anger is a former acquaintance of Derek Holland, the European nationalist writer and intellectual, who has just been interviewed on the subject of the Middle East by Judith Sharpe of the "In the Spirit of Chartres" (ISOC) committee (see previous post).

Judith Sharpe speaks of "allegations" about Derek Holland. Well, there are the facts, which aren't alleging anything. Derek Holland was Chairman of the National Front (NF) and later a leader of the International Third Position (ITP). He still associates himself with the Political Soldier book, published originally by the NF and recently reprinted by Mr. Holland's associates in the European neo-fascist movement. A new Swedish version has been released with his approval.
The only part where "allegations" come in, perhaps, is where we refer to these activities as extremist. Let's leave off that label for a moment. It is safe to say that the ITP—as well as its predecessor and successor movements—publicly identifies itself with fascism, national socialism (Nazism), and similar ideologies. They are frequently sympathetic to Marxism as well. This is obvious in the case of Final Conflict (with the interesting domain name of politicalsoldier.net), a belligerent skinhead fanzine set up by the ITP in the early 90s. The Third Position movement endorses political revolution, youth cults/cultural subversion, and racialist policies. I think it's safe to say that most people (not just "a few," as is claimed) draw the proper inferences.
If there are any allegations, they come from Mr. Holland. He derides opponents as "cowardly" for being anonymous. This is an interesting attitude. Third Positionists often write under pseudonyms. Mr. Holland has authored some major works of radical nationalist literature under the name of Liam Connolly. I also recall that it was standard practice in the ITP never, or very rarely, to disclose names. Anyone going back through their old publications will be struck by the lack of bylines or the use of fake names.

But why don't we address the topic of the Middle East? Actually, it's Mrs. Sharpes' fault. She does Holland a disservice by mentioning the political controversy up-front, and so one finds it odd that they spend so much time defending Holland's right to discuss foreign policy views before they even tell us what they are.

Should we listen to the message, rather than the messenger, as Holland asks us to? The problem is that Holland and John Sharpe, and their comrades, have never been particularly candid about their other activities. Yet neither will they disavow them. There is the Legion of St. Louis, set up by John Sharpe, promoting its anti-Semitic views (see related commentary). The site is now anonymous. Perhaps Holland will complain to his friend about this.

Mrs. Sharpe and Derek Holland lament the current controversy, saying there is no need for it. But controversy doesn't "just happen." People go looking for it. As for the stated foreign policy and economic positions of John Sharpe and Holland, we're not really interested in them. After all, there are plenty of other non-controversial anti-war commentators and proponents of Distributism we have never bothered to criticize. We we do criticize is the attempted marriage of Catholic faith and oddball political hobbies. If Sharpe, et. al should decide to drop the pretense of advocating Catholic Social Teaching, then we will, quite simply, drop the subject.

Upcoming Derek Holland interview with the "Spirit of Chartres Committee"

2008-03-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

The "In the Spirit of Chartres" Commmittee announces on their website an upcoming interview (April 1, 2008) with "Derek Holland/D.L. O'huallachain", on "The Middle East Tragedy from a Catholic, Political, and Historical Perspective: Understanding the Reasoning Behind Mass Murder."

The "In the Spirit of Chartres Committee" (SPCC) was founded by John Sharpe’s parents, John, Sr. and Judith, in 1998. The committee sponsors two annual events in Phoenix, AZ: a “Spirit of Chartres” Pilgrimage modelled on the annual SSPX event in France and a Catholic Restoration Conference.

Among the books promoted by the SoCC: Andrew Hitchcock's The Synagogue of Satan, which "provides a chronological account of the invisible world government operating from within the worldwise Jewish community" (Excerpts from the book can be found here), Michael Hoffmann's Judaism's Strange Gods, Msgr. Jouin's The Holy See and the Jews, the notorious forgery The Protocol of Zion, along with the usual roster of books by Fr. Denis Fahey.

John Sharpe to speak at the 2008 Saint Benedict Center Conference

2008-03-16T00:07:00.001-07:00

John Sharpe will be speaking at the twelfth annual Saint Benedict Center Conference, billed as the "the largest gathering of Catholic traditionalists in the United States" held in Richmond, New Hampshire.

For more information on the 'Saint Benedict Center', see Russ Provost's SBCWatch.blogspot.com. In a response to an inquiry last year, Edward J Arsenault, Moderator of the Curia, Manchester NH responded:

The Saint Benedict Center has no permission or authority to exercise any Ministry on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church in New Hampshire. Bishop McCormack has and will continue to do all that he can to encourage people to refrain from participating in any of the spiritual exercises at the Saint Benedict Center.
For my part, I will continue to make it clear that Saint Benedict Center has no affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church in any way.

Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Germany?

2008-03-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Far-Right Attacks Reached New Record in Germany in 2007:

A record number of far-right attacks were perpetrated in Germany last year, according to a former government spokesman turned campaigner. Uwe-Karsten Heye, the founder of pressure group Gesicht Zeigen! (Show your Faces), said about 600 people were attacked by neo-Nazis last year.
Speaking in Berlin Monday, Heye warned about a rise in right-wing extremism, particularly in eastern Germany. According to Heye, there were 11 attacks on businesses run by immigrants in the eastern state of Brandenburg in 2007. "Behind the attacks is a strategy by neo-Nazis to destroy livelihoods and drive out immigrants," he said.

U.S. State Dept. releases report on "Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism"

2008-03-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Report: Anti-Semitism on the rise globally CNN. March 14, 2008:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A report from the U.S. State Department details "an upsurge" across the world of anti-Semitism -- hostility and discrimination toward Jewish people.
"Today, more than 60 years after the Holocaust, anti-Semitism is not just a fact of history, it is a current event," the report says.
The report -- called Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism and given to Congress on Thursday -- is dedicated to the memory of the late U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, a survivor of the Holocaust, the extermination of 6 million Jews during World War II.
The report details physical acts of anti-Semitism, such as attacks, property damage, and cemetery desecration. It also lists manifestations such as conspiracy theories concerning Jews, Holocaust denial, anti-Zionism and the demonization of Israel.
"Over much of the past decade, U.S. embassies worldwide have noted an increase in anti-Semitic incidents, such as attacks on Jewish people, property, community institutions, and religious facilities," the report says.
The report also deals with efforts to combat the bigotry, described by Gregg J. Rickman, the department's special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, as "one of the oldest forms of malicious intolerance."
The report says violent acts and desecration of Jewish property happen whether there are a lot of Jews or only a few living in the region. Bigoted rhetoric, conspiracy theories regarding Jews, and anti-Semitic propaganda are transmitted over the airwaves and on the Internet.
It says that although Nazism and fascism are rejected by the West "and beyond," blatant forms of anti-Semitism are "embraced and employed by the extreme fringe."
"Traditional forms of anti-Semitism persist and can be found across the globe. Classic anti-Semitic screeds, such as 'The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion' and 'Mein Kampf' remain commonplace.
"Jews continue to be accused of blood libel, dual loyalty, and undue influence on government policy and the media, and the symbols and images associated with age-old forms of anti-Semitism endure."
New forms of anti-Semitism are reflected in rhetoric that compares Israel to the Nazis and attributes "Israel's perceived faults to its Jewish character."

"Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism" [Full text, PDF format] - from the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.
Taking Stock: Combating Anti-Semitism in the OSCE Region Special Envoy Rickman's testimony Before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on February 7, 2008.

James Hitchcock on "Abortion and the Catholic Right"

2008-02-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

"Abortion and the Catholic Right" by James Hitchcock. Human Life Review Spring 2007 -- a study of how the Catholic (re: "traditionalist") Right -- as represented by Joseph Sobran, Paul Likoudis and contributors to The Wanderer & The Remnant -- have been obsessed with their opposition to democratic-capitalism, "neoconservatives" and the Bush administration, to such an immense degree that they now hold the aformentioned issues as being "more pressing" than abortion -- even to the point of, in the case of The Wanderer, celebrating the defeat of Republican candidates.

Some food for thought / discussion:

The opposition of these conservative Catholics to the Bush administration has also led some of them to reject important pro-life allies. In their fierce denunciations of "neo-conservatives," Sobran and Likoudis ignore the fact that neo-conservatives, especially in the pages of their leading publication, The Weekly Standard, are among the few secular people enrolled in the prolife cause. TWS regularly publishes strong and highly intelligent articles against abortion, fetal-stem-cell research, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and other life issues, as well as against radical feminism and the homosexual movement. It is a moral conservatism that is not accidental, since "neoconservatives" are usually defined as people who became disillusioned with traditional liberalism on a variety of issues.

Similarly, Likoudis's dismissal of Santorum as merely a puppet of the White House and of a neo-conservative conspiracy impugned the integrity of a man who had been regarded as one of the most principled and effective Senate champions of traditional moral causes, and it is not at all clear whether Santorum was opposed primarily for his lapse in supporting Specter or for his heresy on other issues. Since his opponent was also pro-life, opposition to Santorum could be justified, but some of his Catholic critics implied that he had to be turned out of office without regard for the life issues.

Economics appears to be the engine that is now driving The Wanderer's stand on public issues, and establishing its priorities. Neither liberals nor conservatives, as those terms are understood in the U.S. today, represent classical Catholic social teachings. But since the U.S. is a predominantly capitalist country, the teachings criticizing capitalism appear more pertinent to our condition than do the teachings against socialism; so, to the degree that the Republican Party champions the free market, some Catholics draw the conclusion that it is in effect immoral to support Republican candidates.

While this is usually considered a liberal idea, in the pages of The Wanderer it has a conservative counterpart that is in many ways almost indistinguishable from the liberal position. The paper stops short of advising readers precisely how to vote in order to achieve true social justice, but its economic ideas seem logically to lead to the conclusion that only strong state action can overcome the plutocratic exploitation of the people, something that has been the premise of left-wing American politics since the 1890s. . . .

* * *

. . . Many, perhaps most, committed pro-lifers are former Democrats who were rejected by their party and found themselves welcomed by the Republicans. Most of those converts are probably not conservatives in a principled ideological way, so that their presence in the Republican ranks has the effect of helping facilitate the "betrayal" of conservative principles that Sobran and others decry.

Hard-core conservatives tend now to hearken back nostalgically to the days of Barry Goldwater, ignoring the fact the Goldwater turned out to be fanatically pro-abortion, as well as very liberal on most other social issues, something that gives pro-lifers little reason to want to be "true" conservatives. Sobran's way of dealing with the life issues can then be seen as the conservative counterpart to the liberals' "seamless garment"-an attempt to persuade pro-lifers to transcend their "narrow" outlook and support a wider agenda.

The widely held, apparently self-evident, assumption that the pro-life movement is the creature of the "religious Right" has blinded even most informed observers to the unexpected and intriguing fact that, for some on the Catholic part of "the Right," the life issues are no longer paramount, if they ever were.

James Hitchcock is a professor of history at St. Louis University, is the author of The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life (Princeton University Press, 2004).

E. Michael Jones / John Sharpe's appearance at Catholic U. opposed by SPLC

2008-02-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Catholic University nixes lectures, by Julia Duin. Washington Times February 13, 2008:

Catholic University abruptly canceled an 11-part lecture series, "Building Catholic Communities," on Monday, after the Southern Poverty Law Center complained that two of the scheduled lecturers are anti-Semites.
The university released a statement yesterday saying the lecturers "appear to espouse views that are contrary to the mission and values of Catholic University. In light of this development, the dean of the school decided to cancel the lecture series," referring to Randall Ott, dean of Catholic's school of architecture.
Mark Potok, director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project, called the school to complain about the participation of E. Michael Jones, editor of the South Bend, Ind.-based Culture Wars magazine, and John Sharpe, founder of the Norfolk-based IHS Press and the Legion of St. Louis, an Internet-based forum.
"We were surprised that Catholic University was allowing two raging anti-Semites on their campus," said Mr. Potok. "A simple Google search will show you the frightening ideology of these men."
"These are not the Latin Mass traditionalists," Mr. Potok said. "These are the people who reject Vatican II reforms. They are out of [actor Mel Gibson's father] Hutton Gibson's world, in saying that the Jews are destroying the world."

Some thoughts:

The prospect of "building Catholic communities" as a bulwark against secular culture (and presumably along with it the distributist theories of Chesterton and Belloc) seems innocuous enough. However, given John Sharpe's questionable ideological ties and views on the Jews (as one might gather from past online investigations), together with E. Michael Jones' own contributions, I agree that Catholic University of America is right to be cautious about the involvement of these men with any project.
That said, I also think the Southern Poverty Law Center -- being inexperienced in the doctrinal nuances of Catholicism and what constitutes "traditionalist Catholicism" -- really does more harm than good in addressing these matters, in that they tar 'traditionalist Catholics' with a wide brush. Not every "traditionalist Catholic" -- even those within the SSPX -- need be necessarily equated with its worst anti-semitic elements.
Many questions here: One being the question of academic freedom and whether a controversial figure with questionable views on the Jews ought to be permitted to speak on a topic other than that involving the Jews? To what lengths does "academic freedom" extend? (The same questions might pertain to Columbia University's invitation to Iranian president to address their university when he visited New York, with his own questionable background).
Another question: should Catholic University have done its homework on vetting those speakers at a conference before agreeing to be its host? Instead of cancelling at the last minute in such a manner as to appear to be "the lapdog to the SPLC"?
Another question: is it hypocritical of Catholic University to take this measure against figures deemed anti-semetic and not to do likewise with promoting (or hosting) other speakers/productions with anti-Catholic elements? (Georgetown Law School now funds student internships at abortion rights groups, and the controversial “Vagina Monologues” has been performed (or approved) on more than 100 Catholic campuses, including Notre Dame).
In his response to the fiasco (Anti-Semitism and Thought Control at Catholic University Culture Wars April 2008), E. Michael Jones remarks:
When CUA president Daniel M. O’Connell meets with Notre Dame professors in private, he likes to brag about how orthodox and Catholic his university is in comparison to theirs. However, the recent cancellation of the Building Catholic Communities lecture series at CUA shows that there is no essential difference between these universities when it comes to compromising both academic freedom and the Catholic character of the university when subjected to pressure by groups like the SPLC. Father O’Connell, in fact, espouses what might be called the Jenkins doctrine of academic freedom: Vagina Monologues, Si! Oberammergau, No!
The doctrine gets its name from the hapless president of Notre Dame University, Rev. John Jenkins, CSC, who as one of his first acts in office articulated a position on academic freedom which would allow the performance of the obscene Vagina Monologues but would ban a performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play. Which group thinks that obscenity is a protected form of expression but Passion Plays are not? If you’re answer to that question was the Jews, you have come a long way toward understanding how commissars like Mark Potok can impose Jewish forms of political correctness on Catholic institutions like CUA and Notre Dame. In his book, The Jewish Century, Yuri Slezkine opined that in becoming moderns we had all become Jewish. The same verdict applies a fortiori to Catholic academe in America. Combine the internalization of Jewish values that Slezkine mentioned, as manifested in the mind of John Jenkins, with the normal intellectual cowardice that one finds in Catholic academics and administrators, and you will find a situation where Catholics are eager to denounce other Catholics in a way that would make Stasi informers blush with shame.
So, it would appear that according to E. Michael Jones (who insists "there is nothing anti-Semitic about anything I have ever said"), 'dem Jews are really to blame after all?
It does nothing to bolster Jones' case when forum posters, rushing to his defense, proclaim: ""Southern Poverty Law Center is a communist jew organization. That guy who runs it name Morris Deed is a Jew. Most likely this is another arm of the ADL" (and when the same forum thread -- predictably -- degenerates into a discussion of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion).

Update on the Investigation of John Sharpe by U.S. Navy

2007-03-22T05:03:00.000-07:00

Officer denies accusations of anti-Semitism, by Andrew Scutro - Staff writer. Navy Times March 20, 2007:

Sharpe acknowledges that he operates the Web sites [Legion of St. Louis and IHS Press], but denies the charge that he is anti-Semitic.
“I am just trying to be a good Catholic as I see it,” he said in an interview.

Kudos to the Navy Times for getting Sharpe to acknowledge his involvement / ownership of the Legion of St. Louis. When I had confronted him in February 2006, he would only maintain:

I write on behalf of IHS Press as the editor. You should contact the Legion of St. Louis for information on their status or activities. IHS Press is not connected to the Legion of St. Louis. [Sharpe to author, February 25, 2006]

The Navy Times continues:

Heidi Beirich, a law center investigator who has focused on Sharpe, said he is a “radical traditionalist Catholic” who believes that Jews, Masons and others have conspired to undermine the Roman Catholic Church for the past 300 years.
She called a 2005 speech she saw [sic] Sharpe give “quite the anti-Zionist screed,” and said she witnessed him selling books at a gathering of a group, known as “American Renaissance,” that welcomes activists to “help the cause of whites,” according to its Web site.
Sharpe admits to attending the gathering but claims little knowledge of the group, describing it as perhaps “the white man’s version of the NAACP.” He defended his selling books at the event, and added that he has sold books at a meeting of progressive Democrats.
Beirich scoffed at Sharpe’s apparent ignorance of American Renaissance.
“Literally next to him, in the next booth, was a guy selling ‘White Power’ T-shirts,” Beirich said. “You had to be an idiot not to know where you were.”

Count me among the skeptics as to Sharpe's feigned ignorance of the nature of the American Renaissance conference. For an inkling as to what it was about, see Searchlight's coverage of the 2006 event (BNP leader embraced by top US nazis", by David Williams. April 2006):

. . . Perhaps the largest stall belonged to Light in the Darkness (LID) Publications run by J. Forrest Sharpe. LID is an imprint of the IHS Press founded in September 2001 “to bring back into print the classics of last century on the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church”, many of which are distributed in Britain by the International Third Position organisation. Also present was “Patriotic Flags” based in Charleston, whose catalogue includes numerous Nazi standards and neo-Confederate flags dedicated to Nathan Bedford Forrest, first Grand Wizard of the KKK in 1867. The Canadian stall disseminated mountains of reprints of old racial science and eugenic tracts originally published in the 1960s . . .

See further coverage in the Washington Post: Promoting 'Preservation' Of Whites in Suit and Tie, by Michael Laris. February 26, 2006.

Now, in the interest of fairness, one should distinguish between ideological commmitments and motivations: the American Renaissance characterizes itself as "white preservationist" -- its founder, Jared Taylor, has adopted an "open tent" approach to all who have an interest in "preserving" the white race, going so far as to welcome Jewish-racists into the fold.

The topic of the 2006 conference attended by IHS Press was on "The Global Crisis", the speakers addressing such issues as non-white immigration and the threat of Islam to those of "white, European Christian" descent. Stormfront's forum carried a list of featured speakers / addresses -- including Andrew Fraser on “Reversing the Racial Revolution: Reinventing a Responsible Ruling Class"; Philip Claeys - “Crushing Democracy: The Struggle for Flemish Nationalism,” and Jared Taylor on "“The White Man’s Disease: The Fantasy of Egalitarianism." So anti-semitism was not exactly the central theme of this event.

In fact, the presence of David Duke himself causing something of a stir and distraction. The Forward reports on the curious dilemma of attendence by racist Jews AND the neo-nazi fringe, and the inevitable tension that developed (White Nationalist Conference Ponders Whether Jews and Nazis Can Get Along ):

The events Saturday, February 25, passed without major incident. But then, late Sunday morning, none other than former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke approached the microphone on the floor during the question-and-answer session for French writer Guillaume Faye. After congratulating Faye for stirring remarks that “touched my genes,” Duke asked if there weren’t an even more insidious threat to the West than Islam.
“There is a power in the world that dominates our media, influences our government and that has led to the internal destruction of our will and our spirit,” Duke said.
“Tell us, tell us,” came a call from the back of the room.
“I’m not going to say it,” Duke said to rising laughter.
But Michael Hart, a squat, balding Jewish astrophysicist from Maryland, was not amused. He rose from his seat, strode toward Duke (who loomed over him like an Aryan giant), spit out a curse — “You f…ing Nazi, you’ve disgraced this meeting” — and exited.
As it happens, only a few minutes earlier Hart, a mainstay of American Renaissance conferences, had been trying to reassure Herschel Elias, a first-time attendee from suburban Philadelphia, that he should not let his observation that the meeting was “infiltrated by Nazis and Holocaust deniers” ruin his impression of American Renaissance.

Now, I do not think Sharpe is motivated by white-racism nor racial anti-semitism. Nor do I consider many of the publications of IHS Press itself to be particularly objectionable. Sharpe's not the only Catholic who favors distributism as an economic model and possesses an appreciation for G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc. And a good many Catholics, myself included, are greatly concerned about the encroachmment of Islam on Europe and the threat posed to Western civilization.

On the other hand, it boggles the mind how John Sharpe can protest that he's "just trying to be a good Catholic as I see it," -- and likewise maintain IHS Press' appearance as a "traditional Catholic publisher" -- and market his wares at political events of this nature. The 'American Renaissance' isn't a local gathering of a parish social justice committee or "liberal Democrats" or even MoveOn.org. (The latter being a radical anti-war group that, while objectionable to some, would nonetheless be a suitable vehicle for promotion of IHS Press' Neo-Conned series).

The 'American Renaissance', by contrast, is a gathering of "white preservationists" with an ideological agenda of a far more radical nature.

Moving on, the Navy Times' article finds Sharpe engaged in some rather incredible verbal gymnastics on the Jewish question:

The Legion of St. Louis site contains several essays Sharpe says he wrote. They include a series of commentaries about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and an article titled “Judaism and the Vatican: Part II,” in which he wrote: “On the socio-political front, do those leading the Church realize that to preach against anti-Semitism — on Jewish terms — is not to condemn irrational hatred based on race or creed?” The article concludes with the admonition from one of Sharpe’s intellectual heroes [Fr. Denis Fahey], who said that “every sane thinker should be an anti-Semite.”
About Sept. 11, he wrote: “Anti-terrorism would not be a question of a better luggage X-ray machine, but ... better still, how to declare war on Islam and wage at the same time a war of independence on behalf of the U.S. government and the world financial system against international Judeo-Masonry.”
“I had my own take on the whole World Trade Center thing,” he said. “It’s nothing I can say I am ashamed to have written. It’s all things I think. It’s very valid.”
In an interview, Sharpe disavowed any interest in the Holocaust.
“I’ve tried to avoid it like the plague because it’s an area of interest I don’t want to get into,” he said.
But in the same article referenced above, he wrote: “That event, dubbed The Holocaust, is the focal point for the Jews insofar as it can be used to ensure that Christian civilization will never rise again ... because of the unacceptable consequences of its previous existence.”
Yet while denying that he espouses anti-Semitic theories, Sharpe stands by his articles.
“All I can say is what I’ve written is what I believe,” he said.

Additional Coverage:

"The Story Unfolds . . .", by Tom Robotham. Portfolio Weekly March 20, 2007. "Two weeks ago, an inquiry from one of our writers triggered an official investigation into a naval officer’s conduct. The full story has not yet been told."
Extremist coverage: David Duke has picked up the news, as also OverThrow.com and the CatholicVoice.co.uk.
Jared Taylor sparred with FrontPageMag's David Horowitz in 2002 -- see American Conservatism: an Argument with the Racial Right FrontPageMag.com. August 27, 2002.

John Sharpe Investigated by United States Navy

2007-03-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

From the Navy Times (Carrier PAO relieved pending investigation Sunday March 11, 2007):

NORFOLK, Va. — The public affairs officer for the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson has been temporarily relieved of duty following allegations that he was involved in supremacist activities.
Lt. Cmdr. John Sharpe was relieved of his duties Wednesday pending the outcome of an investigation, according to Jim Brantley, a spokesman for Fleet Forces Command.
Brantley said the Navy began a formal investigation after receiving an inquiry from Jenny O’Donnell of Port Folio Weekly, a Hampton Roads alternative newspaper, asking about Sharpe and “alleging his involvement in possible supremacist activities.”
Sharpe could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
“Evidently he’s affiliated with an anti-Semitic group, and that’s illegal in the U.S. Navy,” Brantley said. Brantley cited Navy Regulation 1167, which states, “No person in the Naval Service shall participate in any organization that espouses supremacist causes.”
Brantley said Sharpe reported aboard the Vinson in June 2006; he is on administrative leave during the investigation.
The Vinson is currently undergoing a refueling and complex overhaul at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks white supremacists and hate groups, Sharperuns two “radical traditionalist” Catholic organizations that espouse anti-Semitic views, the Legion of St. Louis and IHS Press.
Read what the Southern Poverty Law Center had to say about Sharpe.

Bp. Williamson: Unabomber Theology Revisited

2006-12-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

A previous installment of Fringe Watch discussed the apocalyptic views of Bishop Richard Williamson and his endorsement of political extremism. Although largely marginalized since his heyday as a US seminary rector in the '90s—and removal/demotion in the SSPX to a post in Argentina—Bp. Williamson is nevertheless an important case study. His career is illustrative, both in the sorts of ideas he espouses and the people he networks with. He has been an important catalyst in extreme traditionalist circles and lent clerical "authority" to those whose views dovetail with his own.

Apocalypse Soon?

An example of extremist cross-pollination is seen in the recent interview with Dr. David Allen White by Stephen Heiner (who is affiliated with the Angelus Press). Dr. White is known for his lectures on literature and culture. He is also a long-time associate of Bp. Williamson, and while he does not touch on some of bishop's more radical political views, he embraces his general outlook of doom and despair.

After a jejune criticism of the papacy of Benedict XVI, which seconds Bp. Williamsons' rejection of all negotiations with Rome, Dr. White muses upon the subjects of technology and culture

To my mind one of the great essays written in my lifetime is Solange Hertz's essay "Hell's Amazing Grace." In this essay she talks about electricity itself as a satanic invention that stands in opposition to God's true light....

But the invention of electricity has allowed us to turn night into day, winter into summer, and summer into winter, with air conditioning and heating. It has allowed us to feel as if we have the world at our fingertips. It's a brilliant essay. It occurred to me recently that we are now totally dependent upon power and electricity for every aspect of our lives. All that Satan needs to do is turn out the power, and then his false son can step forward to perform the great miracle of restoring the power to us if we fall down and worship him.

And I think even many good souls, perhaps even traditional Catholics might be tempted to worship him if it meant they could get their garage door opener back and have the fridge back, so the beer will be cold again, and have their TV and Internet back.

Anyone familiar with Hertz's long-running columns in The Remnant will remember her as one of the most bizarre writers in traditionalism, especially noted for attacks on technology and belief in geocentricism. It is perhaps no surprise that Dr. White should endorse Hertz as she has long been a favorite of Bp. Williamson's who promoted her writings during his long tenure as rector at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary (along with the works of Holocaust Revisionists). Another quality which endeared Hertz to the bishop was her strident anti-American views, going far beyond political criticism, and generally identifying the United States with the Antichrist.

As an aside one should note that Dr. White (like Bp. Williamson) is supporter of publisher John Sharpe. What is very typical of Bp. Williamson's outlook is the technophobic apocalypse embraced by Dr. White. The evils of modern machinery were repeatedly detailed in the bishop's seminary newsletters. The theme is one of a millenarian collapse, not the restoration of society as promoted by St. Pius X. It is in line with the religious-political manias studied by Prof. Norman Cohn (The Pursuit of the Millennium). According to Cohn, some key themes of radical eschatology are: 1) the idea that "redemption" will come about in terrestrial terms; 2) that it is imminent (it will come soon and suddenly); and 3) that it is total.

Along these lines one is reminded of Pope Benedict XVI's description (in Truth and Tolerance) of Marxist inspired liberation theology. Sin is "institutional" and so this "state of affairs... can only be overcome by a radical change in the structures of the world, which are sinful structures, evil structures." Yet, as the Pope explains, it is wrong to think of redemption as an "experience" or a political event that operates like a deus ex machina—similar to the old Marxist view of the impending collapse of capitalism—that will conveniently and rapidly deliver us from evil, as opposed to the slow process of spiritual growth and sanctity.

The vision of doom espoused by Solange Hertz and Bp. Williamson focuses attention not only on something "exciting," it also focuses attention on themselves as harbingers of a message far more important than the run-of-the-mill Gospel preached in your average church, or even as understood by your average traditionalist, whom Dr. White seems to disparage. (The joy these people experience in predicting social ruin is quite palpable.)

Praise for Theodore Kaczynski

Having established the intellectual milieu of "Catholic" radicals, one can see how Bp. Williamson applied this grim philosophy to events happening around him. In 1996, not long after the publication of the manifesto by the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski), Bishop Richard Williamson turned some heads when he stated that

principles are more important than personalities, and the message is, strictly, for good or ill, independent of the messenger. The author of the Unabomber's Manifesto might have since become a Saint without its contents being changed by one word (June 6, 1996 letter).

Such an assertion is staggering. It involves a divorce of intent and conduct which is impossible from the point of view of classic moral theology. It is on par with leftists who argue that the Stalinist Russia’s aims were noble even if it fell short of those in practice. Yet Williamson is no crude practitioner of agitprop. He attempts to disarm critics of his consciously shocking missives by reminding us that

the end can never justify the means. However important the Unabomber's message, nothing gave him the right to maim and kill innocent victims in order to get it before the public.

This does not prevent him from identifying with Kaczynski's alienation—in the same way that he sympathizes with the aggressive artistic protests of Oliver Stone and Pink Floyd (recurring themes in his newsletters). Thus “without accepting” their ultimate nihilistic manifestations, “one cannot help having a measure of understanding for their resorting to such desperate means.” What exactly does this mean? It appears disingenuous, a sort of vicarious thrill on a level with telling a man to watch blue movies but not to commit adultery. Williamson anticipates the protests of scandalized readers. He puts critics on the defensive, picturing himself as the shrewd cleric pitted against the clumsy lay person, and making it clear that anything short of his solution is an exercise in spiritual mediocrity.

[D]o you wish to save your rebellious teenagers’ souls? I am sure you are well aware that if you talk to them of St. Ignatius of Loyola or St. Theresa of Lisieux, you do not even get to first base. But just breathe the name of Pink Floyd, and see how their ears prick up! This is our world, and there is no other in which we have to save our souls! If only the honorable professors and respectable bishops were tackling the questions tackled by the Unabombers and the Oliver Stones, then your children might look up instead of down, but since nobody “decent” seems to address their concerns, who can be surprised if they feed from the gutter? Rock music is one long, unheard, scream for help!

For decades, radical trads like Bp. Williamson have pilloried hip ecclesiastics for their craven attempts at “relevance” and fawning emulation of pop culture and psychology. Yet they engage in the same tactics. The double-standard can only be explained in terms of an ideological rather than a theological worldview. The opposition are condemned because of their ends. But their means are praised when employed by one’s “own side,” no matter how ruthless (e.g., Communists condemn the atrocities of Nazis, and vice versa, without batting an eye).

But what makes Kaczynski’s desperate eschatology so compelling that we are bidden to overlook his bloody-minded methods? The answer is that he possesses some superior (gnostic) insights. Meanwhile the herd-like masses are deemed by Williamson to be "technophiliacs." A year later, the bishop would remind us that when “‘sane’ people are crazy (inhuman), it seems to take ‘crazy’ people to be sane (human).” And while the Unabomber does not have the solution, “he faces the problem.” For Kaczynski, and for Williamson, the looming threat to individual meaning is the “industrial-technological system” (or “IT”). He thus summarizes Kaczynski’s manifesto:

Nor can any minor adjustment or compromise reconcile IT with freedom, both because IT has to regulate human behavior closely in order to function at all, and because all parts of IT are interdependent....

...if IT survives, then the future looks grim: either, for the sake of efficiency, machines will be in total control and no man will be free....

...However, IT is not unstoppable. The positive alternative we need is WILD NATURE, free of men, or with wild men.... The means of IT's overthrow are a revolution not merely political, but economic, technological and world-wide, for IT cannot be overthrown piecemeal. Above all, let our revolutionaries have the one clear goal: IT must go! All means to achieve that goal can then be pragmatically adjusted. \

Karl Marx, in his Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy, offered the view that: “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but, on the contrary, their social existence determines their consciousness.” If any one thought is axiomatic of “salvation politics,” it is this. The underlying assumption of millenarian ideologies is that function determines being. This is true not only of Marxists, but other utopians, like Fascists and National Socialists, for whom some form of pristine social or biological order will eradicate evil and the causes of evil.

Although it has been over a decade since Bp. Williamson set forth his Unambomber theology, the influence amongst a gnostic-minded set of survivalist "trads" remains as strong as ever, as seen in Dr. White's ill-considered musings on the state of the world.

John Sharpe: Admits Nothing....Confirms Everything

2006-11-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

In an interview earlier this year with The Distributist Review, John Sharpe (head of IHS Press and publisher of Neo-Conned) attempted to deflect criticism of his ties to extremist groups. But he inadvertantly acknowledged that people are taking notice and distancing themselves from his ideologically-laden "Catholicism." He begins by complaining that

...these “attacks” – as distinguished from the reasonable questions from people of good will, all of which I have answered in all cases – are a distraction.

Apparently the truth is distracting. Unfortunately, Sharpe is never candid in public (though he says much more when speaking privately). Still, amid his verbal wriggling he leaks enough details to confirm the main charges – that IHS Press has been tied to political extremists since the beginning. Speaking of his entrance into politics, Sharpe says

I was in Italy, stationed there in the late 90s... when I met an Irishman, who is now a good friend and partner in IHS Press, at the traditional Mass in Naples. Deric and I began a correspondence and friendship....

The "Deric" referred to is Derek Holland, a veteran British neo-fascist with ties to militant Arab and Muslim regimes who was active in the racist National Front as early as the 1970s. He is listed on IHS publications as Deric O'Huallachain (the Gaelic version of his name on his Irish passport). Mr. Holland is also one of IHS Press' corporate directors.

Sharpe admits to getting chummy with Holland/O'Huallachain in the 1990s when the latter was the acknowledged intellectual leader of radical nationalism (and co-founder of the International Third Position – ITP). This says a lot about his own philosophical formation. As it turns out, Holland was actively speaking at racist conferences in 2002, a year after IHS was set up. But that's not surprising, since IHS Press was an offshoot of Sharpe's own Legion of St. Louis, which was the American side of the ITP's St. George Educational Trust (SGET), a neo-fascist front group.

When asked about the ITP, Sharpe gives the predictable double-talk:

I have little to say about any "charges" in this area because IHS Press and the ITP have nothing to do with one another [in the way that Moscow had nothing to do with Alger Hiss - ed.], despite what our critics might say. But I will offer some general observations.

My co-founder, Deric, was involved with the ITP some years ago. Many people make an issue out of this [a curious admission - ed.]. I do not: firstly because IHS does not have to endorse Deric's entire life or all his actions... it has nothing to do with any of that, and only to do with doctrine [presumably Marxism and Nazism are just "doctrines," and we should ignore what their followers do - ed.]. Secondly, from a doctrinal standpoint there is nothing I'm aware of that Deric believed or did while he was associated with the ITP which was not acceptable in light of the Faith, at the very least according to his point of view at the time, if not in plainly objective terms.

Is the ITP bad and, if not, why do you mind being tied to it? And how could Mr. Holland's views be bad now but acceptable in the past? Or is that meant to imply that they were never really objectionable? As for Deric/Derek Holland, he has never repudiated views that he publicly advocated for thirty years, and apparently still advocates (albeit more subtly) via Sharpe's IHS Press.

From my memory the ITP never advocated violence or armed opposition to anything. If I’m wrong on that, then so be it – again I’m neither a partisan nor a “member” (if such things even exist), nor is IHS Press in any way whatsoever connected with whatever the ITP was or currently is – but we ought to operate in the realm of fact and not fiction.

Mr. Sharpe operates in the realm of surrealism. He should quit while he's behind. As for advocating violence, the ITP was tied to political violence in Italy and was a staunch advocate of anti-Israeli violence. Third Positionists like Derek Holland supported Ayatollah Khomeni's Iran and Gaddafi's Libya in the 1980s, and Iraq during the First Gulf War – all promoters of international terrorism. So John's memory is as faulty as it is non-committal. Yet he continues to lament:

I don't know what's wrong with these groups. To my knowledge all the St. George Trust ever did was reprint some books.... [tofu cookbooks? children's coloring books? -ed.] To my recollection, there has always been a traditional priest as a trustee and a number of other priests who have been involved in one way or another with the St. George Trust. None of them had any misconceptions about the political activities and beliefs of those in the Trust. Deric, as far as I know, was never a trustee or any other kind of official person with the group. I am aware that the St. George Trust and the Legion are said to be or have been in some way "front" groups for ITP, which, as I said, may or may not even exist at this point: I just don't know.

The Legion collaborates with St. George Educational Trust (SGET) in the sale of racist works like Henry Ford's International Jew, A. K. Chesterton's New Unhappy Lords, and Michael Hoffman's Judaism's Strange Gods. In closing, Mr. Sharpe is the sort of suspect who gives himself away by his insistent denials.

Sungenis Quoting Shamir Quoting Schmitt

2006-10-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

Robert Sungenis @ Catholic Apologetics International posts a 'news alert' from Israel Shamir on "The Tyranny of Liberalism/Judaism". Here's an excerpt:

. . . Armed with Schmitt’s thesis and Bauer’s testimony, we may conclude: the “liberal democracy and human rights” doctrine carried by the US marines across the Tigris and the Oxus is a form of secularised Judaism. Considering the predominance of Jews in mass media and especially among the media lords, it is only natural that the ideology they promote is so close to Jewish heart. Its adepts retain classic Jewish attitudes; and the “uniqueness of Israel” is a tenet of this “non-religious” school, whether in the form of the “unique” Holocaust, or a “unique” attachment to Palestine, or a “unique” love of freedom and diversity. Indeed, while mosques burn in the Netherlands and churches are ruined in Israel, no emotions are stirred up in comparison to those set in motion when graffiti is written on a synagogue wall. The US grades its allies by their attitude towards Jews. The Holocaust Temple [“Museum”] stands next to the White House. Support of the Jewish state is a sine qua non for American politicians. Bauer describes the horror of possible Nazi victory in such telling words: “There would be no Jews, because they would all be annihilated. This would end history as such”. In other words, history in Bauer’s eyes is about Jews. No Jews – no history. The rest of mankind are just sheep devoid of memory and futurity.

Now, I'm not generally opposed to studying Carl Schmitt or other philosophers (Martin Heidegger, for instance) with ideological skeletons in their closet.

But given the fact that Schmitt was a dubious Catholic legal scholar with an active role in the Third Reich, it makes for a curious picture to find him mentioned in an article from a known anti-semite which is in turn promulgated by a Catholic apologist with a known history of obtaining his research from questionable ideological sources.

* * *

Update

Is Robert Sungenis The Anti Semite, The Liar, And The Coward He Makes Himself Appear To Be? asks "Moriel Ministries" -- a Jewish Christian Fundamentalist website issues a challenge.

One has only to dig a little deeper into Jewish-Christian relations to counter the author's conception of Roman Catholic collaboration with the Nazis. A good start would be Henri De Lubac's Christian Resistance to Anti-Semitism: Memories from 1940-1944. Or look to Darcy O'Brien's The Hidden Pope, a chronicle of the late John Paul II's lifelong friendship with his Jewish friend, Jerzy Kluger (the first beneficiary of a private audience upon his election, and who would later play a role in the Vatican's diplomatic recognition of Israel).

One can only pray that this enraged anti-papist will not limit his impression of Rome and (and the Church's contemporary attitude toward Jews) to a modern Catholic apologist with a penchant for quoting anti-semites.

Militant Islam and Right Wing Extremism - A Disturbing Alliance

2006-10-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

"Strange Allies" - Writing for the Weekly Standard, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross reviews an fascinating and disturbing history of collaboration between Muslims and the neo-Nazi far right, Strange Allies: The Alarming Convergence of Militant Islam and the Extreme Right (University Press of Kansas 2006).

Prof. Michael details several phases of collaboration between Muslims and right wing extremism -- beginning with the "cordial relationship between Hitler and the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini," followed by post-World War II collaboration with Middle Eastern nations, when "out of work Nazis" lent their expertise in the development of the military and intelligence agencies of Middle Eastern nations:

After Gamal Abdel Nasser became Egypt's president, for example, a number of Nazis were given prominent positions in his government. Nazi commando Otto Skorzeny trained thousands of Egyptians in guerilla and desert warfare, and even organized early Palestinian terrorist forays into Israel and the Gaza Strip in the mid-1950s. Johann von Leers, who had been a high-ranking assistant to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, produced material for Nasser attacking the United States and Israel. Von Leers even converted to Islam during this period, adopting the name Oman Amin von Leers. Corresponding with a fellow fascist, von Leers opined that "if my nation had got Islam instead of Christianity we should not have had all the traitors we had in World War II."

The third stage was the rise of Palestinian terrorism in the late 1960s. Apparently the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics gave rise to new appeals by the far right for collaboration and some involvement in anti-Israel operations. And in the 1990's, the attacks on American soil on 9/11 won the right's twisted admiration and support:

In the United States, late National Alliance founder William L. Pierce praised Osama bin Laden prior to his death. The Aryan Nations established a Ministry of Islamic Liaison, and the group's head August Kreis declared his solidarity with Osama bin Laden during an interview with CNN.

As Gartenstein-Ross notes, the extent of future collaboration is not yet certain -- "neo-Nazi groups, in their current state of decline, may be viewed as a liability rather than an asset by Islamic militants." Nevertheless, there are signs of trouble.

The Middle East's Reception of Holocaust Revisionism

In January 2006 Edwin Black wrote on Iran's enthusiastic support of the Holocaust-revisionism (Denial of Holocaust nothing new in Iran, San Francisco Chronicle January 8, 2006):

Iran has become a refuge for the biggest names in European Holocaust denial. When in 2000, revisionist author Jürgen Graf was sentenced in Switzerland to 15 months in prison for Holocaust falsification, Graf fled to Tehran "at the invitation of a group of Iranian scholars and university professors who are sympathetic to Holocaust revisionism," according to the Institute for Historical Review, a denial clearinghouse.
What's more, in May 2000, Iran's embassy in Vienna granted asylum to Austrian Holocaust denier Wolfgang Fröhlich, who testified as a so-called expert witness during Graf's 1998 trial. This saved Fröhlich from Austria's severe anti-Holocaust denial statutes. Fröhlich argued that evidence proved no Jews were killed by Zyklon B gassing.
Earlier, about 600 journalists and 160 members of the Iranian parliament signed petitions supporting French revisionist Roger Garaudy, who was fined $40,000 by French authorities for his book claiming the Holocaust was a myth. When Garaudy landed in Iran, the country's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Sayyad Khamenei, granted him an audience and lauded his work.

William Baker - Neo-Nazi on the Muslim Lecture Circuit

Another example of collaboration between Muslims and the extremist right is the strange case of William Baker. Baker is founder of "Christians and Muslims for Peace," and author of the book Theft of a Nation -- a purported history of Israel, the premise of which is that "The entire country of Palestine has been ‘taken’ by political Zionists, and it would seem the entire world has believed, supported and participated in the ‘theft’ of an entire country from an entire nation."

In 1984 Baker organized the convention for The Populist Party, founded by Willis Carto, whose platform called for the repeal of U.S. civil rights laws.

The Orange County Weekly's Stan Brin ran an expose on Baker in 2002, documenting his ties to right-wing extremism (Hour of White Power OC Weekly Feb. 14, 2002):

In a written statement, Baker claimed he did not know the Populist Party was racist and that he never shared Carto’s racist politics.
"I never supported the views of Willis Carto," he wrote. "I was chairman of the Populist Party for a short time and publicly resigned due to infiltration from various racist individuals and organizations."
But evidence supplied by the Anti-Defamation League shows that Baker delivered a 1983 speech to the racist Christian Patriot Defense League in Licking, Missouri, in which he made several references to Carto’s neo-Nazi newspaper, Spotlight. A 23-page transcript of that rambling speech reveals a number of anti-Semitic remarks, including Baker’s reference to Reverend Jerry Falwell as "Jerry Jewry." (Falwell is known to be friendly to Jews.) In the same speech, Baker described his disgust at traveling to New York City: "God help me. Why? ’Cause the first people I meet when I get off the plane are pushy, belligerent American Jews."

Two years later, Brin wrote a follow-up piece on William Baker's transition to the "Muslim lecture circuit" (From Nazis to Schuller to Arabs OC Weekly January 22, 2004). In 1999, Baker's Christians and Muslims for Peace and the Institute for Arabic & Islamic Studies coordinated a trip to Damascus, Syria for the American televangelist Dr. Robert Schuller, founder of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Schuller expelled Baker from the Crystal Cathedral Ministries following the Orange County expose, but Baker continued to speak for Muslim student organizations, in one case at the invitation of CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations).

* * *

The Neo-Nazi interest in, and in some cases collaboration with, Militant Islam is a disturbing but not entirely unexpected phenomenon.

Muslim Students at Penn Sponsor Nazi, by Jonathan Calt Harris. FrontPageMag.com Oct. 9, 2003.
Keeping up with William W. Baker and the Islamists Daniel Pipes. [Ongoing roundup - last updated May 2005].
William Baker Tells Muslim Crowd at Boca Marriott that 9-11 Hijackers Weren't Muslims Militant Islam Monitor May 1, 2005.
An unholy alliance: Aryan Nation leader reaches out to al Qaeda by Henry Schuster. CNN.com March 21, 2005.
A Nazi-Islamist Hatefest, by Joe Kaufman. FrontPageMag April 26, 2005 - on William Baker's invitation as featured speaker at a commemoration of Mohammad hosted by the Assidiq Islamic Educational Foundation (AIEF), an Islamic center in Boca Raton.
Hitler’s Mufti: The Dark Legacy of Haj Amin al-Husseini, by Ronald J. Rychlak. Crisis Magazine Dec. 5, 2005.
The Peculiar Alliance: Islamists and neo-Nazis find common ground by hating the Jews, by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross. Weekly Standard Sept. 1, 2005.
Holocaust denial finds new home February 22, 2001. Canadian Jewish News "A gathering of Holocaust deniers in Lebanon is only the tip of the iceberg in the ongoing collaboration between neo-Nazi activists from the West and Muslim fundamentalists in the Arab world."
What the neo-Nazi fanatic did next: switched to Islam, by Nicola Woolcock and Dominic Kennedy. UK Times April 24, 2006:
A NEO-NAZI whose ideas were said to be the inspiration for the man who let off a nail bomb in Central London in 1999 has converted to an extremist form of Islam.
David Myatt, a founder of the hardline British National Socialist Movement (NSM) who has been jailed for racist attacks, has changed his name to Abdul Aziz ibn Myatt. . . .

On "Robert Sungenis and the Jews"

2006-09-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

On "Robert Sungenis and the Jews"

A bit of history is in order . . .

In September, 2002, Robert Sungenis of Catholic Apologetics International (CAI) wrote an article entitled, "Conversion of the Jews Not Necessary? The Apocalyptic Ramifications of a Novel Teaching" in response to the document Reflections on Covenant and Mission, a joint-publication of the National Council of Synagogues and the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

Sungenis' article caused no small amount of controversy in the online Catholic world -- not because of his criticism of the document itself (indeed, a good number of Catholics found justifiable reason to do so), but rather because of his (unwitting?) citation, and proclaimed agreement with, some rather unsavory charges against the Jews drawn from anti-semitic sources (including neo-Nazis, "white separatists" and "historical revisionists"). The whole scandalous affair was researched and documented by Bill Cork, first on his blog and subsequently compiled in his investigative report, AntiSemitism and the Catholic Right (August 2002).

One would think that when called out on the matter in 2002, Sungenis would have recognized and apologized for his errors (at most, he removed some of the questionable material "in the interest of peace," claiming that he still stood by it). One might have presumed further that he would exercise greater care in his acceptance and use of ideologically-extremist material in the formulation of his own views on the Jews.

This was not to be, however, as evidenced by the discovery of Matt Anger (Fringe Watch) in April 2006 that CAI had reproduced on their website word-for-word two articles from the racialist, neo-nazi National Vanguard. The articles were ultimately removed after their origins were made known (and FringeWatch's post removed, as a sign of good faith), but again it demonstrates the same disregard for the necessary vetting of sources that got Sungenis into hot water back in 2002.

And now, we come to the release of Robert Sungenis and the Jews, an extensive paper published by Michael Forrest, himself a former associate of CAI, who went so far as to defend Sungenis in 2002 ("While others decided they had to leave, I continued to defend and excuse things that I should not have in retrospect"). Disturbed by Sungenis' increasing preoccupation and negative bias towards the Jews, Michael Forrest now finds himself compelled to step forward publicly.

I should be clear that Mr. Forrest does not charge Sungenis with being an anti-semite -- that is to say, of harboring a personal hatred of Jews. He admits he is "not certain what has created the negative predisposition evident in his writings and at his website." Nevertheless, drawing upon statements by Sungenis, public and private, and material not previously known, he has built a solid case that:

Bob Sungenis expresses views in regard to “Jewish issues” in such a way as to explicitly or implicitly convey a level of certainty and authentic scholarship that is materially exaggerated. He is not an authority or expert on these issues.
He has repeated verbatim or sometimes merely reformulated slightly writings he has obtained from others on Jewish issues. He has sometimes represented these as his own, without acknowledgment or attribution and has even defended these practices.
He continues to evidence a propensity to uncritically seek out and accept unsavory, dubious and/or negatively biased information in regard to Jews and has drawn others with similar proclivities to his website.
He maintains a vigorous commitment to expressing and propagating these views and an unwillingness to retract or genuinely apologize for any of them.

At one time an undeniably gifted Catholic apologist and scholar, Bob Sungenis' preoccupation with the Jews and his persistent, indiscriminate acceptance and employment of dubious, anti-semitic sources on this subject continues to remain a source of grave scandal, and should be an issue of concern to those involved in the ministry of Catholic apologetics. It is to their credit that Mr. David Palm, Dr. Art Sippo, Mr. Michael Lopez, Mr. Matthew Anger, Mr. John Novotny, Mr. Jacob Michael and Mr. Patrick Morris have all publicly indicated that they share in this concern and take it seriously.

Having read Michael Forrest's detailed investigation into this matter, together with Sungenis' views on the the conversion of the Jews, and what I would describe as a "hermeneutic of suspicion" towards Jewish converts to the Catholic faith), I wholeheartedly agree with his conclusion:

The kind of persistent, expansively negative rhetoric about and attacks on the Jewish people that appear on Robert Sungenis’ website have no legitimate place in civil discourse at all, much less under the banner “Catholic.” Certainly, there are legitimate criticisms to be made and legitimate discussions to be had regarding various “Jewish issues.” But those who persistently create and repeat the kinds of views he reiterates are manifestly not the ones to lead them. Such discussions and criticisms, if they are to have any hope of bearing godly fruit, must be led in spirit of genuine charity, humility and honesty. It is my heartfelt prayer that all those reading these words will reject the ugly and dangerous approach that demonizes the Jewish people and effectively reduces all the world’s ills to their supposed machinations and nefarious conspiracies.

Culture Wars' Troubling Praise of Israel Shamir

2006-07-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

Given my past experience with Culture Wars and E. Michael Jones', it did not come as a suprise to find a positively glowing review of Israel Shamir's Pardes in the September, 2005 issue of the publication (Shamir on the Jewish Question, by Tom White. September 2005 -- now posted on the CultureWars.com website).

White has nothing but high praise for Shamir, finding "everything he writes illuminated by a fine intelligence, a good heart, massive knowledge of world history, a truly Christian humility, tremendous sophistication, considerable humor, and a determination to speak his piece no matter what." He likens him to the American poet Ezra Pound, gushing:

Shamir answers for me the question: What is wrong in the world that our nation is collapsing -- or at least getting ready to collapse -- in a welter of monstrous, unpayable debt, illegal and unwinnable wars, pornographic "entertainment," grossly corrupt government, ruinous taxation, and totalitarian-style police-state encroachments on the activities of everyday people, all the while no one seems to be able to do anything to stop any of it?
Pound's political and economic writings, which were a career sideline for a man who was a superb if sometimes difficult poet, are still politically incorrect, because he thought the chief architects of the extreme folly of the two great European World Wars, which wrecked Christendom and murdered millions of human beings, were the money men and munitions men, the giant usurers in their role as warmongers. Pound made plain that he thought -- nay, he knew -- that a lot of the biggest of them were Jews.
Shamir comes now with even more serious accusations, and reporting, if you will, from the inside, to contend that "the Jews" (defined below) are engaged in a monstrous scheme of world control and world government that is within an ace of carrying the day.

Now, just who is Israel Shamir? -- The name sounded oddly familiar. As it turns out, he is referenced by John Sharpe in "Judaism and the Vatican" (The Angelus June 2003 Volume XXVI, Number 6), and a search of Robert Sungenis' Catholics Apologetics International reveals that Shamir is twice recommended by a reader in an exchange with Robert Sungenis (Question #26 and Question #55). E. Michael Jones also displays some familiarity with Shamir, citing one of his columns in Harretz.

The problem of a proper vetting of sources has come up repeatedly in past discussions on this blog. Should it matter that Culture Wars praise Shamir's writings as a reliable source on Jewish affairs? Or that Sungenis and Sharpe make use of him as a reference in their articles? -- Consider the facts, and decide for yourself.

According to his own website Israel Shamir is a "leading Russian-Israeli intellectual, writer, translator and journalist" -- a Russian translator of Joyce, Homer and Agnon; "A native of Novosibirsk, Siberia, a grandson of a professor of mathematics and a descendant of a Rabbi from Tiberias, Palestine," schooled at the "prestigious Academy of Sciences . . . [and] Novosibirsk University".

In 1969, he allegedly moved to Israel, served as a paratrooper and fought in the 1973 war, after which point he resumed his study of law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and then abandoned the profession in pursuie of a career in journalism, later serving as a columnist for the Israeli daily Haaretz "but was sacked for publishing an article calling to the return the Palestinian refugees and the rebuilding of their ruined villages," whereupon he was employed by the Russian newspaper Pravda.

The second Palestinian Intifada turned Shamir to his highly political and poetic pieces centred on Palestine. In the midst of the endless talk of a "Two State solution", Shamir, along with late Edward Said, has become a leading champion of the "One Man, One Vote, One State" solution in all of Palestine/Israel. As the battle for Palestine spilled over into Iraq, Shamir wrote more about the deeper, philosophical and theological meaning of the war. His essays have been circulating widely on the Internet . . . His English essays are collected in three books, The Flowers of Galilee, Our Lady of Sorrow and the PaRDeS.

However, investigations of Israel Shamir's background -- also operating under various aliases as Schmerlin, Robert David, Vassili Krasevsky and Jöran Jermas -- reveal something of a different story:

Israeli writer is Swedish anti-Semite, Tor Bach, Sven Johansen and Lise Apfelblum. Searchlight Magazine, May 2004:
Shamir also claims to have occupied a string of important positions as a translator of classical works and to have worked as a journalist in several heavyweight media institutions, including for the major Israeli paper, Haaretz. However, when Monitor [Searchlight "sister" magazine in Norway] started investigating Shamir's past last year, it found no evidence that Shamir had ever held these positions. His supposed job as Moscow correspondent for Haaretz turned out to consist of just a few freelance articles.
The Swedish Census Registry does give a few clues about Shamir and his movements. It shows that his name was entered onto the Registry in October 1984 and he later obtained Swedish citizenship. According to the register he still lives in Dalagatan, Stockholm, not in Jaffa, Israel, as he publicly claims. Shamir's first wife and two sons also live in Stockholm.
In July 1993, Shamir emigrated to Russia and later to Israel, where he married again in July 1994. He and his new wife returned to Sweden in autumn 1998.
Shamir, who claims to be one of Israel's leading intellectuals, has concealed the fact that he has lived in Sweden for a long time. Another strange fact is that there are hardly any references to Shamir on the internet before 2001, the same year in which he changed his name. This was a strange time to do this, just as he was being noticed and had started to publish his works under the name of Israel Shamir.
Jermas's translator in Norway is Hans Olav Brendberg, a teacher, who was recently asked to leave the executive committee of a branch of the Red Electoral Alliance (RV) -- see RV member to be expelled? [Norway] Monitor February 2004.
Israel Shamir: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, by Roland Rance. [Google cache]. The Socialist / Anti-Zionist magazine Socialist Viewpoint, which used to publish Shamir's writings, explains why they are now distancing themselves from the author and are repulsed by his anti-semitism, evidence for which they locate in his Easter message to his readers:
In his 2001 Easter Message he wrote: "The Jewish supremacy forces and the greed worshippers united again to crucify Christ…. Two thousand years ago, the spirit of brotherhood rose again, to give hope for the second joust. If he is defeated again, we all shall become forever slaves to our faceless masters. They will destroy the Mother Earth herself, turn her into waste lands of Mordor. They need this victory to bind U.S. together by the dark forces of domination. Let U.S. deny them, this time." [Take Two: Easter greetings to you from Israel Shamir MediaMonitors April 15, 2001 ]
I'm not given to looking for anti-Jewish racism under every stone; but I think that, in this case, it is shouting from the roof-tops! Like many U.S. racists, he refers to the forces of ZOG (Zionist Government) to explain the behavior of the U.S., where he writes: "This brings us back, to the Fifth Element of Luc Besson, for in the movie as in real life, Zog is not an independent force. A slave of Mammon, a servant of the Shadow, he is helping the Dark force fulfill its metaphysical task, to blot out the Light of Christ and to turn our world into Godless desert. That is why he sends bulldozers to wipe out flowers in Palestine, sends troops to sack Baghdad and Damascus, threatens Paris and Moscow, perverts Christianity."
Nigel Parry: The Israel Shamir Case - Once "rapidly and warmly accepted into the pro-Palestinian activist scene," Perry explains why Shamir was ultimately expelled on account of his "classic anti-Semitic repertoire":
As his articles kept coming, however, an increasing amount of the tone and content was observed by more than a few to fall into what could -- if this hadn't been an Israeli Jew writing it -- best be described as a classic anti-Semitic repertoire. Shamir's identity as a Jew initially enabled people to excuse this, until the whole mess began to unravel as more and more questions were asked. Eventually, these questions began to be answered, and the issue errupted into a controversy. This page is an archive for some of the material that circulated, and is offered to the Palestinian community in particular as a warning to check the backgrounds and content of the message of people who claim to speak on their behalf. However worthy the cause, the end does not justify the means.
Lord Ahmed's unwelcome guest, by Stephen Pollard. April 27, 2005. On February 23, Shamir / Jermas was invited to speak in Britain's House of Lords by Nazir Ahmed, a Muslim Labor peer:
The gist of Shamir/Jermas's speech at the meeting can be gleaned from its title, "Jews and the Empire". It included observations such as: "All the [political] parties are Zionist-infiltrated." "Your newspapers belong to Zionists . . . Jews indeed own, control and edit a big share of mass media, this mainstay of Imperial thinking." "In the Middle East we have just one reason for wars, terror and trouble -- and that is Jewish supremacy drive . . . in Iraq, the US and its British dependency continue the same old fight for ensuring Jewish supremacy in the Middle East." "The Jews like an Empire . . . This love of Empire explains the easiness Jews change their allegiance . . . Simple minds call it 'treacherous behaviour', but it is actually love of Empire per se." "Now, there is a large and thriving Muslim community in England . . . they are now on the side of freedom, against the Empire, and they are not afraid of enforcers of Judaic values, Jewish or Gentile. This community is very important in order to turn the tide."
"Why would Lord Ahmed have hosted such a man in the Lords?" Pollard inquires, when a quick search of the web would have revealed his true nature:
Indeed, Shamir/Jermas's own website proudly reprints his views: "Jews asked God to kill, destroy, humiliate, exterminate, defame, starve, impale Christians, to usher in Divine Vengeance and to cover God's mantle with blood of goyim . . . " "The Ashkenazi Jews believed that spilled Jewish blood has a magic effect of calling down Divine Vengeance on the heads of the Gentiles . . . The picture of Jews slaughtering children for cultic reasons exerted huge impact on the Christian peoples of Europe." On and on it goes.
See also London Times Exposes Columnist "Israel Shamir" as Swedish neo-Nazi DiscoverTheNetworks.org; A Labour anti-semite? StephenPollard.com. March 22, 2005.
Israel Shamir exposed! A fake or a plant?, by Manfred Ropschitz. IndiaMedia.org April 26, 2005. IndyMedia.org posts a copy of Israel Shamir's / Jöram Jermas' passport, documenting his dual-identity. Again, the author of the article is "an anti-Zionist Jew, the son of a Polish Holocaust survivor and an active supporter of Palestinian rights since the late 1970's" -- one of many anti-Zionist activists who have disowned and distanced themselves from Shamir.
"Israel Shamir" and the Austrian Left , by Karl Pfeifer. TransAtlantic Intelligencer May 26, 2005:
Today, it is not crude fascist-type street politics that mainly characterizes anti-Semitism but rather heavily coded and implicit arguments -- almost always accompanied by a pre-emptive disavowal of any anti-Semitic intent -- to the effect that the world's problems, including September 11 (and even the Tsunami) have their origins in the policies of and the existence of Israel, that Israel can get away with it because the USA gives it carte blanche, and that the USA does so because its own government is under pressure from, or is itself, ZOG. This kind of argument, in turn, is a key ingredient of simplistic, black and white, assessments of events in the Middle East, especially the Israel-Palestine issue.
From Israel Shamir - Wikipedia provides a lengthy entry with copious references and sources on the ongoing investigation into the background of this popular "Israeli" writer.

* * *Something that Culture Wars and Israel Shamir have in common is the fact that their articles are picked up by the the National Vanguard, a website/organization of questionable ideology (being an offshoot of the white-supremacist National Alliance).

Shamir's columns are regularly featured on The Vanguard's website. In February 24, 2005, Culture Wars' book review of Shamir's Pardes was picked up by The Vanguard, followed by David O'Connell's Elie Wiesel and the Catholics shortly thereafter.

* * *

Update!

I see the expose of Israel Shamir has provoked the ire of Culture Wars' Thomas Herron.

Israel Shamir's current residence -- Jaffa, Israel or Sweden? As noted in the various investigatory reports, he has dual citizenship -- is, in my mind, incidental to the content of his writings. Here Herron takes the usual line of defense that Shamir/Jermas is not an anti-semite, but merely opposed to Zionism -- and then mentions the fact of his conversion to Greek Orthodoxy to exonerate his remarks.

But, it is Shamir's writing that is the question -- specifically, the kind of phrases commonplace in his writings, the rhetoric that is drawn from run-of-the-mill European anti-semitism and which has caused many of Shamir's former Palestinian and anti-Zionist admirers to disown him outright. (Herron cites two letters from friends of Shamir who have met him and speak of him highly; in contrast, here is a written account of a personal meeting between Hussein Ibish and Israel Shamir. Ibish is a press spokesman of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), who met with Shamir to discuss his views and warned of Shamir's growing extremism.

Herron appears at a loss as to explain why the majority of those who are now distancing themselves from Shamir's extremism are, for the most part, left-wing anti-Zionist/pro-Palestinian activists who are in no way sympathetic to Zionism or Israel.

IHS Press, Potential Fascist & Antisemitic Connections, Etc.: A Chronicle of Disturbing Patterns

2006-02-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

I usually am not inclined to blog on this kind of topic, but having conducted several weeks' investigation into this matter I believe the questions raised by fellow Catholic Matthew Anger (Fringe Watch) are credible, and that this issue, disturbing as it is, should be brought to the greater attention of the public. Please note that as any more information pertaining to this issue becomes available this post may be updated in the future -- Thanks, CB].

In September 2001, John Sharpe and Derek Holland founded IHS Press, its stated mission "to bring back into print the classics of last century on the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church" -- which the publishers hope will be "a welcome and refreshing change for any socially-conscious reader who, in a search for a humane solution to modern social problems, is looking for a break from worn-out theories."

In December 2005, IHS Press, under the imprint "Light and Darkness," published the two-part anthology Neo-Conned and Neo-Conned Again. Featuring "20 months of extensive research" and the contributions of a broad range of authors (a "who's who" of those who opposed the Iraq war), including "paleoconservative" Pat Buchanan (The American Conservative), Joseph Sobran, Deacon Keith Fournier (former editor of TCRNews.com), Paul Likoudis (The Wanderer), William T. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. (author of Torture and Eucharist), Scott Ritter (former chief UN weapons inspector for UNSCOM), journalist Robert Fisk, Professor Noam Chomsky, Justin Raimondo (antiwar.com), Mark & Louise Zwick (Houston Catholic Worker) and E. Michael Jones (Culture Wars) -- with endorsements by everyone from Dale Vree (New Oxford Review) to Howard Zinn (historian, Boston University) to Bishop Williamson (SSPX). . . . in the publisher's words, "a hard-hitting, no-holds-barred examination of the immorality, the injustice, the illegality, and the insanity of America’s aggression against Iraq."

* * *

In December 2005, Matthew Anger (who some might recognize as a frequent contributor to the Seattle Catholic) launched a blog called Fringe Watch, its primary aim "a study on the Third Positionist neo-fascist infiltration of conservative/traditional Catholic circles," but extending its investigation into such controversial figures as Bishop Williamson (SSPX), Fr. Leonard Feeney (1897-1978) . . . and IHS Press founders John Sharpe and Derek Holland. The relevant posts from his blog are as follows:

The Real Con Job: John Sharpe's "Anti-War" Series Dec. 29, 2005
John Sharpe's Legion of St. Louis Dec. 30, 2005
John Sharpe's Ties to Holland and Fiore Dec. 31, 2005
More on Derek Holland and IHS Press January 20, 2006
IHS/Legion Extremism Confirmed February 17, 2006
The Political Soldier Part I (a study of Holland's pseudo-spiritual 1984 manifesto popular in neo-fascist circles) and The Political Soldier Part II:, the second work published in 1989 as Thoughts on Sacrifice and Struggle.

Readers curious in making the connections can read the relevant posts; but to summarize Anger's investigation: IHS Press founder John Sharpe, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, former submarine officer and media spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet, has ties to Legion of St. Louis, a traditionalist website which peddles anti-semitic/anti-Judaic literature such as Henry Ford's International Jew, A.K. Chesterton's The New Unhappy Lords (what Anger describes as "the Mein Kampf of British neo-fascism by A. K. Chesterton, founder the racialist National Front") and Judaism's Strange Gods by Holocaust-revisionist and "white-separatist" Michael Hoffman II.

It also appears that the co-founder of IHS Press is none other than Derek Holland (presently going by the name of Deric O'Huallachain), a former International Third Position (ITP) leader with a sympathy for anti-American Arab governments, having traveled to Libya in 1988 (a field trip organized by Ayran Nations Australia leader Robert Pash).

According to Wikipedia's biography:

Holland's last public appearance was at a Swedish nationalist convention in 2002 (hosted by Nationaldemokratisk Ungdom, the youth wing of the National Democrats). Since that time the ITP appears to have gravitated towards the European National Front, and Holland has retired from active involvement in politics, though his Political Soldier writings are still circulated amongst radical nationalists.
Holland has received considerable treatment in works on European extremist nationalism, including Fascism: A History by Roger Eatwell (1997) and Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (2002). Holland’s writings on the Political Soldier are also featured in Fascism: A Reader published by Oxford University Press (1995).

According to Matt Anger, Derek Holland now resides in Ireland and sits on the board of directors of IHS Press:

From the moment that IHS Press was established in 2001, people expressed concern, but were reassured (as was this writer) that Holland had put his extremism "behind him." Apparently that didn't stop him from being guest speaker at the February 2002 racial nationalist Nationaldemokratisk Ungdom (NDU) in Sweden. In March of that year the German neo-nazi Deutsche Stimme (German Voice) featured his essay, "Theory and Strategy: The Path of the Political Soldier." An overnight transition from political radicalism to religious orthodoxy seems improbable. And his activities in Ireland have covered as recently as 2005 in the Brandsma Review.
Roberto Fiore, Holland's close collaborator, was a member of the political wing of the Armed Revolutionary Nuclei which claimed responsibility for the 1980 Bologna bomb attack which claimed 85 lives. In 1997 Fiore came out of hiding in the UK to head the openly fascist Forza Nuova party in Italy.
What is the link to Neo-Conned? Fiore, as part of the ITP, helped set up the St. George Educational Trust which is the UK counterpart to, and collaborator with, Sharpe's pseudo-Catholic Legion of St. Louis. [More on this later on -- CB]

* * *

Having blogged previously on the disturbing presence of anti-semitism in "radical traditionalist" circles -- Dubious Sources in Catholic Family News May 17, 2003; Anti-semitism: Another Obstacle to SSPX Reconciliation Against the Grain Dec. 28, 2003; Pope Benedict XVI, the SSPX and Impediments to Reunion Sept. 10, 2005 -- I took an immediate interest in Matt Anger's investigation. (And lest you suspect Anger of possessing "neocon" affinities like myself, do read his Anti-War Conservatives vs. Subversives: A Clarification Fringe Watch Jan. 20, 2005).

* * *

Where is all this heading? -- Back in January I had touched on John Sharpe's dubious connections in my introduction to Matt Anger's blog. I was at the time greatly disturbed by these revelations concerning IHS Press, on account that various bloggers and websites I knew(TCRNews.com, for instance) were vigorously promoting the Neoconned series.

Likewise, I myself had promoted IHS Press on my website The Church and the Liberal Tradition (focusing on Catholic social doctrine and the debate between "Whig-Thomists" and "Augustianian Thomists"), and listed one of their books, Dr. Amintore Fanfani's Catholicism, Protestantism, and Capitalism.

Others, however, were somewhat dismissive of Matt Angers' investigation. One commentator protests:

. . . As for Sharpe's views on "the Jews," which I knew nothing of until reading Matt's piece, that is separate. We at our end believe we can praise one work while deploring the rest. We do the same with First Things all the time, which we consider theologically very substantive though politically compromised (again, from our point of view; no offense intended to anyone here).

I responded in turn that this was a grave mistake: perhaps one can separate the content
from the source, "praising the work while deploring the source" -- but in this case, I would be pressed to ask whether, under the present circumstances, it is right to further the financial gain of this kind of publisher without at least inquiring more closely about their political/ideological views?

Another friend urged me to write John Sharpe and IHS Press regarding these allegations, and I agreed it would be the best idea to confront them directly. On February 8, 2006, I emailed the publishers at IHS Press, by way of their own website as well as their Neoconned promotional page, inquiring about the present connections of John Sharpe to the Legion of St. Louis and IHS Press' co-founder Derek Holland's relationship to the International Third Position (as described in the article Faith-based fascists bridging the waters, Searchlight March 2004). (Recieiving no response, I wrote them again on Februrary 21st).

On February 21, 2006 I received the following response from IHS Press:

I write on behalf of IHS Press as the editor. You should contact the Legion of St. Louis for information on their status or activities. IHS Press is not connected to the Legion of St. Louis.
As an aside, as for the books you mention, I have not read Ford's so could not comment on its quality one way or the other, but the Michael Hoffman book you refer to is an excellent and balanced treatment of an obviously difficult question. His treatment is not unlike the treatment of the question by orthodox Catholics of the 1800s and 1900s. No doubt you've read it, since you seem to take exception to it. On the off chance that you haven't read it, I recommend you do so, both for the possibility that it will make a more favorable impression upon you than you seem to have of it currently, and for you to have your facts assembled if you do intend to further criticize it.
As for the 'political affiliations and views' of Mr. O'Huallachain, our co-editor and co-publisher, I suggest you provide some specific questions which I would be happy to forward to him. Regarding lectures or interviews he may have given, these are matters for him to discuss and are of no concern to the Press. We don't make it our business to "authorize" or otherwise get involved in the private or non-IHS Press-related activities of our staff, provided of course that these activities do not contravene either Catholic doctrine and morality or the law, which I am quite certain -- in this case -- they do not.
We are greatful to hear of your promotion of Fanfai's great book. We'd be pleased if that promotion could continue. If you enjoyed the editors' introduction to that volume you might reflect upon it as an illustration of the orthodoxy of the Press's editors. As an additional aside regarding whatever your questions might be about the editors' 'views or political affiliations,' you may rest assured that our views are expressed in what we publish and, more specifically, what we have written as introductory material to what we publish.
We'd be happy to answer any further or more specific questions.

Mr. Sharpe and I corresponded further on the above topics, although his responses to my inquiries regarding the Legion of St. Louis and Derek Holland's background were in large part the same and stuck to the above points. My observations are as follows:

John Sharpe and the Legion of St. Louis

Mr. Sharpe advises: "You should contact the Legion of St. Louis for information on their status or activities. IHS Press is not connected to the Legion of St. Louis." (He reiterated this point in our subsequent correspondence). Now, while this is "factually" true (there is indeed, no formal connection between the two organizations), it remains the case that the founder of "The Legion of St. Louis" is none other than John Sharpe, as documented by the "founding email" of the organization, reproduced here on The LeFloch Report, and this article in the Dec. 13, 2002 edition of Seattle Catholic.

John Sharpe's Commentary on 9/11

[Note: This particular section has been revised on 3/1/06 in light of additional documentation uncovered from MediaMonitors.net -- CB]

Furthermore, as "editor of the Legion of St. Louis", Mr. Sharpe authored a series of essays on 9/11 for conspiracy website MediaMonitors.net, in which he airs views that would be of concern to most Catholics. In the first essay, "Thou Shall Not Kill Sept. 17, 2001, Sharpe suggests that the United States pretty much brought 9/11 on itself. Citing the work of (suprise!) "the master of secret history, Michal A. Hoffman, II," Sharpe muses that "there remains the possibility that that official story [of 9/11] will be a cover for something else, and that there are individuals who benefit from the results . . . who are other than the hypothetical crazy Arabs," speculating in his second essay (The Mainstream Media Reaction to the Attacks: Who's Pulling the Strings? Sept. 19, 2001) that the culprits may very well be "The Mossad or the U.S. Govt."

In this third essay, Islam vs. the West: Is This Another Crusade? October 18, 2001, Sharpe charges that:

Commentary on the geopolitical situation of 2001 can be neither complete nor sufficient if it fails to take into account the Jewish Nation. The temporal power that the Jews have achieved since, picking a somewhat arbitrary date, 1789, is both pervasive and relatively unchallenged. Some readers will doubtless call this extremism, anti-Semitism, and, God-forbid, some strange brand of Nazi fanaticism. On the contrary. It is simply a fact. The forces of high finance, government, and the media have been in largely Jewish hands for some time now; we should therefore expect that the direction in which the world is guided by those forces (or at least in which those forces attempt to guide the world) largely corresponds to a generally Jewish aim.

Sharpe goes on to discuss the Catholic response to 9/11 from the Vatican ("little more than a nicely robed fan club for everything modern") and Pope John Paul II ("of scandalous Koran-kissing fame") -- such references to the Holy Father are to be expected -- before concluding:

1. The current and historical mortal enemy of Christian civilization is Judeo-Masonry. There can be no doubt about this fact from an analysis history, both recent, and that which dates from the time of Our Lord. Islam is a sideshow, albeit a powerful and vigorous one, to the main drama. It has been a tool of Jewry and may in fact be so in this case.
2. There is nothing to suggest that bin Laden, assuming he is the guilty party – or whoever is responsible for the attacks of 9-11 – considered the attacks to be an assault on the West, insofar as it is the uniquely Christian West. [. . .]
4. In truth, there is no longer a Christian West to attack. To suggest that the US of A is the last bastion of Christian civilization is a sad mockery of the truth. It has been a greater Israel for many years; the rise of Hollywood, Wall Street, the Fed, and Roosevelt’s State and Treasury departments assured that.

Part III of Sharpe's 9/11 commentary ends with the anticipation that he "will try to pull together what is known about the "official story" and why it doesn’t wash. It will also consider just what role this 'greater Judaism' may have had in 9-11, particularly in light of the ideological gains which it continues to reap in the name of pluralism and tolerance."

The Sept. 11, 2002 - "9/11 Anniversary Edition" of the LSL's Legion News & Views [available here on the restored website of the LSL, or via the Google cache], again indulges in wild conspiracies about 9/11, recommending the conspiracy-theory websites The Abbé de Nantes" and http://www.whatreallyhappened.com -- speculating (from the former) that Bin Laden is "the secret ally of the United States"; (from the latter), that the Zionists, again, were the true perpetrators of the crime.

John Sharpe's endorsement of Judaism's Strange Gods, by Michael Hoffman II

Mr. Sharpe recommends Michael Hoffman's Judaism's Strange Gods as an "excellent and balanced treatment of an obviously difficult question." Who is Michael Hoffman II?

Michael Hoffman II is a conspiracy-theorist and Holocaust-revisionist, who heads the revisionist website Campaign for Radical Truth in History. He has authored a number of books such as Hate Whitey - The Cinema of Defamation ("tracking Hollywood's psychological war against whites, Christians, Germans and gentiles"); Witches and Rabbis: Legacy of the Reagan White House (the chapter titles alone are a good indication of the content: "Reagan's Kosher Cash Cow; Greatest Presidential Friend of the Israelis; Patron Saint of the Holohoax Lobby," etc.); on revisionisthistory.org, he bemoans the fact that

"The white race --at least in its current degenerate state as manifested in modern America-- is now the golem of the rabbis. Without the unstinting financial and military support of America's white leaders and white voters, the Israeli Zionists would not have one-tenth their power in the world today. The supremacy of whites in America such as George W. Bush, Donald Rumsefeld, Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush, George Bush Sr., Justice Antonin Scalia, . . . is synonymous with the rise of Judaic supremacy. I repudiate white supremacy and Judaic supremacy with every ounce of my being."

In subsequent correspondence with Mr. Sharpe I pointed out Michael Hoffmann II's rather dubious connections and asked, whether in light of his other writings as a Holocaust revisionist, Hoffman's Judaism's Strange Gods could honestly be considered to offer a "excellent and balanced" exploration of Judaism. Mr. Sharpe responded:

I am not aware of the books of his that you say indulge "in the worst form of 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion"-esque conspiracy-theorizing", whatever that means exactly. Notwithstanding your own point of view of Mr. Hoffman, his book on Judaism is balanced and enlightening. I suggest you read it before you comment on it one way or another.

Although Sharpe professes an ignorance of Hoffman's other works, he has
freely cited Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare in his speculations on 9/11. Although he may not be aware of his other works, I admit I was greatly disturbed by his apparent lack of concern about Hoffman's connections when I pointed these out to him.

Truth be told, I have not bothered to read Strange Gods of Judaism. While I am somewhat familiar with the selective-quotation from the Talmud by anti-semites (see the Anti-Defamation League's The Talmud in Anti-Semetic Polemics February 2003, which addresses the spurious charges of Michael Hoffman II and white-supremacist David Duke), the fact that Michael Hoffman II is a celebrated author of, and heavily marketed by, white-nationalist, neo-nazi, "revisionist history" and "New World Order" conspiracy-theory organizations is enough to repel me.

With regards to learning about Judaism as a religious tradition, I have found Hayim Halevy Donin's To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life (Basic Books, 1991) particularly helpful, along with Back To The Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts (Simon & Schuster, 1986); I suppose Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History wouldn't hurt, either. And to understand Judaism from a Christian/Catholic perspective, one might read Roy H. Schoeman's Salvation is From The Jews (Ignatius Press, 2004).

Point being: if you want to learn about contemporary Judaism, ask a Jew. Better yet, ask a religious orthodox Jew, not a conspiracy-theorist with a background in "white-separatism" and Holocaust-revisionism.

John Sharpe's Lack of Concern about Derek Holland

That IHS Press' founder should plead ignorance of and willful disregard for the past activities of Derek Holland is extremely troubling for this reason: according to Matthew Anger,

The [International Third Position] has long been involved in a scheme of Marxist style "entryism" – with the aim of co-opting groups which profess non-mainstream views (not extremist per se) in the hopes of bringing them under their neo-fascist umbrella. But a breakthrough came with the ITP's St. George Educational Trust (SGET) set up in the early 90s as a "Catholic charity" organization (an investigation of the group by the UK Charity Commission took place in 1997).
But a breakthrough came with the ITP's St. George Educational Trust (SGET) set up in the early 90s as a "Catholic charity" organization (an investigation of the group by the UK Charity Commission took place in 1997).
[For more on the investigation into the 'St. George Educational Trust,' see "Two 'Catholic' charities linked to Nazis, says report", by Paul Kelso The Guardian Sept. 18, 2000, and "Charities told to sever link to far-right nationalists", The Guardian May 21, 2001]
It has to be understood that within European "revolutionary nationalism" there are two trends: one, professedly neo-pagan and even anti-Christian; the other, espousing a selective religiosity (not unlike the Klan and "Christian Identity" racialists in the US). But when push comes to shove, all such extremists put aside personal differences to unite in their hatred of Jews, non-whites and the United States. It is the totalitarian tendency which trumps everything else.
The problem with Sharpe's activities is not just a question of overlapping ideas, but of overlapping resources. A look at my library shows that the SGET, whose books are sold by the [Legion of St. Louis], has the same mailing address as the ITP’s Legion Books at Forest Place in Hampshire, England.
The SGET/LSL pamphlet Catholic Action: Uses, Abuses and Excuses is written by Derek Holland under the pen name of "Liam Connolly." The article "Why Catholics Are Cowards" by Liam Connolly was published by the LSL and SGET in the booklet Faith and Fear. It first appeared in the Christmas 1998 issue of Candour, an anti-Semitic newsletter run by the ITP (now operating in the UK as "England First").

In subsequent correspondence, John Sharpe reiterated his position that

IHS does not scrutinize the activities of its staff provided those don't violate either the moral or the civil law, and, to repeat, Mr. O'Huallachain's activities - whether or not you endorse them - don't violate either. Therefore they are of no concern to IHS Press.

In light of the fact that 1) IHS Press co-founder Derek Holland/Deric O'Huallachain has a known history of involvement in British fascism, including the origination of the International Third Position; 2) Derek Holland's comrade, Italian fascist Roberto Fiore, masterminded a plot in the 1990's to fund "nationalist commmunes" in Spain through "Catholic charities" which purported to be merely thrift stores and distributors of traditional Catholic literature; 3) that, as late as 2002, Derek Holland had a speaking engagement to a convention of the German NPD (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands) . . . then, in this writer's humble opinion, it probably would be in Sharpe's best interest to evaluate his background before entering into a joint publishing venture.

* * *

In the past several years, IHS Press has received recognition as a mainstream Catholic publisher. In September 11, 2003, Zenit News Service interviewed Mr. Sharpe on the founding of IHS Press and the revival of Catholic social doctrine ("As a complete sociopolitical creed the social doctrine really is a third way that isn't just between the Left and Right -- it rather transcends both Left and Right and rises above them with its own vision of social order"). They have received a fidelity rating of "excellent" by CatholicCulture.com; and in a November 2004 book review for the New Oxford Review, Thomas Storck commended their publication of Chesterton and Belloc, "their efforts to provide American readers with these foundational works cannot be praised too highly."

In addition to its promotion of traditional Catholic works, IHS Press has, through its "Sheffield Hallam University Press" imprint , published several books on economic socialism, including study of the controversial publisher Alfred Richard Orage and Gary Taylor's Socialism and Christianity: The Politics of the Church Socialist League -- a study of late 19th, early 20th century Christian socialism in England which challenges the notion that "socialism is anti-Christian".

Under its "Traditionalist Press" imprint, IHS Press also published the book The Rural Solution: Modern Catholic Voices on Going “Back to the Land”, an anthology which argues "why city-dwelling Catholics should settle and work in the country." The authors of the text are listed as:

Richard Williamson is a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Peter Chojnowski is a teacher of religion, philosophy, and social thought at Immaculate Conception Academy. Christopher McCann is an associate of Angelus Press, a Catholic publisher of books about contemporary issues of the Catholic faith. John Marx was a professor of social science and economics at Catholic University of America. Willis Nutting was a frequent contributor to the Catholic journal Integrity.

Now, Bishop Williamson is more than "a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church," being in fact excommunicated by Pope John Paul II in 1988, along with the other leaders of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) (see John Paul II's apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei Adflicta); Angelus Press is more than "a Catholic publisher" -- being the inhouse publisher of the SSPX, and Peter Chojnowski currently teaches for the Society of Saint Pius X at Immaculate Conception Academy in Post Falls, ID.

I should also mention that Richard Williamson also has a history of extremist views that mirror those of Sharpe and Derek Holland (see The Politics of Bishop Richard Williamson Fringe Watch January 25, 2006).

While it appears that the publishers' description of Williamson, Chojnowski and McCann could be construed as a willful attempt to conceal their controversial membership in the SSPX, one should also note that, according to Matt Anger, “whether one agrees with the SSPX or not, it is clear that Bishop Williamson has been an extremist and divisive force in Catholic tradition,” and that many within the SSPX remain severely critical of Richard Williamson’s relationship with Sharpe, Holland, and their involvement in neo-fascism.

Likewise, we should distinguish between those within the SSPX militantly opposed to Rome (like Williamson) and those who are not averse to entering into dialogue with Benedict XVI, with the goal of reconciliation.

IHS Press has also been vigorously marketing the Neo-Conned series, which received positive reviews by Dr. John Hubert TCRNews.com, Catholic "traditionalist" Michael Semin, and, curiously, a group called Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth (the latter reviewer has his own distinct criteria for determining the book's quality: "I went back through the book counting the 9/11 references. According to my quick survey, Neoconned Again includes 14 references (in ten essays) that take the official story [of 9/11] for granted; ten that cast doubt upon it indirectly or through innuendo; and three clear statements that the official story of 9/11 is a lie").

Over the past months, John Sharpe has also done promotional spots on left-wing radio (AntiWar.com's "Weekend Interview") and television (Dr Hesham Tillawi's "Current Issues" interview no longer available online but Sharpe's photo is posted). He will be presenting his work on Neo-Conned and Neo-Conned Again: Hypocrisy Lawlessness and the Rape of Iraq an an Arab/Islamic Center on March 31, 2006.

* * *

The publishers of the Neo-Conned volumes present themselves in a rather innocuous light:

J. Forrest Sharpe is the publisher and managing director of IHS Press. He is a student of Catholic Social Doctrine and the English Distributist movement. D. Liam O'Huallachain is the editorial director of IHS Press and is a student of Catholic Social Doctrine, the English Distributist Movement, and contemporary alternative political movements. Both have edited and annotated editions of works by 20th-century social thinkers such as G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Fr. Vincent McNabb, Fr. Heinrich Pesch, and Dr. George O'Brien.

But as we have seen in this post, there is more to D. Liam O'Huallachain's study of "contemporary alternative political movements" than a cursory or academic interest.

At the time of this writing, it also appears that the domain name "http://www.legionofstlouis.com/" expired (on February 6, 2006 to be precise). Perhaps we may take this as a sign that Mr. Sharpe intends to abandon his earlier project and concentrate fully on the advancement of IHS Press. One may hope as much -- but in light of Sharpe's past editorship of the Legion of St. Louis, his co-founder's questionable political activities (which continued even after the founding of IHS Press), and the many controversial connections unnearthed by Matthew Angers' Fringe Watch investigations, serious questions and concerns remain.

Had Sharpe expressed the slightest bit of concern over Michael Hoffman II's writing and views on Judaism, or Derek Holland's ideological history as a Third Positionist; or admitted that he was indeed the founder of Legion of St. Louis, but had repudiated the opinions he was disseminating at the time as editor, I would have been inclined to let the matter rest and give IHS Press "the benefit of the doubt."

But the fact that he immediately went on the defensive in his support for Michael Hoffman II's Strange Gods of Judaism, his utter lack of concern for Derek Holland and his connection as founder of the Legion of St. Louis prompted the writing of this article.

Given their ideological background and connections, is it a good idea to lend one's support to these publishers by way of promoting their books?

And what of the "neo-fascist infiltration of conservative/traditional Catholic circles"? -- in addition to the left-wing and "paleoconservative" authors who penned works for the Neo-Conned volumes, there were also good Catholics who supported this project, either by contributing their work or lending their voice in endorsement.

Would they have done so as readily had they been fully aware of the ideological affiliations of its publishers?

Updates (1/28/06)

Matt Anger brings to my attention a third essay on 9/11, available on the website of the Legion of St. Louis, which claims that "Bin Laden's call to attack the West lacks a supernatural geo-political perspective because it is concerned ONLY with defending the rights, albeit in some cases legitimate, of Muslim states. The media perspective is faulty because it equates the West with the Enlightenment, secularism, and materialism. And the analysis put forward by some Catholic parties is flawed not so much in itself as in what it leaves out of consideration – Judeo-Masonry."
A Final Conflict NewsEmail dated March 20th, 2001, a nationalist "skinhead" Third Positionist publication, contains a note attributed to "info@legionofstlouis.com" (One observes as well a mutual interest in Michael Hoffman II ("a seminal piece which exposes Judaism's dualistic Kabbalah/Talmud based faith . . . Judaism has NOTHING to do with Christianity or even the Old Testament -- but is essentially occultist"), which of course begs the question: what is a Catholic organization doing fraternizing with this kind of movement?
The August 25, 2002 edition of Legion News & Views [Google cache] contains a review of an IHS Press book on Chesterton, confirming that that the organization was in existence and functioning at least a year after the founding of the publishing company. Matt Anger notes (Legion of St. Louis Website: Gone But Not Forgotten Fringe Watch Feb. 27, 2006):
. . . the LSL site was in place in October 2001 and the IHS Press site went up no later than November of that same year, demonstrating that Mr. Sharpe was promoting supposedly Catholic publications via IHS at the same time that he was peddling anti-Semitism and neo-fascism with the LSL; and Derek Holland, veteran British neo-fascist, is a member of the IHS Press board of directors and was openly involved in extremist activities even after IHS Press was founded.
As of March 1, 2006, the Legion of St. Louis website appears to be "back in business," the domain name renewed on March 1, 2005 -- although the registrant's identity is removed.
I. Shawn McElhinney (Rerum-Novarum) notes that "some who have been zealously promoting this series have sought to take a moral theology approach to justifying these books propagation amongst their readers" -- he responds in On IHS Press, Potential Fascist Connections, Antisemitism, Etc. (Aka "Hand Caught in the Cookie Jar" Dept.).
In studying this topic I am also indepted to Bill Cork's extensive investigation "Antisemitism and the Catholic Right, an investigation of Robert Sungenis.

Legion of St. Louis Website: Some More Facts

2006-02-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

Despite the political liability, John Sharpe continues to maintain his Legion of St. Louis site. An obvious smoking gun is his booklist (which includes such strange titles as Henry Ford's International Jew, The New Unhappy Lords, by British neo-fascist A. K. Chesterton, and Judaism's Strange Gods by anti-Semite Michael A. Hoffman II) and his outrageous 9-11 commentary (part I, II and III), which includes quotes from anti-Semites like Ernst Zündel and Michael Hoffman.

To reiterate, the LSL site was in place in October 2001. The IHS Press site went up no later than November of that same year, demonstrating that while Mr. Sharpe was promoting "Catholic Social Teaching" he was peddling anti-Semitism and neo-fascism with the LSL. As noted on this blog, Derek Holland, veteran British neo-fascist, is a member of the IHS Press board of directors and was openly involved in extremist activities even after IHS Press was founded.

More Legion/extremist connections:

FringeWatch has just located this copy of a Final Conflict NewsEmail dated March 20, 2001 which includes a note posted by LSL (presumably by John Sharpe) which says: "Anyone interested in pursuing this line of thinking further or in just having a chat can contact us at info@legionofstlouis.com." For those not aware of it, Final Conflict is the racist nationalist skinhead fanzine put out originally by the International Third Position (ITP) and now by its PoliticalSoldier.net spin-off. This connection comes as no surprise since the Legion was affiliated with the same ITP.

Another item of interest is this endorsement of the Legion's 9-11 commentary by Canadian neo-Nazi Ernst Zündel's ZGram for September 12, 2001. The fact that the Legion also cross-referenced Zündel's publications (in his original 9/11 commentary) shows that John Sharpe never hesitated to associate his "Catholic Action apostolate" with extremists.

As discussed in a previous post, the LSL partnered with the ITP's St. George Educational Trust (noted here and discussed in the Telegraph), selling books like Catholic Action, Uses, Abuses and Excuses, which had the same mailing address as the ITP's openly racialist and neo-fascist "Legionary Press" outfit.

The Politics of Bishop Richard Williamson

2006-01-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

It would be impossible to discuss the activities of the "Catholic fascist" faction of Derek Holland and John Sharpe, detailed in earlier posts, without mentioning Bishop Richard Williamson of the SSPX. Nor are many supporters of the Society of St. Pius X scandalized at such exposure at this point, since they have been religiously and politically scandalized by that cleric's pronouncements over the past twenty years (as seen on many online forums). Whether one agrees with the SSPX or not, it is clear that Bishop Williamson has been an extremist and divisive force in Catholic tradition.

Based on the facts available, including correspondence with Bishop Williamson (in the 1990s), it is clear that he was fully aware of Derek Holland's politics but refused to distance himself from the "Catholic" neo-fascists. Instead he seems to have done all he could to insure that Holland (writing under a pseudonym), and later John Sharpe, would be prominently featured in The Angelus magazine and that the Angelus Press would sell many of the materials put out by the neo-fascist Legion of St. Louis/St. George Educational Trust. While still involved with the ITP in the early 90s, former members heard the bishop's name authoritatively invoked by "Catholic" fascists to justify their program. Even now, Bishop Williamson is regularly cited by racialist, radical nationalist and anti-Semitic groups online. Is it "guilt by association"? At the very least it's a scandal that he seems totally unfazed by.

Bishop Williamson also wrote a forward to John Sharpe's LSL booklet on Islam. This is despite the fact that former US District Superior Rev. Peter Scott repeatedly warned against Sharpe and his activities. As recently as August 11, 2005, Fr. Scott stated on a traditionalist forum: "I strongly regret the naturalism of John Sharpe, Derek Holland and their friends associated with the ITP [International Third Position]. By pretending to use a political, right wing, economic solution to the problems of the world, they have fallen into naturalism, and betrayed the Catholic cause." Nevertheless, in a letter on RomanCatholics@yahoogroups.com (July 25, 2005), John Sharpe notes with approval that the bishop had met with Derek Holland in a trip to Ireland, while glossing over Holland's connection with the German NPD's extremist politics (for more information, see the Wikipedia entry).

There can be no doubt that Bishop Williamson's religious and political stances are closely allied, since he has persistently taken an apocalyptic view on both subjects. He is channeling the energies of some traditionalists – understandably concerned with the current problems in the Church – into the wrong direction. For their part, they may think he is simply taking a "strong line" theologically. But is it possible that his de facto split with the rest of the SSPX and refusal to work with Rome is driven by non-religious motivations?

There is no question of exaggerating the problem, although Bishop Williamson is careful to avoid explicit pronouncements. He has a way of pulling his punches even while he desensitizes his readers to fringe views. Yet the pattern of soft-sell extremism is so persistent it is impossible to overlook. It can no longer be written off as mere "eccentricity." The fact that so many people agree on this point, even if they disagree on other issues, demonstrates just how far-out the bishop has gone. The following outline provides links for more information:

Anti-Semitism - "Jewish conspiracy obsessed" would be putting it mildly. The best documentation is a pro-Williamson outline of his pronouncements provided originally by the Feeneyite British racial nationalist Tom Sparks. It includes the bishop's assertions that "not one Jew killed in the gas chambers" and that Hitler was "liberating Germany from [Jewish] control." See: Thomas Sparks Quotes SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson On "The Jews". Christopher Blosser addresses these same concerns (and provides a number of related links) on his blog. During his tenure as rector at the seminary in Winona, he had the reading shelves stocked with "holocaust revisionist" literature like The Revisionist and The Barnes Review as well as neo-Nazi Ernst Zündel's Power Report.

Racialist views - Bish. Williamson recommends the racialist South African Aida Parker Newsletter in his September 1, 2002 newsletter. His excessive concern for the "white race" is discussed in his November 2005 newsletter. When at Winona the bishop displayed copies of The David Duke Report, put out by the well-known American white supremacist leader.

Oklahoma Bombing Conspiracy Theory - Touched on in his May 5, 1995 newsletter; Bish. Williamson repeatedly stated in his sermons that the Oklahoma bombing was secretly carried out by the US government. (This theme would be replayed in his 9/11 conspiracy theories.) The Oklahoma theory appears again in February 1, 1997.

Unabomber Theology - Adopting the survivalist, technophobic views of Theodore Kaczynski, which are so appealing to the "back to the land" neo-fascists (like the Third Position), Bish. Williamson states that: "principles [anarchism? revolution?] are more important than personalities, and the message is, strictly, for good or ill, independent of the messenger. The author of the Unabomber's Manifesto might have since become a Saint without its contents being changed by one word." See his June 6, 1996 newsletter.

US and Israel to Blame for 9/11 - The first of many writings/speeches implicating the US and Israel as the "real" culprits behind the Al Qaeda terror attacks: October 1, 2001 newsletter. Initially, like so many other fringe spokesmen, Bishop Williamson denied that al Qaeda had anything to do with the attacks. In a speech in Bordeaux in October 2001 he stated that "the bombing of [the Taliban] Afghanistan is not intelligent... it is not just to bomb these countries.... Nobody has proven that Bin Laden was behind the attacks, no one has shown proofs, Bin Laden denies it." Left-wing terrorist sympathizer William Blum has gained attention as "Osama's Pen Pal." Yet there is little noticeable difference between his treatment of al Qaeda's actions (and America's "guilt") and those of Bishop Williamson, who actually made conspiracy theory literature (e.g., Exposing the WTC Bomb Plot) part of seminary reading at Winona.

A Pattern of Infiltration

2006-01-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

This final segment on the Third Position provides further background on neo-fascist infiltration by the "Political Soldiers," both in theory and practice.

When the International Third Position (ITP) emerged in 1989 as a result of a final disastrous split in the turbulent NF, it eschewed the old mass membership for a small, tight-knit network which would build a new "counter-power" and achieve its aims through influence and infiltration rather than street activism. There was some logic behind this. The success of the rallies and marches that dominated the NF in the 1970s had suddenly collapsed with the 1979 elections that swept Margaret Thatcher into office. The conservatives stole some of the NF's thunder as a "protest vote."

The 1989 break-up resulted in the creation of two groups. Holland and Griffin (leading the neo-fascist wing) headed the new International Third Position while Pat Harrington (leading the liberal "centrist" wing) formed the Third Way. In the same year that the ITP was formed, Derek Holland and other comrades decided to put their "counter-power" ideas into practice by creating a nationalist commune on inexpensive land purchased in the French countryside. This endeavor, known as "News from Somewhere," which I participated in briefly in 1991, straggled along for many years but by 1995 had collapsed.

This period also saw the establishment of the "Catholic" wing of the movement headed by a quarterly journal called Catholic Action (later renamed Catholic Order). It was intentionally aimed at traditional Catholics with a mixture of genuine Social Teaching and covert fascism and anti-Semitism. The ITP also created a "Catholic charity" called the St. George Educational Trust (SGET) [see earlier post] as an unofficial ITP affiliate. It was part of their Marxist style "entryism" by which they sought to recruit potential sympathizers or influence other groups in their direction.

Efforts to infiltrate traditional Catholicism by means of the St. George’s Educational Trust is confirmed by former ITP member Troy Southgate, who split with the movement to form the National Revolutionary Faction: "The ITP… tried to influence traditional Catholics grouped around The Society of St. Pius X…" ("Transcending the Beyond, From Third Position toNational-Anarchism").

Other groups were targeted as well. In the late 1980s, the Political Soldiers sought to work their way into the violent Welsh nationalist group "Meibion Glyndwr." According to a report in The Times:

There are growing suspicions among police and Welsh nationalists that the extremist group Meibion Glyndwr (Sons of Glendower) is being infiltrated by the so-called Tripoli Faction of the National Front. The Sons have claimed responsibility for a series of arson attacks on estate agents throughout the country, the most recent of which occurred two weekends ago when fire-bombs were planted in premises in London, Liverpool, Stockport and Sutton Coldfield.... For propaganda purposes, it has been targeting areas of high unemployment among the young, notably the valleys.... Leaflets distributed in the streets call on the jobless young to "join the national revolution and fight for a spiritual rebirth" ("A Front for the Front," The Times, March 29, 1989).

A decade later, the same people in the ITP tried to enter Scottish politics, attempting

to infiltrate the Scottish National Party. The far-right group, calling themselves Scottish Phalange, are linked to the International Third Position.... The Phalange claim to have activists within the SNP, spreading their extreme views.... The organisation says they plan to use the elections to the Scottish Parliament to "agitate within the SNP".... It is headed by a former senior member of the National Front, Derek Holland ("Racists Target Nats: The Fascist Organisation Scottish Phalange Have Launched an Attempt to Infiltrate the Scottish National Party," The Daily Record, October 3, 1998).

The contortions the Political Soldiers have undergone to pursue this infiltration tactic sometimes result in amusing contradictions of their own party line. For example, with the outbreak of the Balkans Conflict in the early 1990s, the ITP supported Croatia (namely, its revival fascist parties), and bitterly denounced Serb atrocities against the Bosnians. A story from The Observer in 1993 told of how

Thousands of small posters appeals for donations to "Emergency Aid for Croatia" have appeared near the Houses of Parliament in London, and in Cardiff, Newcastle and Belfast.... The only clue to the identity of the appeal’s organisers is three letters "ITP" in the address on the poster. "ITP" stands for International Third Position... (The Observer, January 4, 1993).

Ironically, a few years later, when President Clinton was waging war on Serbia amid the Monica Lewinski scandal, the movement found itself endorsing the same Orthodox Serb nationalists they had opposed a few years earlier, all in the name of anti-Americanism.

Strange Ecumenism: The Pagan/Christian Fascist Front

2006-01-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

In the early 1980s a radical nationalist journal called Rising was published by Third Positionists associated with the British National Front. Though authored anonymously, it was heavily promoted (and likely written) by Roberto Fiore and Derek Holland. It drew its inspiration from the Italian radical nationalism of Terza Posizione which, in turn, was influenced by the esoteric fascism of Julius Evola and the neo-pagan philosophy of Oswald Spengler. It involves a gnostic belief in a "higher spiritual tradition" which underlays all religions, from which radical nationalists try to derive a "moral" justification for their apocalyptic fantasies.

A re-issue of Rising is now sold by the International Third Position (ITP) and its offshoots (PoliticalSoldier.net and the England First movement). The ideas expressed in the series were also the direct inspiration for Derek Holland’s Political Soldier, which is considered the handbook of the Third Position movement. What is overlooked is that even as Holland and Fiore targeted "traditional Catholics" with their brand of neo-fascism, they continued to endorse views that these normal Catholics would find repugnant. It is also noteworthy that the ITP's Legionary Press shares the same address as the St. George Educational Trust—Forest House, Liss Forest, Hampshire, GU33 7DD, England. The St. George Trust is a sister organization to the Legion of St. Louis.

Excerpts from Rising: A Booklet for the Political Soldier (collected essays, nos. 1-5, published 1981-2, reprinted by the Legionary Press, 1998):

Our revulsion at the sight of mixed race couples is an indication of an instinctive “racial awareness.” We must be careful, however, not to let this question go only so far as our initial physical revulsion. [We must have] a racial doctrine based upon spiritual and political thinking... (p. 8).

It is clear that Spengler’s philosophy of history is immensely valuable to the ideological pillars of Nationalism, for it becomes obvious that a peaceful and harmonious world is contingent on recognizing that the human species is divided into a variety of widely differing and contradictory Cultures—frank and sincere acceptance of these differences necessarily leads to understanding and mutual, cultural respect: the highest form of Nationalism involves reciprocal, cultural respect (p.40).

As Julius Evola makes clear in The Aryan Doctrine of Fight and Victory.... It is the power of ideas, essentially spiritual, that motivate the finest peoples’ to build.... the militancy of Islam contributed greatly to the seventh century Arab civilization.... Spirituality can take on diverse forms as pantheistic ancient Greece demonstrates (p. 51).

At a higher level than the cultural, the spiritual is by definition something which does not die or pass away. It is something divine that is to be found in Man. It is something hidden, which must be rediscovered and purified, and which once rediscovered cannot be destroyed.... According to all traditions—Roman paganism, Christianity, Islam—this spirit is eternal.... Each race has a way through religion, tradition and customs to rediscover its roots and its spirit. If these paths are mixed, confusion ensues; the search for the Way becomes difficult if not impossible, and men are lost... (p. 61).

The struggle which engages us is a total struggle.... No quarter may be given, no quarter will be given.... Even if the Army of Political Soldiers that fights a rearguard defence of Britain and of Europe were to be reduced to but one National Revolutionary, yet would we live, for each and every Political Soldier embodies a Spiritual Ideal that defies the agents of Death to the point of Death (p. 62).

This sort of bizarre political ecumenism is not surprising if one considers that fringe Catholics subordinate faith and morals to radical agendas while seeking political alliances at any cost.

The Political Soldier: Part II

2006-01-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

Mr. Holland’s second book in the projected Political Soldier trilogy (mentioned in previous post) was published in 1989 as Thoughts on Sacrifice and Struggle. Never as successful as its predecessor, the second volume appears to have been suppressed, for reasons that are not entirely clear. It is, however, a continuation of the same theme with a more detailed development of the intellectual basis of Third Positionist/National Revolutionary ideology. Like Marxists, the Political Soldiers treat the "capitalist" as the chief culprit in their neo-fascist politics of envy. As conservative thinker Kenneth Minogue puts it:

The ideologist distinguishes himself from the generality of mankind in his role as a critic of society. Others are intermittently critical of vice, abuse and injustice, but the ideologist engages in a continuous process of criticism of the very rules and conventions [of society].... [T]he ideological critic discovers oppression where the generality of mankind finds only an accepted condition of things (Alien Powers: The Pure Theory of Ideology).

Mr. Holland’s idea of "spiritual struggle" is reminiscent of the Marxist inspired Liberation Theology phenomenon of the 1970s—a fuzzy pseudo-mysticism. The quasi-religious themes are distinctly reminiscent of the immanentist millenarian creeds discussed by conservative philosopher Eric Voegelin, which place the eschatological struggle for good and evil here on earth (in that respect being akin to Communism). "To the Political Soldier," says Holland, "it must be said: we stand before the Apocalypse! Gird yourself and prepare for battle!"

The materialists and relativists, the tyrants of the modern world, fear Death because for them Death is the End. But for us, revolutionary warriors, Death is not the End, but the Beginning. It is the doorway through which the Political Soldier alone can pass, for it leads to the world of the Elect - of those who fought on the Way of Truth, who sacrificed and struggled, and who merited their Just Reward.

As a point of interest, Derek Holland did not originate the concept most closely linked to his name, though he undoubtedly perfected it. The terms "Political Soldier" and "New Man" come from the syncretist and pantheistic fascist writings of Julius Evola, transmitted to British nationalists like Holland by Roberto Fiore and the Italian Terza Posizione movement. A recent follower of Evola helps put Holland's political "traditionalism" in clearer context:

[P]rimordial Tradition can be applied to all or nearly all existing religions if you do not focus on the dogmas, but rather on the way the fighting spirit is to be embodied. Christian chivalry does not differ much from the Jihad fighters or the Samurai, outside of the large distinctions in their religious mythology ("Tradition, Religion, and Modern Europe: Synthesis Interviews Martin Schwarz," Synthesis, 2001).

The Political Soldier: Part I

2006-01-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of Fringe Watch's study of neo-fascist infiltration of Catholic and paleoconservative circles, last mentioned in the post on "The Third Position: The New Nationalism and the New Racialism."

Derek Holland's Political Soldier has been a best-seller in radical nationalist, Third Positionist circles since it first appeared in 1984. The 24 page pamphlet is crucial to understanding the pseudo-spiritual direction in which neo-fascists have trended, including their desire to co-opt Christian (including Catholic) social issues through a strategy of infiltration.

An energetically written piece of agitprop The Political Soldier paints an exciting picture of a "spiritual struggle" for "national revolution." The Political Soldier borrows occasional phrases from religious authors like G. K. Chesterton and Thomas à Kempis. Nevertheless, what is not said about religion is just as important. In 1994, Derek Holland added a new preface to the tenth anniversary edition, dropping in references to "sin," "faith," and "God." Yet nowhere does he discuss the Christian faith itself, since he clearly so much at odds with it.

The following excerpts are illustrative:

[W]hat is needed above all else is a fundamental shift in attitude towards struggle, towards life, towards destiny; that there cannot be, and will not be, any serious change in the overall direction taken by the countries of Europe until the New Man, like a giant on the horizon, capable of moulding and inspiring a New Social Order...

... Europe does not have a monopoly on Political Soldiers and all peoples and cultures have the potential to produce this type of man, each fitted to his peculiar circumstances. Take for example the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in the Iran of the Mullahs.... Their belief in their Cause is so strong that they will run through minefields unarmed to attack enemy positions.... This power drove the Yankee war machine out of the Lebanon - whilst U.S. troops were fighting for job security, a wage packet and a pension, their opponents in the Revolutionary Guards were fighting for an Ideal, an independent Iranian Iran.

It is the task of the Political Soldier to promote the Will to live by revealing the true nature of life - as opposed to the materialist nightmare of this century which is mistakenly taken to be "life" - and by living this life. In order to do this the Political Soldier must undergo a Spiritual Revolution, an inner revolution which guides, directs and pervades his life.

The last public pronouncement by Holland on the Political Soldier appears in the March 2002 issue of Deutsche Stimme, the journal of the NPD (a rough translation of "Theory and Strategy: The Path of the Political Soldier" is available via Google). He remains connected to Third Position politics via the St. George Educational Trust which was founded by the ITP in the early 1990s and which is affiliated with the Legion of St. Louis.

More on Derek Holland and IHS Press

2006-01-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

This blog has examined the extremists connected with John Sharpe's Legion of St. Louis (LSL) and IHS Press. Already mentioned is the fact that the LSL offers anti-Semitic titles, and that International Third Position (ITP) leader Derek Holland, a sympathizer with anti-American Arab governments – who traveled to Libya in 1988 and Iraq in 1990 – is a member of IHS Press's board of directors.

It was not simply that Derek Holland and John Sharpe found themselves to be kindred spirits when they met up in Europe in the late 1990s. The ITP has long been involved in a scheme of Marxist style "entryism" – with the aim of co-opting groups which profess non-mainstream views (not extremist per se) in the hopes of bringing them under their neo-fascist umbrella. For years they made little headway.

But a breakthrough came with the ITP's St. George Educational Trust (SGET) set up in the early 90s as a "Catholic charity" organization (an investigation of the group by the UK Charity Commission took place in 1997). It has to be understood that within European "revolutionary nationalism" there are two trends: one, professedly neo-pagan and even anti-Christian; the other, espousing a selective religiosity (not unlike the Klan and "Christian Identity" racialists in the US). But when push comes to shove, all such extremists put aside personal differences to unite in their hatred of Jews, non-whites and the United States. It is the totalitarian tendency which trumps everything else.

The problem with Sharpe's activities is not just a question of overlapping ideas, but of overlapping resources. A look at my library shows that the SGET, whose books are sold by the LSL, has the same mailing address as the ITP’s Legion Books at Forest Place in Hampshire, England.

The SGET/LSL pamphlet Catholic Action: Uses, Abuses and Excuses is written by Derek Holland under the pen name of "Liam Connolly." The article "Why Catholics Are Cowards" by Liam Connolly was published by the LSL and SGET in the booklet Faith and Fear. It first appeared in the Christmas 1998 issue of Candour, an anti-Semitic newsletter run by the ITP (now operating in the UK as "England First").

Another fact that puts Sharpe's Neo-Conned anti-war series (put out by IHS Press/Light in the Darkness publications) into perspective is that Derek Holland, through the ITP, is associated with the neo-nazi German NPD (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands). Holland spoke at their events in 1999 and 2000. It turns out that the NPD is also linked to al-Qaeda via Ahmed Huber, a Swiss extremist who converted to Islam in the 1960s (see Financial Times story). The ITP and its cronies actively sympathize with violent activity against the US.

The Third Position: The New Nationalism and the New Racialism

2006-01-19T19:29:00.001-08:00

Key to understanding the post-war political fringe re developments that took place in Britain in the 1980s. Specifically, these developments grew out of the British National Front (the activities of NF leaders, Derek Holland and Roberto Fiore, have been noted earlier). These developments helped set the "new nationalists" apart from the Nazi political dinosaurs who, to the young Turks of the movement, droned on endlessly about immigration and the cranial capacities of difference races. The achievement of the intellectually inclined nationalists seemed meager at first. In terms of sheer numbers, the NF membership plummeted. But over time the self-styled national revolutionary elite proved the most successful in breaking into new circles, especially those with religious affiliations.

The Third Positionists of the National Front wanted the student youth support hitherto monopolized by the Marxists. "Social Justice, Ecology and Racial Purity" were called the three pillars of the "new nationalism." The NF even took up the cause of militant "animal liberation." The party advanced a remarkably eclectic program drawn from such sources as the Distributism of Chesterton and Belloc, the agrarian utopian-socialism of William Morris, Muammar Qaddafi's Green Book, the Romanian fascist Iron Guard, and Strasserite National Socialism. Despite the confusing permutations over the years, certain key concepts have remained in steady use—"national revolution," "against capitalism and communism," "beyond left and right," etc.

NF theorists formulated strategies that have become commonplace amongst other far right groups. They can be largely credited with the "new racialism" whereby neo-fascists sought to shed an overtly Nazi racist image. They no longer advocated "race hate" but "racial separatism." In 1987, under the direction of the triumvirate of Derek Holland, Nick Griffin and Pat Harrington, the NF provoked shock and interest with headlines proclaiming solidarity with "black nationalists" like Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam. Little came out of it and the NF could only garner the backing of some insignificant, three-man organizations like the Pan-African International Movement. Part of the problem was that black separatists could be as bigoted as their white counterparts, and they may have felt white nationalists were just angling for good copy.

By the mid-1980s the NF had gone through a number of purges. In 1980, NF Chairman John Tyndale was ousted, and over time the old-guard neo-Nazis were eliminated in favor of the more radical revolutionary nationalists. The period 1985-6 saw a further split between the "ideologues" and the "street activists." For a time this led to a confusing state of affairs in which there were actually two rival NFs. But the smaller and more elite "Political Soldier" wing eventually came out on top. Even after the NF collapsed in 1989, giving rise to the International Third Position (ITP), the Political Soldiers set the tone for neo-fascist subversion in the years to come.

E. Michael Jones and the Jews

2006-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Author E. Michael Jones, publisher of Culture Wars, represents one of the foremost proponents of "religious" anti-Semitism in Catholic circles. Any normal Catholic, or conservative aware of the Church's invaluable moral leadership, will find such a connection obnoxious.

Jones has subtly disseminated his Jewish conspiracy-obsessed message to right-of-center Catholics since the late 1990s. An excellent discussion of this drift into extremism is detailed in an open letter by former Culture Wars editor John J. Reilly. Jones' shifting allegiances are all the more ironic since he claimed the moral high ground in his diatribes against traditional Catholics in the mid 90s, when his magazine Fidelity accused the latter of involvement in neo-Nazi politics. Some of the accusations were true. What is oddly amusing is that Jones tried to link traditionalists with the "holocaust revisionist" IHR (Institute for Historical Review) and only a few years later, he was a featured essayist in the Barnes Review, a spin-off of the IHR, run by racist "populist" publisher Willis Carto.

For those who really feel the need to delve into the feverish swamp of conspiracy mania, a sampling of Jones' worldview can be found in "The Revolutionary Jew and His Impact on World History" (Culture Wars, September 2003).

Jones may differ superficially from the hard-core racialist anti-Semites in that his Jewish fixation is "religious." But all this really does is to make hatred palatable to people who might have some remaining Christian scruples. It is hardly surprising that Jones' message is admired by virulent racists like the Vanguard News Network (see the post of "Shamir on the Jewish Question," reprinted from Jones' Culture Wars, September 2005). In 2004, the Catholic League issued a forthright expose of E. Michael Jones' soft-sell anti-Semitism in The Catalyst ("Playing Fast and Loose With Theology," July-August 2004).

John Sharpe's Ties to Holland and Fiore

2005-12-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

Our last post looked at the anti-Semitic propaganda of John Sharpe, whose IHS Press has published two anti-war books: Neo-Conned and Neo-Conned Again!, which are being heavily promoted in paleo-conservative and paleo-liberterian circles by the uninformed.

Starting in the 1980s the British National Front (NF) was the premier "revolutionary nationalist" and racialist movement, before its implosion in 1989. Out of that collapse emerged an even more radical outfit called the International Third Position (ITP) headed by Derek Holland and Roberto Fiore.Both Holland and Fiore have received considerable treatment in works on European extremist nationalism, including Fascism: A History by Roger Eatwell (1997) and Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (2002).

As Chairman of the NF, and later the ITP's chief ideologue, Holland exerted a decisive influence. He authored The Political Soldier, which is the Koran of militant nationalists throughout Europe. In many places it invokes the imagery of Muslism fanatics as nationalist "martyrs." He has been a supporter of radical Arab regimes, visiting Libya in 1988 and Iraq in 1990 (photo and information on the Libyan trip is available online).

Given these credentials it is hardly surprising that Holland should back the Neo-Conned anti-war series as a director of IHS Press. Some people may be misled by the fact that Holland now operates under his Irish Gaelic name, Deric O'Huallachain (having relocated to Ireland from the UK a few years ago). However, earlier copies of the Virginia SCC certificate for IHS Press shows it as Derek Holland.

From the moment that IHS Press was established in 2001, people expressed concern, but were reassured (as was this writer) that Holland had put his extremism "behind him." Apparently that didn't stop him from being guest speaker at the February 2002 racial nationalist Nationaldemokratisk Ungdom (NDU) in Sweden. In March of that year the German neo-nazi Deutsche Stimme (German Voice) featured his essay, "Theory and Strategy: The Path of the Political Soldier." An overnight transition from political radicalism to religious orthodoxy seems improbable. And his activities in Ireland have covered as recently as 2005 in the Brandsma Review.

Roberto Fiore, Holland's close collaborator, was a member of the political wing of the Armed Revolutionary Nuclei which claimed responsibility for the 1980 Bologna bomb attack which claimed 85 lives. In 1997 Fiore came out of hiding in the UK to head the openly fascist Forza Nuova party in Italy.

What is the link to Neo-Conned? Fiore, as part of the ITP, helped set up the St. George Educational Trust (more here) which is the UK counterpart to, and collaborator with, Sharpe's pseudo-Catholic Legion of St. Louis.

John Sharpe's Legion of St. Louis

2005-12-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

In our last entry we revealed the disturbing extremist connections of John Sharpe's IHS Press, publisher of two anti-war books: Neo-Conned and Neo-Conned Again!. If it is argued that we "can't shoot the messenger" it is also true that we needn't believe the messenger when he cites dubious authorities.

This is not about Mr. Sharpe's political past. It is about his political present. And while otherwise respectable individuals (deceived by Mr. Sharpe) have contributed to IHS Press volumes, the fact remains that neo-fascist propagandists, with whom Sharpe collaborates, have adopted an "entryist" Marxist-style means of infiltrating conservative circles to their own advantage – and the obvious disadvantage of their unwitting allies. For now, we'll concentrate on the hard evidence of John Sharpe as a far-right mole.

Sharpe heads up the Legion of St. Louis (LSL), though his name no longer appears on the site. But it can be verified from other sources, such as this article published in 2002. On the LSL booklist page we find the following for sale:

Henry Ford's International Jew, a pseudo-historical study in anti-Semitism used by Hitler and other extremists to justify their conspiratorial view of Jews and, ergo, their desire to eliminate them.
The New Unhappy Lords, the "Mein Kampf" of British neo-fascism by A. K. Chesterton. Chesterton founded the racialist National Front, which was the direct predecessor of groups involved in the establishment of the Legion of St. Louis and IHS Press.
Judaism's Strange Gods by the conspiracy-obsessed Michael A. Hoffman II. Mr. Hoffman is a promoter of Holocaust revisionism. For a sampling of Hoffman's rhetoric, see "The White Separatist FAQ."

While John Sharpe's proclivities have yet to receive widespread coverage, they are documented by Searchlight magazine ("Faith-based fascists bridging the waters") – a UK liberal source, as well as the conservative Irish Catholic journal The Brandsma Review.

If that's not enough, consider the absurdities posted by Mr. Sharpe in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks (the LSL news page). He sounds more like Michael Moore than an advocate of traditional conservatism. There is the assertion that "America wasn't attacked. America isn't the World Trade Center, nor is it the Pentagon. At least those things don't represent our America, nor should they for our readers." Sharpe made the presumptuous claims early on that Bin Ladin had nothing to do with the attacks – a point that not even al Qaeda debates now. If you're Mr. Sharpe, it seems anything's better than the mainstream media.... Unfortunately, as with his Neo-Conned series, it's a false alternative – an ideological equivalent of "out of the frying pan and into the fire."

The Real Con Job: John Sharpe's "Anti-War" Series

2005-12-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

On November 9, 2005, LewRockwell.com posted " The Case Against This Monstrous War," a glowing endorsement of two anti-war books: Neo-Conned and Neo-Conned Again!. They are put out by the IHS Press, under its Light in the Darkness imprint. As the review opines, IHS "has assembled one of the most impressive lineups of scholars and commentators. . . ever seen on any subject." The bi-partisan authorship spans the entire political range from paleo-conservative Pat Buchanan to Marxist Noam Chomsky. Some contributors are entirely reputable. However, beneath the superficial respectability of IHS Press there lies a web of connections that conservatives should find disturbing.

The problem with the Neo-Conned series is more than impassioned rhetoric, it's a matter of caveat emptor. Unsavory politics lurk beneath the surface. Consider that the founder, CEO, and editor of IHS Press is John Sharpe. The following points should send off alarm bells among his target conservative audience:

John Sharpe has a long record of sympathy with anti-American Arab regimes and tries to downplay the horror of 9/11 by blaming it on Israel and the US itself.
He promotes socialist/leftist economic theories, through the works of IHS Press' Sheffield Hallam University Press series and the works of the eccentric British "guild socialist" Arthur Penty.
He disseminates anti-Semitic publications through a subsidiary called the Legion of St. Louis (LSL).

If it is thought that this last charge is an exaggeration, consider Mr. Sharpe's argument for "sane" anti-Semitism:

Finally, let us not fear the epithet "anti-Semite" as it is used by the enemies of the Faith and of the West. . . . [W]e all then have the courage to respond with the words of Fr. Fahey: "In that sense, every sane thinker must be an anti-Semite" ("Judaism and the Vatican," The Angelus, June 2003).

The LSL is an ostensibly Catholic organization which pitches to traditionalists. But a perusal of the Legion's eclectic offering of books turns up such titles as The International Jew (admired by Adolf Hitler), the writings of British fascist A.K. Chesterton and an anti-Jewish screed by self-proclaimed "white separatist" Michael Hoffman.

To sum up, this exposé is not meant to discuss the merits of the Iraq War. Whatever one's views, it is possible to be concerned about ideological radicals exploiting sensitive issues for their own benefit. What is the upshot? First, political radicals (tied to neo-Nazis) gain the credibility they have long coveted by collaboration with well-known and respected individuals. Second, dissenting conservatives, understandably scandalized by the insanity of mainstream culture, are sidetracked from their real work and are ethically compromised.

Brandsma Review on "Catholic" Extremist Infiltration

2005-12-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

In 2005 the Irish journal The Brandsma Review published an insightful analysis of the new hybrid extremism which, among other things, is attempting to link up religious tradition with its own agenda. In particular, the UK neo-fascist International Third Position (ITP) and its affiliates have tried to subvert Catholic groups in Europe on many social issues. The article (offline), "Strange Bedfellows on the Ultra Right" is by Peadar Laighléis, a veteran Catholic journalist.

...[G]roups on the far right have always looked toward the East for inspiration rather than to Judaeo-Christianity and they distorted Indo-European studies to create a neo-paganism based on Hinduism, also drawing on Buddhism and other oriental belief-systems. This, among other aspects of Nazism, was condemned by Pius XI in Mit Brennender Sorge. However, this encyclical and other ecclesiastical critiques of Nazism and Fascism have not deterred some traditional Catholics from taking that road. Indeed the ultra-right has its own ecumenicism – traditional Catholics mix with neo-pagans, neo-gnostics, atheist/agnostics, some strains of Protestant fundamentalist and converts to Islam and other eastern religions....

Laighléis mentions the major British racial nationalist party, the National Front, out of which the ITP emerged. He also discusses their ideological roots in the New Age fascist thinking of Julius Evola.

The National Front might well have been a talking shop for a few proverbial dinosaurs had they not sold their message to skinheads. In 1989, the movement went two ways – Derek Holland and Nick Griffin founding the International Third Position (Griffin later left to join the British National Party) and Pat Harrington founding the Third Way....

At this time, Holland and [Italian ITP leader] Fiore rediscovered their Catholicism, though keeping faith with Evola’s ideas. The International Third Position differs remarkably from its predecessor in that it has a lot of issues on its platform which are distinctly Catholic, for example in regard to abortion, the family and homosexuality. It also uses a lot of Catholic symbolism and language. However, the movement goes much further and embraces a very racist form of nationalism that goes beyond what Catholics can accept. The International Third Position targeted a lot of pro-life and traditional Catholic movements in Ireland (including the Brandsma Review) from 1992.......

Fiore and Holland made a number of attempts to set up Catholic villages in France and Spain which would implement the Third Positionist vision. Third Positionists have particularly insinuated itself into traditionalist Catholic company.... The St. George Educational Trust has reprinted much of the Catholic material referred to above and disseminates it with new prefaces – British charity officials have denied this group charitable status because of its links with the International Third Position. In the United States, the Legion of St. Louis works in the same way. In 2002, the IHS Press, of which Holland is a board member, was set up to reprint Catholic books relating to social teaching and Catholic action.

Dubious Sources in 'Catholic Family News'

2003-05-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Residents of St. Blog's will recall that the scandal involving Robert Sungenis and CAI in 2002 was sparked by his use of dubious sources in his article "Conversion of the Jews Not Necessary? The Apocalyptic Ramifications of a Novel Teaching." ¹.

One of the key sources of last year's controversy was Sungenis' praise of Fr. Denis Fahey, a proponent of the Jewish Zionist conspiry who is held in high regard by both the SSPX and various White Supremacist organizations, and whose book The Kingship of Christ and the Conversion of the Jewish Nation received rave review by John Vennari in The Remnant (and is in fact, sold by the Remant bookstore).

Regretfully, in the past month evidence of another recent traditionalist use of dubious sources has surfaced. The latest issue of Catholic Family News, edited by John Vennari, features an article on The Attack on the Oberammergau Passion Play, which, besides prominent mention of Fr. Fahey, also mentions as a credible source Judaism's Strange Gods by Michael Hoffman II.².

18. Talmud, Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts, Robert Goldenberg (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984), pp. 166-167. Cited from Judaism's Strange Gods, Michael Hoffman II, p. 6.

22. One of the finest contemporary books on the subject of the Talmud and the Kabbalah is Judaism's Strange Gods by Michael Hoffman II, (Cour d'Alene: The Independent History and Research Company, Fourth Printing, August, 2002).

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This is not the first time Michael Hoffman II is referred to by Catholic Family News. The March 2003 article "The Talmudic Touch: The Real Story of the Offertory's Replacement" by Craig Heimbichner also cites Hoffman's book as a source.

So, one may ask: just who is Michael A. Hoffman II? -- According to his website, he is a revisionist historian and investigative reporter, self-proclaimed source for "suppressed information on Judaism's strange gods, secret societies and psychological warfare and radical history", and when he's not inveighing against Zionism, the Talmud, and the Holocaust, or defending white separatism , he's attacking Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger as "covert adherents of the religion of Judaism. They are crypto-rabbis, loyal to Talmudic doctrine, rather than the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ, which they betray". He even refers to the Holy Father as "the Judas Iscariot of our time." One doesn't have to look very far to find similar polemics on "The Jewish Mentality".

Traditionalists may have legitimate grievances about the post-Vatican II church and the right to express them -- and it is entirely possible to do so in a respectful and credible manner. However, one can only conclude that Vennari's high praise of such a controversial source³ as "one of the finest contemporary books on the subject of the Talmud" in the pages of Catholic Family News can only result in the further tarnishing and discrediting of the Catholic traditionalist movement.⁴

1) After the fallout Sungenis promised readers that this article, along with another titled "The Jewish Talmud - A Sacred Book?", will both "be reposted in the first week of November [2002] with much more significant information, as well as a good measure of sensitivity to all parties involved." (Readers are still waiting).

2) Actual text of citations as of May 17, 2003. Perhaps Vennari may choose to retract his commendation (and remove mention of ) Michael A. Hoffman in subsequent revisions to his article.

3) In February 2003, the Anti-Defamation League has released a report of responding to the distortions of Michael Hoffman.

4) To give credit where credit's due: it was a post to a traditionalist mailing list that raised attention to Vennari's citations of Hoffman. I did some further googling on Hoffman and felt compelled to express concerns to a broader audience.