Judge issues ruling on John Sharpe defamation case

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.

Does the SSPX formally endorse John Sharpe?

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.

Summary of Derek Holland Interview

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.

John Sharpe to speak at the 2008 Saint Benedict Center Conference

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.

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

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

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

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.

See also:

• Navy officer relieved of duty amid anti-Semitic accusations, by STEVEN G. VEGH, The Virginian-Pilot March 10, 2007:
  

  . . . “What do you mean, anti-Semitic? Have I advocated harming people because they’re Jewish, hating people because they’re Jewish, having any attitude to them because they’re Jewish or any other religion? Absolutely not.”

  He said IHS is principally a publisher of old titles by Catholic writers such as Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton.

  Sharpe said he founded the Legion seven years ago as a Web-based forum for discussion on how Catholicism related to contemporary social and economic issues. He said the site has been inactive since 2002.

  According to its Web site, the Legion’s goals include “permeating society with the Faith” and combatting “the Judeo-Masonic tendencies of the modern social order.”

• Naval officer accused of activity in hate groups Richmond Times Dispatch March 11, 2007.

On IHS Press / Legion of St. Louis’ political extremism

Possession of Belloc and Chesterton hardly counts as incriminating evidence. On the other hand, the Legion of St. Louis‘ distribution of Michael Hoffmann’s Judaism’s Strange Gods, Prainaitis’ The Talmud Unmasked and Henry Ford’s The International Jew is a tad more disconcerting.

Likewise, it is curious why a website that was, according to Sharpe, “inactive since 2002”, would remain online and active in 2007. One would think if you’re distancing yourself from politically extremist and compromising ties one might take it offline, rather than renew the domain name and pay for the hosting.

While IHS Press has sought to present itself as a “Catholic publisher”, Sharpe certainly hasn’t explained to anybody’s satisfaction how his friend and co-founder of IHS Press Derek Holland was a featured speaker at a nationalist convention of the German NPD, or more recently, IHS Press’ prominent booth at a white nationalist convention in 2006? Question: Why would a Catholic publisher even seek to peddle his wares to this crowd? Evangelization?!?

Is the U.S. Navy’s Investigation Warranted?

Consider some excerpts from one of many articles recently published on Neoconned‘s website:

Iraq now is occupied and we feel that Iraqis have the legitimate right to resist the occupation. The Baath Party is the leader of the Resistance that will liberate it from the Anglo-Saxon Zionist occupation. We feel that the liberation of Iraq will be achieved very soon and a very progressive leadership will be born that will lead the Arabs to liberate historic Palestine. As a result Arab Unity will be closer to being realized.

Yes indeed we support Saddam Hussein because he is the legitimate President. He is a prisoner of war and those who are living in four square miles – the so-called “Green Zone” – are both traitors and illegitimate because they are the puppets and agents of the occupiers. In no way do they represent the people of Iraq or our ambitions…

Saddam Hussein represents the hope for freedom, unity and liberation. He is a firm believer in the liberation of Palestine, and, therefore, he deserves our support. […] My opinion is very clear: the Resistance is legitimate and those who are part of the occupational political process are traitors and enemies of the Iraqi people. They should be treated as such.

Source: (An Interview with Ibrahim Ebeid Neo-Conned Blog. IHS Press. May 6, 2006.

Now, there is a line between “principled religious opposition” to the war in Iraq — of which one can point to many examples, even good Catholics who contributed to the Neo-Conned volumes themselves — and another to publish and promote propaganda clearly advocating the murder of U.S. forces abroad and members of the Iraqi government. That this interview was published on a radical website run by Lieutenant Commander of the United States Navy — who may very well be called into military service — should give one pause.

While FringeWatch‘s original dispute centered on the extremist ties of the founders of IHS Press, it is my opinion that Sharpe’s involvement in this project merits the concern of the U.S. Navy.

John Sharpe: Admits Nothing….Confirms Everything

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.

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

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

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.