Washington, DC – The Catholic Restoration Conference VII, sponsored by “In the Spirit of Chartres,” Committee (ISOC), a fringe Catholic group, will offer a platform to a number of antisemitic and conspiracy oriented speakers in Washington, DC, September 13–15, 2013. This year’s conference includes a right-wing extremist who has run for Congress and the president of the far-right John Birch Society.
ISOC is made up of radical traditional Catholics who reject many of the changes instituted by the Catholic Church during the Second Vatican Council and openly espouse antisemitic views. For example, on its website, ISOC promotes the idea that the forged antisemitic work, The Protocols of Zion, is actually “a no forgery declaration of war against Christian civilization.”
In addition to antisemites and conspiracy theorists, the conference will include Catholic creationists, who use pseudo-science to assert that the Bible gives an accurate account of the creation of the universe. The following speakers are scheduled to appear at the conference.
E. Michael Jones is an antisemitic Catholic writer and publisher of the magazine Culture Wars. Jones promotes the view that Jews are dedicated to propagating and perpetrating attacks on the Catholic Church and moral standards, social stability, and political order throughout the world. He portrays the Jewish religion as inherently treacherous and belligerent towards Christianity. Jones also blames Jews for Bolshevism, Freemasonry, and an alleged contemporary “Jewish takeover of American culture.”
Jim Condit Jr. is an antisemitic conspiracy theorist. In 2010, Condit ran for U.S. Congress in Ohio’s 8th district as a candidate from the Constitution Party, a right-wing extremist fringe political party. He has attempted Congressional runs many times before, including in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. In 2005, Condit broadcast ads that linked the 9/11 attacks to Israel. He also alleges that Jews manipulate major American institutions and historical events.
John Sharpe is a former naval officer and an antisemite. Sharpe attended a 2006 conference organized by American Renaissance, a white supremacist publication, and was temporarily placed on administrative leave from the Navy in 2007 when information surfaced about his role in the Legion of St. Louis and the IHS Press, two antisemitic organizations. The Legion of St. Louis appears to be inactive but Sharpe still heads IHS.
John F. McManus is president of the conspiracy oriented John Birch Society (JBS). JBS promotes numerous theories that accuse the U.S. of trying to create a one world government and attempting to control citizens through various plots. Most recently, JBS has focused on Agenda 21, a United Nations action plan for achieving sustainable development worldwide. JBS circulates conspiracy theories alleging that Agenda 21 is a plan by the U.N. to create a totalitarian government with control over every aspect of people’s lives.
