Introvigne, T.F.P. and the US "New Right"  

by Miguel Martinez


Cult alliances however are only part of the ecumenism of TFP (Tradition Family and Property) : the Rutherford Institute, a spin-off of Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority (currently involved in "religious liberty" cases which, oddly enough include Ms Paula Jones' sex-suit against Clinton and a campaign to obtain the release of pretty Ms Tatiana Susskin, currently in gaol in Israel for having filled the Arab parts of Hebron with posters depicting a pig writing the Coran) claims to have good relations with CESNUR (and Scientology calls the Rutherford Institute a "human rights resource" together with CESNUR). 

The Rutherford Institute - according to Sara Diamond, Facing the Wrath (Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine, 1996, p. 76 ff.) can count on an annual budget of $11 million and nine full-time lawyers. The name of the institute is taken from the 17th century preacher, Samuel Rutherford, who held that Biblical law had precedence over that of any government. Indeed, John Whitehead, founder of the institute, was quoted in a favourable article in Moral Majority Report (May 1983) as believing that «courts must place themselves under the authority of God's law» and that «all of civil affairs and government, including law, should be based upon principles found in the Bible».  

«We need to be very aggressive» Whitehead said. «Take the initiative. Sue rather than waiting to be sue.» 

Whitehead's 1982 book, The Second American Revolution, praises the Presbyterian minister, Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony, the father of "Christian reconstructionism", which upholds the need to submit government to Biblical law, a reasoning not unlike that behind Islamic fundamentalism. According to the Reconstructionists, government law should order the death penalty for women who have abortions, for "unrepentant" homosexuals and even for "incorrigible sons". Rushdoony's Ministry of Chalcedon claims in its brochures that «Chalcedon was instrumental in establishing the Rutherford Institute, the purpose of which is to aid lawyers in the defense of religious liberties»; and Rushdoony himself has been a director of the Institute. Whitehead claims not to be Reconstructionist, but some of his statements leave little room for doubt: «The challenge of the Christian attorney is to be a vocal, dynamic spokesman for the true legal profession - the one with Christ at its center - and to stop at nothing less than reclaiming the whole system». Like Alleanza Cattolica, albeit in a Protestant context, Whitehead believes in gaining control of the political Right, the Republican Party, as a first step towards global social control.  

At the same time, and just like CESNUR, the goal is to make a vast united front of all "religions", whether historical or self-appointed, making full use around the world of sympathy for "oppressed religious minorities". 

Would the US nuclear superpower be a better or worse country if it were entirely in the hands of a group of fundamentalists determined on imposing their doctrines on the whole planet? This question is actually of no interest to us. We only wish to stress how, behind a mask of "defence of religious freedom", these friends of CESNUR have goals which are quite far from what normal people perceive as human rights.  

TFP was also one of the sponsors of the Conservative Leadership Conference in 1997, together with such vocal organizations as the Center for Military Readiness, Christian Voice, Citizens Against Government Waste, Citizens Committe for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Christian Voice, by the way, was at least in the past closely associated with the Moon movement, which reminds us of how an AC member recently boasted to a shocked Catholic friend of mine that the Moonies bought two thousand copies of a book by Introvigne, in order to hand it out for free "because it was so objective". 

After all, the father of the New Right, Paul Weyrich, had something very special to say about TFP when he attended one of their conferences in Brazil: "in our struggle, both in the USA and around the world, TFP is one of the few truly reliable and consistent organisations we can work with" (Catolicismo, ott. 1988, quoted in Agnoli e Taufer p. 82. Catolicismo is the official Brazilian TFP magazine). 

"The eminent leaders of the American New Right Paul Weyrich (left) and Morton Blackwell (middle) with the US President of T.F.P. John Spann" 

About the essay by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII: A Theme Illuminating American Social History (October 1993, Hamilton Press, ISBN: 0819193100): 

PAUL WEYRICH: «Sadly, most American elites are now devoted to self-interest, not to service, which is one reason why affairs here go so badly. Your book may help reawaken people to the realization that we need and can have an elite devoted to service» 

MORTON BLACKWELL: «One does not have to accept papal infallibility to appreciate a case persuasively made. Using theological, moral and prudential arguments, this book will convince many readers, whatever their faith that good elites are legitimate, desirable and, yes, necessary»

 

Cult apology has made CESNUR and Introvigne a favourite among many groups which, rightly or wrongly, feel threatened. 

Thus Liberation Times (in Italian despite its name; May 1996) of the Osho-Rajneesh movement (which in my opinion is not a cult), publishes the full text of the appeal made by CESNUR against discussion of cult-related issues in the European Parliament. The text is replete with the usual comments about a "well-known international anti-cult network", with a "famous history of bigotry and hatred". Luckily, the Rajneeshite magazine is far more objective than these "scholars" it hosts.

Writing on Satanism in Misteri (March-April 1996),  Roberto Negrini, a.k.a. "Solomon Phallos-Naaos-Lucifer II" or "Roberto di Chiaravalle", Grand Master of the Franco-Haitian and Italic Branch of the  ">Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), renamed the Luciferian Hermetic Fraternity (Fraternitas Hermetica Luciferiana), member of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (Latina), Astrum Argenteum, 'La Couleuvre Noire', Illuminati d'Italia, the Ecclesia Gnostica Sideralis and the Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua, suggests a book with "a correct approach": Massimo Introvigne's Indagine sul satanismo.

A very special admirer of Introvigne publishes a fanzine called Satanael. The very first issue has the following wording on it "Publication on contemporary Satanism, Volume One, gOOD fRIDAY [spelling as in the orginal!] 1995". The same author has also published a work entitled "DEATH PAIN BLOOD ILLNESS, booklet of horrortales and plague-poetry". 

This tiny magazine advertises the activities of a series of organizations, including Vincent Crowley's ORDER OF THE EVIL EYE (O.E.E.), "open to all those who scorn and wish to stop Christianity"; the magazine FENRIR "which combines shockingly blasphemous issues with anti-social, anarchist-subversive and of course anti-Christian issues". Rather than anarchists, the followers of the "FRATERNITAS FENRIR LAIR - MACABRE ATTIC" seem to be neo-Nazis, with their "Nordic" sounding name. 

Satanael speaks with respect of theOrder of the Nine Angles, claiming they perform human sacrifices "every 17 years". 

Satanael also introduces us to the magazine, THE IRON FIST, organ of the FAUST FOUNDATION which deals with "paganism, counter-culture, ethno-philosophy [racism], Satanism, New Right, N[ational] S[ocialism], history and so on". 

However, the author's greatest admiration is reserved for a yet more picturesque character. Here are some quotes:
 

  • On page 2: "Mention should be made of the excellent 'Indagine sul Satanismo' by the (Catholic) scholar Massimo Introvigne or of the fundamental book 'Cappello del Mago', of the same author.

  •  
  • Again on page 2, quoting from "Indagine sul satanismo, p. 408: "Satanism in its 'pure condition', perhaps the Satanism of the year 2000, is only the metaphor for a brutal modernity which has been deprived of all its rhetorical screens […]. The Satanist only takes the mask off much of modernity, showing it as it really is".

  •  
  • "Achamoth" agrees and comments: "Satanael, going beyond black candles and sulphur fumes, tries to understand (and help others to understand) how much today's modernity is 'satanistic' and how much modernity there is in Satanism".

  •  
  • On page 17, another reference to Introvigne, this time in relation to the Order of Nine Angles.

  •  
  • On page 24, the author takes the definition of neo-gnosticism given by "the scholar Massimo Introvigne" as his own.

I have nothing whatsoever against people like this. What is surprising is the enormous enthusiasm a supposed "objective scholar" arouses among such a fringe of people who hardly seem to be lovers of "serene discussions" or "professional researchers".

NOTE: After this page was published, we received a long message from Roberto Negrini, suggesting we open a dialogue. He certainly seemed quite capable of "serene discussion", however something must have changed, since he never answered our replies. Negrini basically objected to the label of "crowleyite" (which we had previously assigned to him) as an oversimplification. For this reason, we have added a few of Negrini's titles, taken from both his message to me and the website of P.R. Koenig. I also apologize if any of Negrini's titles have changed in the meantime. 

More recently, the publisher of Satanael wrote us, telling us that only one issue of the fanzine ever came out, and only forty copies were printed (good news for collectors). "At the time, I was very much involved in Black Metal music and I was blinded by this enthusiasm for esotericism, as I approached certain issues. Several years have gone by since, and I would also like add that my political views are RADICALLY OPPOSED to those of the Right." 

e-mail