Conspiracy thinking in America.

“Nonsense is nonsense but the history of nonsense is scholarship.” - Saul Lieberman*

In an Atlantic piece, The Conspiracy Theorists Are Winning, by Jeffrey Goldberg, the author explores the growing influence of conspiracy theories in American politics.  Goldberg writes:

I had spent years in the Middle East listening to complicated nonsense, and I was familiar with the long and dismal history of Russian conspiracy-mongering. It was always a relief to know that in the United States, conspiracism was usually—not always, but usually—a marginal phenomenon. Men like Alex Jones were more often than not a source of bemusement, not a cause for fear. Healthy societies develop antibodies to protect themselves from fantastical thinking, and America, democratic, free, and transparent, was a healthy society. I was wrong, of course. - Goldberg

I've been running into more and more young people - at the store and elsewhere, who are convinced MSM does nothing but fake news. They place their trust in Trump and what the White House tells the country. I have started to wonder if the disinformation campaign coming from the White House is a deliberate propaganda machine, as was that operated by Goebbels in Nazi Germany? Trump loves conspiracy theories, as Goldberg notes:

"Trump does not defend our democracy from the ruinous consequences of conspiracy thinking. Instead, he embraces such thinking. A conspiracy theory—birtherism—was his pathway to power, and, in office, he warns of the threat of the “deep state” with the ferocity of a QAnon disciple. He has even begun to question the official coronavirus death toll, which he sees as evidence of a dark plot against him. How is he different from Alex Jones, from the conspiracy manufacturers of Russia and the Middle East?

He lives in the White House. That is one main difference." - Goldberg

Conspiracy theory as propaganda.

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist myself ... For a longtime now, I've attributed the blame-game played by the administration, pretty much to Trump alone, with some help from his staff of course. It just seemed like ordinary dissimulation tactics - political double-speak. Until now. It strikes me as a deliberate strategy - and not just dumb mistakes. I hate giving Trump credit for intelligence - but there seems to be a growing, recognizable effect happening across the country. After Kushner's remark a few days ago about pushing back the election, I wouldn't be surprised if the the administration attempts to do just that.

Trump does not defend our democracy from the ruinous consequences of conspiracy thinking. Instead, he embraces such thinking. - Godlberg

My apologies to my Catholic friends who support Trump, but the "consequences of conspiracy thinking" is indeed ruinous. Catholics need to be aware of this more than anyone else, since many can find themselves influenced by Catholic private revelation and 'locutions from heaven'. Many times private revelation, and or the interpretation of the message, goes hand in hand with conspiracy theories.

The apparition circuit has often acted as a sort of conduit for conspiracy theories. Especially today, with the opposition to Pope Francis and the Ordinary Form of Mass, not to mention the recent letter from Archbishop Vigano. Vigano and his followers are pointing the finger at a left-wing, Socialist, Masonic conspiracy aimed at a Global takeover - a New World Order. They frequently refer to OL of Fatima to defend their position, suggesting previous Popes ignored Our Lady's directives. In doing so, they risk making themselves cooperators in the right-wing populist movement.

*The Lieberman quote is taken from Goldberg's article.  I find it especially interesting in reference to some of the Catholic conspiratorial thinking.  Even scholars can sometimes convey an impression of acceptance of the intentions of the purveyor of misinformation, while attempting to refute the more fantastical interpretations of an event, or message.

Archbishop Vigano’s Appeal Was Sharply Criticised by German Bishops

Thank God someone is responding to Vigano's growing fanaticism.

Vigano has so gone off the rails - if his followers-supporters do not recognize this fact, then they too are on the road to perdition - to use their private-revelation-style terminology.

Archbishop Vigano and his followers are pointing the finger at a left-wing, Socialist, Masonic conspiracy aimed at a Global takeover - a New World Order. The Vigano letter has a 'pernicious' tone, if you will.  It seemed to me it isn't that far off from referencing the dandy of conspiratorial, fabricated tropes: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In fact, surfing with the remote, I happened upon an Evangelical-type religious talk show, wherein  the quests were in process of discussing just that - and not in an objective way.

I'm grateful the German Bishops have rejected the COVID-19 conspiracy, laid out by Vigano.  Vigano has recently demonstrated his ability to spread disinformation and confusion, relying upon conspiracy theories and 'secrets' which are without credence, except in the right wing circles he seems to be accepted by.  Don't fall for their conspiracy theories - religious or secular in origin. Especially be wary of religious leaders who rely on dubious private revelation, old conspiratorial tropes sparking fear and distrust.  This stuff only leads to scapegoating cultural groups of people.

German Bishops Response

The German Bishops recently admitted they “made themselves complicit” in Nazi crimes in and through their support of "soldiers and the regime", albeit rejecting any agreement with Hitler's racist ideology. (Story here.)  Fortunately, their position on the Vigano statement demonstrates their eagerness not to make the same mistake in this crisis. 

Vigano’s appeal was sharply criticised on Facebook by the vicar general of Essen, Fr Klaus Pfeffer. “I am simply speechless as to what is being spread here about the Church and Christianity: crude conspiracy theories without facts or proof together with a right-wing populist militant rhetoric which sounds very frightening.”

His bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, recalled on Facebook at the weekend, that the Church could contribute to overcoming the pandemic by “practising solidarity as a clear sign of its commitment to the common good and to social justice."

That was exactly the opposite of the position taken by “the populists and other conspiracy theoreticians” and it was the Church’s duty clearly to contradict such theories “irrespective of who formulates them”, Overbeck said.

In an official statement Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg said he fully agreed with the statement by the conference president Bätzing.

Bishop Gebhard Fürstof Rottenburg-Stuttgart tweeted: “Whosoever reinterprets the efforts of politicians to save human lives from the pandemic into a dubious world conspiracy, is playing with fire.” - Source

Bugnini Conspiracy Theories ... in time of pandemic

New Evidence on the Freemasonic Membership of Annibale Bugnini

To be sure, I am no expert on these issues - I'm just old, and I've heard the rumors and gossip regarding Masonic/Communist infiltration of the Vatican since I returned to the sacraments in 1972.  I've read, I've heard, just about everything attempting to discredit the Popes, Vatican II, the liturgical reforms, and so on.  I know priests entirely convinced by these stories, which many lay people use to condemn the Novus Ordo, and even call into question the validity of the sacraments since the Council... not excluding Holy Orders.  Pull on that thread, and you could just about invalidate everything in the post-counciliar Church.  (Hyperbole of course.)

That said, a former FB friend, Kevin Symonds, wrote an interesting article on Taylor Marshall's book, Infiltration, specifically regarding the claims that Archbishop Bugnini was a Mason.  The author did extenssive research, which shed more light upon the speculation that Bugnini may have been a Mason.  Rorate Caeli published the review, calling it a bombshell - because it named names.  After reading the article for a second and third time, I was confused.

First, I was surprised at my Symonds findings, because they appeared to supply the documentation lacking in Marshall’s book. Symonds findings are consistent with the case against Bugnini – which despite his research, e.g. naming names, remains a case based upon hearsay and circumstantial evidence.  To my way of thinking, Masons could have planted information, accused clergy of being members, furthering an agenda, and so on.  In my opinion, it is similar to someone believing what a demon says during an exorcism - demons lie. Human beings get the facts wrong - groups bent on destroying the Church, spread misinformation.  I may be wrong, but the evidence also contradicts itself, as Symonds points out, providing specific dates, and so on. The followers of these theories, and specifically Marshall's supporters, see this portion of Symons work as a confirmation of their long-held conspiracy theories concerning infiltration.

It is disconcerting to me because the liturgical reforms of VII and specifically the Novus Ordo, is once again obfuscated by doubt and suspicion that the rite is corrupt, invalid and Masonic. It’s especially sad to me that Peter Kwasniewski picked this up and published it as a ‘bombshell’ revelation, naming names. 

Rather than 'infiltration' - conspiracy theories may be the more effective disruptive agent.

Conspiracy theories regarding infiltration, as wacky as they can be at times, may carry an element of truth to them - yet every human endeavor is always prone to corruption, and as Benedict XVI has often pointed out, 'the Lord wins in the end.'  I believe many latch onto these stories to restore a sense of order in confusing times, to offer a sense of stability in traditionalist values when modern life seems to progress too quickly to assimulate.  In the case of serious researchers, even they can be tainted by the 'conspiratorial spirit'.  Religious people frequently lack the objectivity necessary to discern real data and facts from fiction.  The more tempermental the researcher, convinced of his own qualifications and scholarship, the more likely his researched can be tainted by his own bias.

So what do I do?  I checked on these issues online, in an attempt to locate the source of these stories in the apocryphal literature that is available.  Going forward, Kevin Symonds research will no doubt be referenced - I hope for the good.  Interestingly enough, I came across an old Crisis article by Sandra Meisel concerning the so-called murder of John Paul I*, as well as a discourse regarding the P-2 Lodge in Italy - the same lodge mentioned in the Rorate piece.  I'll close with an excerpt, and leave it at that.

The P-2 Lodge

The speed with which P-2 was growing and rumors of its political extremism led regional Masonic leaders to ask for its suppression. But P-2 continued despite its official closing and is believed to have been behind two terrorist bombings — blamed on the Left — that claimed a hundred lives. Using its intelligence contacts, P-2 may have also prevented the rescue of Christian Democrat leader Aldo Moro, who was kidnapped and killed by Red Brigade Communists in 1978. 

A Mason expelled from the craft for objecting to P-2’s activities gave damaging data about the lodge to Roman authorities. On March 17, 1981, the finance police raided the office of its venerable master, Licio Gelli, and found its membership list. Among P-2’s 962 members were 43 members of parliament, 43 generals, eight admirals (including all the heads of the Italian armed services), all the heads of the state security services, sundry government officials, police chiefs, businessmen, media stars, and journalists (including the editor and publisher of a major Italian newspaper). Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, key players in the Vatican Bank scandal, were also members. P-2 was finally closed for good, but its members scattered to other lodges and continued their baleful effect on Italian public life. 

Were any Catholic clerics in P-2? Martin Short names none in his excellent study of Freemasonry, Inside the Brotherhood. Nor were any clerics placed in P-2 by Shroud of Secrecy, a sensational — and implausible — compendium of clerical gossip (although the book imagines that Masons are omnipresent within the Holy See). Witnesses interviewed by John Cornwell, including a veteran FBI agent long-stationed in Italy, denied any Masonic presence in the Vatican. 

But belief in “the Great Vatican Lodge” is still a staple in some circles. In 1976 a radical traditionalist group called the International Committee for Defense of Catholic Tradition published a list of prominent Masons in the Vatican. An overlapping list of 121 supposed Masonic prelates was published in 1978 by muckraking Italian journalist and P-2 member Mino Pecorelli of L’Osservatore Politico. Among the high-ranking officials he accused of secret membership in the craft were: Sebastiano Cardinal Baggio (head of the Congregation of Bishops), Agostino Cardinal Casaroli (Vatican foreign minister), Jean Cardinal Villot (Vatican secretary of state), and Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, head of the Vatican Bank. Pecorelli was shot to death in 1979, possibly in retaliation for trying to blackmail Gelli. Yallop believes that both true and false accusations are mingled in the lists. - Crisis

* "The first conspiracy book, Jean-Jacques Thierry’s La Vraie Mort de Jean Paul Ier (1983), emerged from Lefebvrist circles. It not only accused Jean Cardinal Villot of the murder but of also having substituted a double for Pope Paul VI. Other sensational — and conflicting — theories continued to appear during the 1980s… John Paul I was killed by the KGB… No, the KGB was spreading false rumors to make it look like a killing… No, it was the CIA, which wanted to make room for its candidate, John Paul II." - Meisel