Sample Legion News and Views

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Legion News and Views
#9 August 13, 2001
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"...for there is no power but from God" (Romans 13:1)
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#GENERAL - SORRY FOR THE DELAY
#SHARON IS FORMALLY CHARGED
#GATA MAKES THE NEWS
#TURN ABOUT IS FAIR PLAY
#AMERICA'S FUTURE HEROES
#ISRAEL DEMANDS IMMUNITY - AGAIN
#AMERICAN CARDINAL "LIFTS" BAN ON MASONRY!
#FEEDBACK - WOMEN IN COMBAT
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"Legion News & Views" is published under the
patronage of St. Louis IX, Most Christian King of France.
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The Legion of St. Louis Vision Statement is available online at
www.legionofstlouis.com.
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#GENERAL - SORRY FOR THE DELAY

We're back, hopefully with a little more regularity. Thanks for your patience. Though we do hope you noticed that we were gone! -Ed.
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#SHARON IS FORMALLY CHARGED
[Something tells me we won't see him in The Hague in a cell next to Milosevic. But it's fun to think about. The following is a press release from the Islamic Assn. of Palestine. - Ed.]

Press Release: Re: Case Against PM Sharon in Belgium. Palos Hills, Ill.: July 1, 2001.

From: Chibli Mallat, Adv., Beirut, June 22, 2001

On Monday June 18 2001, at 9.30 am three lawyers filed before an investigating judge (Madame le juge d'instruction Sophie Huguet), in Brussels, Belgium, a complaint on behalf of of 28 plaintiffs and witnesses, all survivors of the Sabra/Shatila massacres.

With this act, a case has been formally opened against Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, on counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Under recent Belgian legislation, introduced in 1993 and modified in 1999, the possibility of bringing war criminals to account was extended both in terms of citizenship and time.

Using established legal concepts of universal customary law, Belgian legislators have set aside limitations of time, citizenship and status: foreign heads of state can be held accountable for crimes committed before the recent evolution of international law.

It is worth remembering that Israel invoked universal customary law when it tried Eichmann for war crimes, and this case, and that of Demjanjuk in the US, and others, are cited at length in the complaint.

As Minister of Defence, Sharon planned and directed the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. When Bashir Gemayel was assassinated on September 14, it was Sharon who ordered the Israeli Army to penetrate West Beirut and surround the Sabra/Shatila area. It was Sharon who gave the order for the Lebanese militias to enter the camps.

The complaint is filed againt Ariel Sharon, Amos Yaron and any Israeli or Lebanese person responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes that happened between the 16th and 18th of September, including the killing, torture, rape and "disappearance" of from 1000 to 3500 civilians - children and women as well as men, Lebanese as well as Palestinians.

The complaint is based on jus cogens, international and Belgian law. The full text of the complaint (in French) can be read on http://www.mallat.com/complaint.htm

Even though the Kahan Commission judged Sharon "personally responsible" for the massacre no further legal actions arose from this judgement. With Sharon's resignation from Defense, Israeli and world public opinion soon forgot the massacre and its victims.

The 23 plaintiffs and 5 witnesses (the distinction is made for mere procedural reasons under Belgian law) now accusing Sharon represent a far larger number of people who have never been recognized as victims nor indemnified for loss. All the plaintiffs lost close family members, in some cases mother and father as well as siblings. Reading their testimonials brings back the horrific scale and character of a massacre that ranks among the worst of the 20th century.

The plaintiffs are represented by three lawyers: Luc Walleyn, Michael Verhaeghe, and Chibli Mallat. The day following the formal lodging of the complaint, Patrick Collignon was formally appointed juge d'instruction to carry out the enquiry. He will conduct the proceedings, and the enquiry has officially started.

The Sabra and Shatila victims and survivors have had their first day in court.

Chibli Mallat, Adv., Beirut, June 22, 2001.
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#GATA MAKES THE NEWS
Monday, August 6, 2001
BIZNETDAILY
Canadian challenges U.S. gold policy
Wants treasury chief to address allegations of market manipulation
By Jon Dougherty
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

A Canadian high-school teacher is attempting to force U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill to publicly respond to charges that his department has manipulated U.S. gold policy in the past.

Barrie Walsh, of Halifax, Canada, told WND he is seeking 10,000 signatures in a petition asking O'Neill to "clarify the public confusion over the government's handling of its gold reserves."

"There are allegations the U.S. government is involved in manipulating the price of gold. Reclassifications of gold reserves has added to the confusion," the petition states. Walsh's petition is merely the latest shot fired across Treasury's bow by people who believe the federal government has been involved in a plan to manipulate the price of gold.

In July 1999, WorldNetDaily reported that veteran traders and gold mining companies were complaining that the price of gold was being artificially held down to prevent huge losses by key lending institutions.

Leading the effort to force the federal government to come clean about the alleged manipulation is Bill Murphy, chairman of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee. In a recent e-mail to WND, Treasury officials deny any effort to manipulate the gold price. But Murphy and others - such as GATA analyst Reginald Howe - say they have discovered Federal Reserve Board meeting minutes dated Jan. 31, 1995, that he says indicate proof of GATA's allegations.

In a suit filed against the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Bank for International Settlements and various investment houses, Howe alleges that the Treasury Department's Exchange Stabilization Fund, or ESF, has been, as GATA long has alleged and as the Treasury Department has denied, surreptitiously intervening in the gold market by lending gold. The meeting minutes feature a question asked by then-Federal Reserve Board governor Lawrence Lindsey, who asked J. Virgil Mattingly, the Fed's general counsel, about the ESF's legal authority to engage in a financial rescue package for Mexico.

"It's pretty clear that these ESF operations are authorized. I don't think there is a legal problem in terms of the authority. The statute [31 U.S.C. s.5302] is very broadly worded in terms of words like 'credit' - it has covered things like the gold swaps - and it confers broad authority. Counsel at the White House called the Treasury's general counsel today and asked, 'Are you sure?' And the Treasury's general counsel said, 'I am sure.' Everyone is satisfied that a legal issue is not involved, if that helps," the minutes say.

Walsh and his supporters have a much more modest short-term goal than a lawsuit. They simply want some answers.

"In a truly democratic state, TRANSPARENCY in governmental affairs is the public's right," said one person who posted comments on Walsh's petition site. "Gold manipulation is obvious, and something must be done to keep the wolves from guarding the hen house," said another.

"Evading the question speaks volumes," added another
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[As suportive as we are of GATA's fight against financial corruption, we cannot help by being a bit surprised by Mr. Murphy's naivete. "Lying"? Oh my. Government officials lying to cover up shady financial dealings. What do you know about that? If any good comes out of this, it will be the awakening on the part of the GATA personnel - that the occupiers of the powerful seats of government and finance have long been enemies of the people (and of the Truth) and that we err if we fail to see it in that light. -Ed.]

Without going into a great deal of elaboration tonight, it is time to end the childish discourse by American, English and German officials regarding responses to serious questions about what is going on in the gold market. Greenspan evades answering ANY specific questions. O'Neill refuses to answer any written questions regarding gold just like his predecessors, Rubin and Summers. The Bank of England and the British Exchequer did an Abbot and Costello, "Who's on First" routine when it came to explaining who was responsible for the Bank of England gold sales. I will soon have a copy of a second letter that German Gata supporter Dietmar Siebholz received from the Bundesbank. In essence, they responded to Dietmar's very simple questions about Germany's gold with, "Weitere Einzelheiten sind vertraulich" or "these details are confidential." Down and dirty, what we have here is the SUPPRESSION OF THE TRUTH. Couching words is no longer appropriate. They are LYING and trying to cover-up one of the most grotesque international financial scandals of all time. The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee and all of our incredible supporters ALL OVER THE WORLD are not going to let the get away with it. More on that tomorrow.
BILL MURPHY
CHAIRMAN
GOLD ANTI-TRUST ACTION COMMITTEE
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#TURN ABOUT IS FAIR PLAY
[The following post from Ingrid Rimland's Z-gram is both revealing and entertaining - no little thanks to Z's vibrant and usually on-target commentary. From the August 5, 2001 Z-gram, Copyright (c) 2001 - Ingrid A. Rimland. -Ed.]

Ha'aretz | July 31, 2001

The bastards changed the rules | Yoel Marcus

Marcus:

The world used to admire Israel. Our ability to set up a modern state while under all-out attack by Arab states was considered amazing. "The long arm" of Israel, of which we were once so proud, reached everywhere.
("The long arm of Israel") reached Entebbe in Uganda to rescue hostages, and it reached inside Beirut - once to blow up the airport, and another time to eliminate three Arafat's aides. It plucked Adolph Eichmann out of Argentina, reached the nuclear reactor in Iraq and Abu Jihad's villa in Tunis.

Zundelsite:

All punishable crimes and war crimes! Good that there are so many bragging, self-confessing books on all these "heroic", nay, criminal activities and acts! They will all serve as incontrovertible evidence in the court cases to come!

Marcus:

("The long arm of Israel") reached each and every one of the planners and executors of the Munich Olympics Massacre. It reached all the way to the Suez Canal in the Six Day War - an operation studied in military colleges the world over to this day.

Zundelsite:

Al Capone's exploits are also taught in police colleges and criminal justice courses.

Marcus:

The world loved this strong and righteous Israel and it was fun to travel the world and proudly admit "yes, we're from Israel." Who would have believed that the day would come when a prime minister of Israel would have a threat hanging over his head of being put on trial for "crimes against humanity?"

Zundelsite:

When one reads today's mail from all parts of the world, one realizes very quickly that the love affair with things Israeli - or Jewish, for that matter - is over! It's history! The bride has woken up to the groom's darker side.

Marcus:

Suddenly, Israel is faced with a new situation that echoes Spiro Agnew's famous moan: "The bastards changed the rules and didn't tell me." All those wonderful things we did in the past are now not only forbidden, but retroactively punishable.

Zundelsite:

That must be how all those SS men must have felt after the war. What bastards changed the rules? Israel and Diaspora Jews all over the world brought about these changes to get at their defeated enemies. Now they will be caught and judged by these very same "changed laws". Some people call that sweet justice!

Marcus:

International war crimes trials are supposed to create a new culture of toeing a legal line of protecting people from their leaders, of reserving human rights and punishing the violators even if they acted purely out of the security interests of their countries.

Zundelsite:

That's exactly what will be done to Sharon and others! The Palestinians and all the other countries and people so glibly enumerated in the first three paragraphs need to be protected from the leaders of Israel and their underlings' criminal acts initiated by criminal minds, mostly terrorists who became generals and prime ministers.

Marcus:

If other countries pass laws like the Belgian one, allowing foreigners, including heads of state, to be tried for crimes against humanity, we could end up with the "bad guys" - terrorists and anarchists - remaining free to act while those protecting their countries would be considered war criminals.

Zundelsite:

The German leaders and military men were prosecuted in Nuremberg and all over postwar Europe for fighting armed terrorists, often Jewish communists in civilian garb in Partisan and Resistance groups. Let's see how Israeli officers and generals will like it to justify their actions!

Marcus:

The controversy in Denmark over the appointment of Carmi Gillon as ambassador, because of his past role as head of the Shin Bet, is evidence of a cloud of madness, confusion and hypocrisy in Europe as it tries to formulate a new righteous world.

Zundelsite:

It's not a "cloud of madness, confusion or hypocrasy"! The hypocrisy is on the Jewish side. It is no secret to the cats how Israelis/Jews have always operated under a double standard. "Jews were always right"? Logic is being applied for the first time because the blinkers have come off. Criminal behavior is the problem - not "confusion".

Marcus:

If Sharon is liable for events from 20 years ago, and for which he already paid a price here, why is Arafat the darling of Europe instead of under arrest and on trial - his hands are bloody for the past 36 years and he supported the invasion of Kuwait.

Zundelsite:

Israel kidnapped Euchmann for things he allegedly did 20 years before. Israel tried John Demjanjuk for things he allegedly did 40 years ago. Jewish "activists" and O.S.I. personnel are hounding people who allegedly did things 60 years ago. These precedents are now part of the record and will become the standard. There will be trials of Israelis and Jews for the next 50 years under these precedents for crimes committed in Palestine and elsewhere right now. Today!

Marcus:

Why shouldn't presidents, secretaries of state and chiefs of staff from America be put on trial for massacres in Vietnam, Iraq and Libya? And what about Fidel Castro, who used torture to eliminate thousands of his opponents? Why isn't Denmark raising hell and high water over the way the Chinese trample human rights? And what about the ambassadors already in Copenhagen? Are they all perfect, representing pure countries?

Zundelsite:

Good points, Mr. Marcus! Very good points! Those very same thoughts have occurred to a lot of other people - mainly Germans.

Marcus:

Righteousness is a matter of geography, politics, interests and the new legal system, combined with Europe's double standards, could end up being a serious annoyance for Israel. Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein identified the danger early on, in the days of the Barak administration.

Zundelsite:

"Annoyance" is speaking euphemistically. The double standard was foisted on Europe by the Allied conquerors and their Jewish-inspired Nuremberg ouble-standard-kangaroo-courts, where the Allies, especially the Soviets, were judging German leaders for crimes they were committing at the very time all over Eastern Europe in their brutal gulag system. No Allied leaders or soldiers were charged for Allied war crimes. There you have your double standard - 55 years old!

Marcus:

At one of the cabinet meetings he warned about changes in the international community's legal values and the new dangers we could face. "It was so sudden, that we didn't understand what he was trying to say and what it had to do with us," says Yossi Sarid. Now it looks like we're candidates for the accused bench.

The 50 years of history of aggression and terror against Israel simply don't interest Europe, which regards us as the last occupying power in a world with no more occupations. In their eyes, we're ruling another people.

Zundelsite:

Had Israel not declared itself a state obtained through terror, but had Jews lived like any other law-abiding minority, there would be no terror to direct against a state. You can't displace people, steal their land and then not expect a reaction. Did the native people of Africa, Asia, India not rise against their colonial invaders? Did native Americans not fight against the settlers stealing their land?

Marcus:

By this twisted logic, the horror and terror against us will be considered legitimate, while our defensive action, from investigating attacks to eliminating terrorists or striking back at the source of fire, will be considered oppressing another people and a crime against humanity, so everyone involved is liable for legal action.

Zundelsite:

Did the Germans in Russia, in France, in the Balkans and did the Rhodesian Whites not have the same arguments that were not granted them? Why should it be granted Jewish land grabbers and invaders?

Marcus:

The righteousness and hypocrisy in the European community may be at play, but it's growing legal claws and the government will have to take the new situation into account. Israelis can take a lot, but the leaders of the nation and their loyal servants will never be able to put up with some awful decree that prevents them from traveling abroad.

Zundelsite:

The Jewish position is and has been the position of hypocrites with a double standard - one rule for Jews permitting crimes to be committed with impunity, and another standard for their enemies, being punished often for no crimes committed.

It is not righteousness or hypocrisy - it is purely logical thinking and judicial systems finally bestirring themselves to apply laws equally, without regard to special exemptions or special pleading, just because the criminals are Jewish!

Jews made a fetish of equality - now they will have to live with it.

(Source: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=58498)
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#AMERICA'S FUTURE HEROES
[Perhaps there's some Divine Justice in all of this. While in a narrow "the way things should be" kind of mindset, it's a tragedy that these idiotic women have made such inroads into the American military, perhaps the more sopbbing we have the less innocent civilians will be dying at the hands of the American War Machine. Either way, it's a catastrophe. - Ed]

Fellow American,
Dr. Nancy Sherman, the first occupant of the Distinguished Chair of Ethics at the U.S. Naval Academy, was instrumental in designing the new 'ethics' curriculum there. In fact, that program has more of Ms. Sherman in it than it has ADM James Stockdale, the heroic Vietnam War POW who the Academy touts as not only approving of, but designing the curriculum.

What has Ms. Sherman wrought at the Academy? Here are a few hints. An editorial in The Washington Times ('The Crying of the admirals,' 11/03/95) tells us:

"The U.S. Naval Academy has added female 'role models' to the faculty. In August 1994, the Academy placed a new emphasis on conflict resolution and consciousness-raising. As 'Lean On Me' started playing, Master Chief Liz Johns gave the plebes her final orders: stand in a circle, sway to the music, sing along, and hug. From the circle came the sharp sniffle of sobs. The future admirals of America were crying."

A related piece of information regarding the 'feminization' of the Navy's core combat leadership is found in the Navy Inspector General's "Report of Investigation into the Integration of Women into Carrier Air Wing Eleven,"dated 10 February 1997.

This investigation resulted from the actions taken by the Air Wing in the aftermath of the realization that LT Carey Dunai Lohrenz (one of the first two female fighter pilots to fly the F-14 'Tomcat') exhibited flying qualities that were not only dangerous to herself, but to her crew, and the ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln. She was disqualified from flying aboard ship.

LT Lohrenz would not take the professional criticism of her landing techinique during debriefs. She would argue with the Landing SignalOfficers (LSOs), often employing the aid of her RIO (backseater) in challenging the them, e.g. "I didn't see that, did you?"

Here is a telling quote from that report (pp.198). "Occasionally, during a tough debrief, a woman [pilot in the Air Wing] would start CRYING. The LSOs were used to seeing men curse, throw objects, and kick things when they performed poorly. But they didn't know [redacted] with CRYING. They didn't know how to interpret CRYING, or whether they could continue the debrief."

Where does this stuff come from? What mentality brings this new 'warrior ethos' into the U.S. Navy -- at the heart of its education and training of our nation's naval core combat leadership?

The answer comes from Ms. Nancy Sherman and her radical feminist allies on the civilian staff of the new 'ethics' program at the Academy. How do we know this? Simple. Just take a look at what Ms. Sherman has implemented at the U.S. Naval Academy. Please 'double click' on the blue line below and you will see what she preached while at the Academy -- and what her cohorts and replacement continue to preach there.

http://www.newtotalitarians.com/NancyShermanDilemma.html

then you will understand what all of this CRYING is about -- at our nation's premiere military academy and on our powerful aircraft carriers.

Read it and weep! Better yet -- read it and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Best Regards,

Beak
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#ISRAEL DEMANDS IMMUNITY - AGAIN

[The double standard, while to be expected, is not for that reason less glaring and less stunning. Can it be the Talmudic distinction between Jewish Soul and Goyim is applied even to international law? You betcha. -Ed]

NYT 28 July 2001 p. A1
Israel Is Wary Of Long Reach In Rights Cases
By CLYDE HABERMAN

JERUSALEM, July 27 - A warning went out this week from Israel's Foreign Ministry to goverment, army and security officials. Be careful in choosing destinations when traveling abroad, it cautioned, because certain nations might be prepared to charge ranking Israelis with violating Palestinians' human rights.

The advisory was not worded quite that bluntly. It recommended, as a senior ministry official put it today, that high-level officials "do their homework" to avoid stumbling into "a legal embarrassment."

[Can't have any embarassments, now can we. - Ed]

But the message was clear:

Some countries, notably in Europe, believe that Israel has been unduly harsh toward the Palestinians - firing on young protesters disproportionately, singling out Islamic extremists for assassination, and restricting the movement of ordinary people to such an extent that Palestinians say their economy is nearing collapse. Israel's insistence that Palestinians have their own leaders to blame for their troubles, and that whatever it does is purely in the name of security, leaves many Europeans cold.

[As well it should. It's a situation that cries to heaven as one of the gravest injustices of our times - it is all the more scandalous when the only "tragedy" we hear of over and over again is the fate of WWII era Jews...while the Palestinians are referred to as "beasts" by the Israeli politicians. -Ed.]

So watch out, the Foreign Ministry told Israeli officials. This is a new age of lawyers without borders when it comes to human rights. Prosecutors are prepared to reach far beyond their own lands to put on trial political figures accused of gross violations. Witness, Israeli officials say, the international cases brought against Augusto Pinochet of Chile and Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia.

[That would be the essence of poetic justice. -Ed.]

While Israelis blanch at the notion that they even remotely qualify for the same league as those two men, they are well aware that Israel often falls short of human-rights standards as interpreted in Western Europe. As a result, the Foreign Ministry has begun compiling a list of nations that claim "universal jurisdiction" in certain cases. Potential worry spots for the Israelis are said to include Belgium, Britain and Spain.

"We're not in a panic," a senior official said, "but I think we must know the facts. And if some system is getting crazy, we should be aware of it."

[Now who exactly is responsible for the system getting crazy? The UN certainly has had a lot to do with the erosion of national sovereignty and the substitution of a bogus international court...in which case it is interesting to remember just who was behind the UN. Fr. Fahey's got an enlightening Appendix on that topic in The Kingshoip of Christ and the Conversion of the Jewish Nation...available from the Legion for $6.50. -Ed]

Concerns here about potential vulnerability have been fueled by two separate cases: an attempt in Belgium to charge Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, with war crimes, and unhappiness in Denmark because Israel has named a former chief of the Shin Bet security service as its new ambassador.

The Sharon case goes back 19 years, to the massacre of hundreds of unarmed Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, after Israel's 1982 invasion to root out the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The killings in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps were done by Lebanese Christian militiamen, known as Phalangists. But they were allied with Israel, and an official Israeli investigation later concluded that Mr. Sharon, as defense minister and architect of the invasion, bore "indirect responsibility" for the mass deaths.

He and other Israeli officials should have realized that a massacre was probable, the inquiry found, and should have immediately stepped in to stop the Phalangists. Mr. Sharon was forced to resign. Ever since, Sabra and Shatila have cast a shadow over his political career.

[Evidently not much of a shadow. -Ed]

Now that he is prime minister, the massacre has come front and center again, even though there is nothing to suggest that any new evidence has emerged.

The BBC broadcast a documentary on the subject in mid-June. A day later, lawyers for 23 Sabra and Shatila survivors asked a Belgian court to indict Mr. Sharon, citing a law that authorizes trials in Belgium for war crimes, no matter where they occur. A court decision has yet to be made.

"Please understand, these people are looking for justice," Luc Walleyn, a Belgian lawyer for the survivors, said in Jerusalem last week.

But Israelis do not understand, including many who have long been passionately anti-Sharon, much the way some Americans viscerally disliked Richard M. Nixon.

They see the Belgian case as an example of European pro-Arab, anti-Israel and perhaps even anti-Jewish bias.

[Of course; all crisicism of Israel is anti-Jewish bias...by definition. If "tolerance" of Jewish world domination is the only acceptable standard of behavior for the Gentile world, and Christian norms of justice do not apply, then by definition any protest or calling to account of Israel or its agents is logically, therefore, anti-Jewish bias. What a neat system. -Ed.]

At the least, government officials have said, it is part of an effort to undermine Mr. Sharon politically during this crisis with the Palestinians. And regardless of what human-rights groups may say, they add, Israel's perceived shortcomings pale in comparison with violations in Arab countries that are hardly bastions of democracy and liberty.

[That's a nice notion. The Arabs were expelled from their land, which they inhabited for some 900 years, by military force, yet their resistance dwarfs Israeli cruelty. Could anything but Talmudic reasoning produce such a conclusion? -Ed.]

Even so, Mr. Sharon clearly takes the case seriously, and his government has hired a Belgian lawyer to nip a possible indictment in the bud.

The Denmark situation involves Carmi Gillon, who was the Shin Bet chief in the mid-1990's. Two weeks ago, he outraged many Danes when he said he endorsed using "moderate physical pressure" during police interrogations of terrorism suspects.

There was some talk in Copenhagen about arresting Mr. Gillon the moment he stepped off the plane. That threat quickly faded, but not Danish displeasure with Israel for sending the former security chief their way.

In turn, Israel's foreign minister, Shimon Peres, dug in his heels, despite rumblings in his own ministry that perhaps Mr. Gillon could represent Israel somewhere else. The Shin Bet has saved many lives by stopping suicide bombers before they could blow themselves up, Mr. Peres said in Parliament this week.

"I would therefore like to address our friends in Denmark - and not only them - and ask them whether they know of some other way to fight terror?" he said.

[Again you have the clever defining of justifiable outrage on the part of the Palestinians, even if their methods are to be condemned in some cases, as "terror" while the Jewish state's "right to exist" is beyond discussion. -Ed.]

It was not lost on some Israelis that they themselves have in the past supported the "globalization of the criminal international law," as it was called by Alan Baker, a legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry. Mr. Baker mentioned the Holocaust, seemingly referring to Israel's abduction of the notorious Nazi figure Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960. Eichmann was put on trial in Israel, found guilty and hanged in 1962.

[Talk about a travesty of justice. Anyone unfamiliar with that saga should read French socialist (i.e., he's not a crazy "extreme rightist" Paul Rassinier's expose - The Real Eichmann Trial. Contact the Legion for a copy. -Ed.]

"We always had an interest in true criminals being brought to justice," Mr. Baker told the Israeli radio.

[obviously the descriptives "Israeli" and "true criminals" could not possibly ever apply to the same individual. -Ed.]

The problem now, he said, is "a tendency to exploit this good thing for political achievements such as delegitimizing the State of Israel and its leaders."

[If only we could use it for such a noble cause! By all means let's hang them with their own rope. - Ed.]
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#AMERICAN CARDINAL "LIFTS" BAN ON MASONRY!
[The following is from the Spring 2001 Focus, newsletter of the Masonic Information Center of Maryland. Eivdently Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles is not aware of any anti-Catholic activities on the part of Masonry. Perhaps we should send Cardinal Mahoney a few copies of Fr. Fahey's books. It would be a good time for all of us to reread Msgr. Jouin's "Papacy and Freemasonry," which lists the Church's traditional condemnation of Masonry. It's available from the Legion at $2.00. Write info@legionofstlouis.com orcall (757) 623-0309 to order. - Ed.]

MAY CATHOLICS BECOME FREEMASONS?

David Patterson, Executive Secretary of the Masonic Service Bureau of Los Angeles, wrote a letter to Cardinal Mahoney of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles inquiring as to the current position of the church concerning Masonic Membership. The reply on behalf of the Cardinal is reprinted (with permission) on page 2 of this issue of FOCUS.

Thank you for your inquiry of September 11, 2000 directed to Cardinal Mahoney, on whose behalf I am replying. The question is "whether a practicing Catholic may join a Masonic Lodge."

Unfortunately, the matter is too complex for a straightforward "yes" or "no" answer. But at least for Catholics in the United States, I believe the answer is probably yes. Permit me to explain this qualified response.

Your letter states that a member's "allegiance to one God is all we require." To the extent that this is an accurate statement of the organization's beliefs and teachings, and that its activities are humanitarian and charitable in nature, there is no reason to prevent a practicing Catholic from joining.

Past history, of course, has muddied the waters because earlier church law (prior to November 27, 1983) specifically named Masonic groups as a forbidden society (canon 2335, 1917 Code). The dialogues between Catholic and Masonic representatives in the years since the Second Vatican Council were generally very positive and yet did not resolve questions or concerns raised in certain parts of the world. As a result, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome issued a statement one day before the new Code of Canon Law took effect (November 26, 1983), in which it held that since Masonic principles were still contrary to the teachings of the Church, Catholics would commit a grave sin in belonging to Masonic associations and so could not receive Holy Communion.

Because this declaration has not been superseded by any further official statements, the question keeps recurring about its interpretation and application. There is no agreement among the experts in church law who have considered the matter. Consequently one can only judge the individual circumstances in light of the principles that clearly do apply.

These principles are set forth in canons 1374 and 1364 of the 1983 Code, which forbid a Catholic from joining "an association which plots against the Church" and impose penalties for heresy under certain conditions. If "a particular Masonic lodge truly promoted heretical teaching or conspired against the interests of the Church" (Ronny E. Jenkins, "The Evolution of the Church's Prohibition Against Catholic Membership in Freemasonry," The Jurist, 56 (1996), pg 735,) then a Catholic would be bound to avoid membership.

The reason, then, I answer 'probably yes' is because I am unaware of any ideology or practice by the local lodges that challenges or subverts the doctrine and interests of the Catholic Church. In the previous paragraph, I have cited the article which best presents the current state of the question. The 1974 newspaper clipping that you enclosed with your letter probably refers to a letter written by Cardinal Seper, then in charge of the same doctrinal congregation mentioned above, which was addressed to certain bishops. In this letter one can see the movement at that time from a blanket prohibition to the application of a case-by-case judgment whether a group did in fact conspire against the Church. The history of the development of the Church's current law suggests that this case-by-case approach is what canon 1374 on forbidden associations intends.

Please forgive this lengthy reply, but a shorter one would not do justice to those inquirers who are aware that the matter is still controversial. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn more about it myself, and I close by asking God's blessing on your well-known endeavors to relieve human suffering and assist the needy.

Rev. Thomas C. Anslow, C.M., J.C.L. Judicial Vicar

A publication of the Masonic Information Center
8120 Fenton Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910-4785
(301) 588-4010 email: msana@i...
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#FEEDBACK - WOMEN IN COMBAT
Now as I recall my military days, Lesbians made up most of the female military. So I'm wondering why not! RW
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New from the Legion: Islam: the Hidden Truth. Shocking answers to
the questions:
-Did Mohammed exist?
-Did Mecca exist before the seventh century?
-Who wrote the Koran?
A 23pp. booklet for $3.50.

Also: Faith and Fear in the Ctruggle for a Catholic Society.
-Tired of lay Catholic inaction?
-Wondering what to do to stem the anti-Catholci tide?
-No longer willing to let things go on while waiting for the chastisement?

This 27pp. booklet is also $3.50. Write info@legionofstlouis.com or call (757) 623-0309 to order.
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