By Gina Christian May 18, 2023 OSV News
An online conference billed “Hope Is Fuel: Catholic on Purpose” is sparking flames of controversy, after a number of speakers withdrew over other panelists’ views on antisemitism, Jewish-Catholic relations and the validity of Pope Francis’ papacy.
The May 24 event, led by author and media personality Patrick Coffin, was slated to include talks by several well-known Catholic presenters and apologists, including Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer, president of the Magis Center, which advances dialogue between faith and science; author and Bible instructor Jeff Cavins; and Jennifer Roback Morse, founder of the Ruth Institute, an interfaith coalition that promotes family life.
They and 17 other speakers have since canceled their appearances. In a May 11 tweet posted by the Magis Center, Father Spitzer said had been made aware that same day that “Patrick Coffin has challenged the authenticity of the (sic) Pope Francis,” and that “full disclosure … about Mr. Coffin’s controversial position” had not been made to him prior to the interview.
Coffin’s blog contains numerous posts asserting that Pope Benedict XVI’s retirement was invalid, and that Pope Francis is not the legitimate pontiff.
“I do not hold his position and would never hold this position,” Father Spitzer said, adding he also had requested his name “not be associated with the series or other projects he is hosting, including advertising, etc.”
Coffin told OSV News that he views Pope Francis as an “anti-pope” presiding during an “interregnum” period in the papacy.
Coffin said that the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis had been orchestrated by the “St. Gallen Mafia,” often cited by conspiracy theorists as an alleged group of high-ranking liberal clerics seeking to advance a left-wing agenda in the church.
In a May 14 video and print statement, Morse said she was already aware of Coffin’s position on Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation and had told him she did not agree.
However, Morse resigned from the conference on learning that it also featured E. Michael Jones, author of “The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit: Its Impact on World History” who is cited by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for extensive antisemitic writings.
Morse said in her statement that while Jones had produced “several important books” in the past, his recent works, which she considered antisemitic, were “poisonous.”
“Antisemitism carries a historical load that no other form of discrimination carries. … The world does not need antisemitism, especially from a Catholic,” Morse stated.
“Jones was a dealbreaker,” she told OSV News.
Jones told OSV News that he stood by his premise, articulated in “The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit,” that “when the Jews rejected Christ, they rejected the Logos incarnate, and they rejected the order of the universe.”
Jones accused Jews of being “the main supporters of feminism, homosexuality, transgenderism and abortion.” He added that “abortion is a fundamental Jewish value … a sacrament (and) a way of becoming Jewish.”
Claiming “the church has never defined antisemitism,” Jones asserted “the people who call themselves Jews are in rebellion against everything Moses stood for, because he was waiting for the Messiah.”
“If I were speaking to someone who was Jewish, I would say, ‘You killed Christ,’” Jones said.
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