In his original study, Robert Sungenis and the Jews, Michael Forrest wrote:
[Sungenis] continues to evidence a propensity to uncritically seek out and accept unsavory, dubious and/or negatively biased information in regard to Jews and has drawn others with similar proclivities to his website. (emphasis added)
While Sungenis has changed the name of his apostolate, it is clear that the changes at CAI/BTF have by and large been cosmetic, and perhaps the surest confirmation of this is to be found in some of the individuals still drawn to it and to Sungenis.
As of this date, one may find the following comments made by Sungenis’ patrons, allies and friends, most of which were posted by Sungenis on his new, revised website. The first thing that may jump out at the reader is the “top-tags weblog” at the top of the new Q and A Forum. These are helpful tags to direct the reader to various topics addressed. However, the font sizes for each topic are not all equal. The more a particular blog tag is used to label something, the larger it becomes. And one tag is larger than all of the other 50 listed (click on “view all tags” at the forum): Jews. In fact, only two other tags are even close to the size of the tag for Jews.
Here are two of the more noteworthy Q and A’s about Jews:
Question 18
Robert,
Why do Catholics and “Jews” number the Psalms differently?
Edgar
While Sungenis’ answer wasn’t problematic, the question certainly was, although an innocent person unfamiliar with ugly anti-Semitic conspiracy theories might not recognize it as such. It seems unlikely that Sungenis, who is certainly no stranger to the world of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, was unaware of the problem, especially as Edgar Suter is not only a patron of CAI but a friend of Sungenis and a source of information on “Jewish issues”, including the notorious information Sungenis posted from the white-supremacist National Vanguard. Suter is no passing stranger.
For those who are not familiar with the work and code words of anti-Semites, placing quotation marks around the word “Jews” is not accidental. It is meant to convey agreement with a vile, completely discredited conspiracy theory that claims the Jewish people of today are not truly Jews at all, they are merely ethnic imposters. Suter is also a devotee of an even more vile, anonymous anti-Semite who has written at length on his blog about this theory that is shared by yet another well-known anti-Semite - and source of Sungenis “Jewish information” - Michael Hoffman II.
The second “interesting” Q and A on Jewish issues is #44. Below is the last section of the entry:
The goals [of the] Christ Crucifiers has [sic] been for hundreds of years 1) Get the deicide crime abolished. 2) Get the Old Covenant to be still valid for them by the Vatican. 3) Get the Noahide Laws established worldwide by placing 5th columns in the 5 great religions of the world.
And what was Sungenis’ response? Did he immediately correct his gravely mistaken patron with the skills he honed as a professional debater and apologist? Surely his new attitude toward the Jewish people would find expression in response to such hate. In response to his disciple’s slander of modern Jews as “Christ Crucifiers,” one might hope Sungenis would at least quote Nostra Aetate #4:
“what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”
Maybe he would even quote another passage:
“this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.”
Perhaps he might even have gone as far as to fraternally admonish his patron for regurgitating the kind of Jewish conspiracy theories that he himself had finally promised to swear off.
Unfortunately, Sungenis chose none of the above. Instead, he replied:
R. Sungenis: And that’s why we are here to preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ- in order to rebut these false ideas.
And thus he confirmed his patron’s "wisdom" and the continuing purpose of CAI-BTF.
For those who have followed this blog over the past year, a similar interaction may come to mind: Sungenis’ radio interview on Republic Broadcasting Network.
In that interview, aside from Sungenis’ statements about Jews taking down president Clinton by sending Monica Lewinsky after him, a caller made several statements to which Sungenis ought to have objected, but instead, he chose to add to what the caller had said:
Caller: To take this slightly away from religion, or, mostly away from religion for a little bit, I think the whole thing can best be explained by Benjamin Franklin's statement to the Continental Congress in 1789, when he warned them, "Gentleman, if you let them in, in 200 years your children - your descendants, rather - will be cursing you in your graves, because they will be in the fields as slaves, while the ones you let in" - and we know who they're talking about - "will be in the counting houses rubbing their hands." That was Benjamin Franklin's statement, and I think it explains the whole thing. Because the man knew, he was a student of history - and he wasn't the only one - but he was a student of history who knew - he knew what they'd done in Europe, and all the countries in Europe that they'd been kicked out of, over and over again, because it's the same game plan for these people, no matter where they are, where they go, it's always the same game plan - has been for 2,000 years.
Sungenis: Yeah, as a matter of fact, just to add to what you're saying - we've been quoting Benjamin Ginzberg a lot on this program, and here's what he says, along those same lines - he says, "to make matters worse, Jews often, secretly or not so secretly, conceive themselves to be morally and intellectually superior to their neighbors. Indeed, Jews are extremely successful outsiders who sometimes have the temerity to rub it in." That comes from The Fatal Embrace, page Roman numeral nine. Now, and on the other side of this coin, you know, we've got to be very cautious, because these are human beings too. Jews are human beings, and God loves them just like He loves you and I --
Caller: According to the Talmud, they are the only human beings. The rest of us are cattle.
Sungenis: Well, yeah, and that's where the problem comes in.
Caller: Absolutely, so that's exactly what you're saying, but in a different way.
Sungenis: Right, right, and what I find in, especially today, is this idea that has been resurgent since after World War II, and that is that the Jews are the Chosen People - that this somehow has come to the fore again, that all of a sudden, 2,000 years has gone by and God has resurrected them as the Chosen People above everybody else - and this is where institutions like EWTN, or the liberal Catholics, or the Zionists, or the Evangelical Protestants, or whatever - this is all what they're feeding off of, that the Jews are the Chosen People and now we have to restore them to their rightful place - and it's causing a lot of problems, because once you do that, you're gonna push other people out of the way! Article
And then we have the inimitiable Michael Hoffman II himself. Hoffman has been a source of information on "Jewish issues" for Sungenis in the past and Sungenis has spoken positively of his work. (Before reading on, the reader is warned that the following comments are extremely offensive.) In reaction to Sungenis' temporary obedience to Bishop Rhoades, Hoffman had the following deplorable reaction:
"The one scholar the traditional Catholics have said is my peer has just this past July dutifully put his tail between his legs and self-censored the entire Judaism section of his website because his fag Novus Ordo bishop ordered him to lay off the rabbis. Incredibly, he complied, muttering something about the bishop being akin to God" ("Update on Hoffman's new book on Judaism, 'Judaism Discovered'")
And what was Sungenis' reaction to this very public calumny? Silence.
Once again, all of this only serves to further confirm the wisdom of Bishop Rhoades’ order for Sungenis to cease and desist writing about Jewish issues. (Article)
