The Occult Renaissance Church of Rome

by Michael Hoffman

  “…Following Innocent’s death, his successor, Pope Alexander VI, commissioned many learned cardinals, bishops and officials of the Holy Office of the Inquisition to thoroughly assess the merits and demerits of the books and speeches…Following these deliberations, His Holiness decided that the Count had rightly studied and written appropriately on the Kabbalah, and therefore his book entitled Apologia, was approved by a papal ruling in 1493. The decision was reached that Pico had studied thoroughly the books of the Kabbalah, and correctly stated that those same books of the Kabbalah, of which there must be approximately 70, demonstrate not only the spirituality of Moses, but the truth of our Christian faith as well…

  “It is quite obvious from Count Mirandola’s Apologia, a book that has been approved by Pope Alexander, that the books of the Kabbalah are not only not malignant, but are also exceedingly helpful to our Christian faith. Pope Sixtus IV ordered them to be translated into our Latin for the use of us Christians. Hence, there is an adequate basis for me to conclude that such Kabbalistic books should not, nor can they be legally suppressed or burned.”

  The papacy and the top echelon of the hierarchy of the Church of Rome supported Reuchlin’s defense of Pico and the Talmud and Kabbalah, while Pfefferkorn was forced to struggle for support. This fact of history shatters the stereotype of the Renaissance Church put forth by the Establishment. According to their fables, the papacy would destroy someone like Reuchlin, while Pfefferkorn would enjoy considerable ecclesiastic support.

  Initially, Pfefferkorn had the ear of educated Catholics within and outside the Church, the Catholic aristocracy and the Dominican order in Cologne. It was not until he confronted and frustrated Reuchlin’s mission of extending the theology of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola that his troubles began in earnest. Having dared to attempt to halt the progress of the Neoplatonic-Hermetic-Kabbalistic conspiracy he would be falsely accused by the Church of Rome and its allies, of heresy, incompetence and fraud.

  Johann Pfefferkorn converted to Catholicism together with his wife and one of his children when he was thirty-seven years of age (circa 1505). During the years 1507-1521 he had the distinction of having penned more publications on Jews and Judaism than any other Christian in the West. For one extended period during his writing career he had no other source of income than in a shelter for the poor (alms house), and as a salzmeister (distributor of salt).

  Pfefferkorn’s Der Juden Spiegel in particular was everything Catholic Christianity could hope for from a Judaic convert:

  “In the first part of the book Pfefferkorn addresses himself to the Jews, asking them to leave ‘the path of darkness’ and to finally understand the truth of the Christian faith. He then lists and comments on ten tenets of the Jewish faith, as they had been fairly common in debates between Jews and Christians for centuries. By quoting the Pentateuch and the prophets, he tries to demonstrate to the Jews that the New Testament is foreshadowed in the Old Testament, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and highest prophet, that Mary has a special status as virgin and mother of God, that there are proofs of the trinity, that the use of images and the adoration of the cross have a valid place in Christian religion, and that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. Pfefferkorn adds two points of his own. He explains that some Jews would be inclined to accept the Christian faith, yet hesitate to convert when they see the bad examples some Christians set…He also deplores the unremitting reluctance of his former coreligionists to assume the Christian faith. Yet Pfefferkorn shows himself determined to think of ways that could lead these ‘blind and obstinate’ Jews to ‘the light of eternal salvation.’ The first part ends with Pfefferkorn’s excitement about having found the ‘true Messiah,’ grace and forgiveness of his sins, and ‘eternal glory and salvation.’ The official first part of the pamphlet comprises one-half of the whole book. Its length is clearly an indication of the importance of this specific topic in the context of the mission to the Jews.

  “In the second part, Pfefferkorn addresses himself to the secular rulers and Christians in general, and describes how they have contributed to the problems in the mission to the Jews. He accuses the Christian authorities of protecting (unconverted) Jews for their own selfish financial benefit by granting them houses and by allowing them to take usury. He criticizes them for not forcing the Jews to listen to sermons, and for not confiscating their non-biblical books (Talmud and Kabbalah) that are full of lies. Pfefferkorn appeals to the Christian authorities’ sense of moral responsibility, and demands that Jews should not be permitted to practice usury and that they should work for their living. In order to learn about the word of God, they should also be forced to attend Christian sermons. Their Talmudic books should be confiscated, because he considers them not only misleading but also a major contributor to their obstinacy, and thus an obstacle to Jewish conversion. This last demand is significant, since in the following two years, Pfefferkorn received a mandate from the Emperor Maximilian I, which enabled him personally to confiscate Jewish books throughout the empire.”40

  This mandate would prove to be fleeting.

  Pfefferkorn posed a substantial threat to the conspirators. His work had the potential to undo nearly a century of plotting to gain acceptance for the Talmudic and Kabbalistic theology within the Church. To be certain that Pfefferkorn would be obstructed, Maximilian I was offered a substantial bribe from the rabbis to rein in Pfefferkorn, which is precisely what the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire did, once his pockets were filled:

  “Following a well-established line in polemical reasoning that goes back to the thirteenth century when the antirabbinical charges brought forward by the (Judaic) convert Nicholas Donin had led to the burning of the Talmud in Paris in 1242, Pfefferkorn argued that the Talmud…was the main reason for the Jewish unwillingness to accept the Christian faith…

  “Pfefferkorn was introduced…to Kunigunde of Bavaria, the sister of Emperor Maximilian I, who had retired after the death of her husband to a monastery in Munich. She wrote a favorable letter of introduction for Pfefferkorn, who met the emperor in Padua and received permission to examine the contents of the Talmud. The emperor issued this mandate in August 1509 and confirmed that the Jews should hand over their books to Pfefferkorn for examination when asked by him, and that Pfefferkorn was entitled to confiscate all books considered anti-Christian and contradicting the laws of Moses and the prophets.

  “Returning from Italy, Pfefferkorn traveled to Frankfurt am Main, a town with a major Jewish community, and confiscated a number of books (some fifteen hundred). The Jewish community turned to the Archbishop of Mainz, Uriel von Gemmingen, who, apparently offended by what he regarded as an illegitimate intervention by the emperor, protested and wrote to the emperor that Pfefferkorn did not have the expertise to judge Jewish books. The Jews of Frankfurt, legally subjects of the emperor, also sent him a delegation to protest this interference in their internal religious affairs.

  “Maximilian I retracted, and in November 1509 issued a new mandate authorizing Uriel von Gemmingen to arrange an inquiry in which a number of experts were to be asked for their opinions. These experts included representatives of the universities of Cologne, Mainz, Erfurt, and Heidelberg; the prior of the Dominicans in Cologne and inquisitor, Dr. Jacobus Hoogstraeten; the convert and priest Victor von Carben; and the Hebraist scholar and lawyer Johannes Reuchlin. The emperor intended to judge the case according to the recommendations of these experts. This did not prevent Pfefferkorn from continuing to confiscate Jewish books in a number of communities, among them again in Frankfurt. Alarmed by this, the Jews of Frankfurt entered into secret negotiations with the emperor and reached a financial agreement with him. In May 1510, the emperor ordered that all confiscated books should be restored to the Jews. Pfefferkorn tried in vain to persuade the emperor to revoke this mandate and was told to wait for the final decision.

  “…Johannes Reuchlin was the only one explicitly to oppose the confiscation of the Talmud, giving both legal and theological reasons. His rep
ort, Ratschlag, argues that Jews, as concives or fellow-citizens of the empire, had the same legal rights as Christians, including the right of protection against seizure of property by force or without due process of law. In Reuchlin’s eyes it was illegal to confiscate and burn Jewish books since the Talmud contained proofs for the truth of Christianity.” 41

  This is further evidence of the extent and scope of the charade set in motion by the occult conspirators in the Church, fronted by Reuchlin. They alleged that the Talmud (like the Kabbalah), “contained proofs for the truth of Christianity.” At this point in time, under Pope Leo X, anyone of any stature who foiled the agents behind this subversive nonsense would be rendered infamous and reduced to impotent ignominy, which was to be the the fate of Pfefferkorn. Judaic historian William Popper writes:

  “Pfefferkorn began his work in Frankfort and immediately a violent protest was raised by Jews, supported by some friendly Christians…the Elector Mainz and the Archbishop Uriel of Gemmingen…On November 10, 1509, Pfefferkorn went to the Emperor at Tyrol, and secured a decree from him that confiscation should be carried out. The Archbishop Uriel of Gemmingen however, was appointed to decide the issue in regard to the Talmud…the Jews again sent friendly Christians as delegates to the Emperor, to carry before him letters recommending leniency; among them was one from the Archbishop Uriel, who seems to have played a double role in the affair, but to have been more a friend than an enemy of the Jews.

  “These delegates declared that Pfefferkorn’s charges were false, and the Emperor was persuaded to issue a new decree ordering the return to the Jews of their confiscated books. Pfefferkorn answered with a letter printed in Latin and…broadcast throughout Germany; in it he reviewed the whole case and roused the German people to agitate against the Jews…

  “A long controversy between Reuchlin and Pfefferkorn followed…Reuchlin was accused of heresy and a commission, appointed to investigate, determined to give its decision not only against him, but naturally against the Talmud and the whole of Jewish literature. But there was still a spirit of justice and broad-mindedness even in parts of Germany, and while the students of Mainz objected to the proceedings as illegal, men of influence likewise interfered. Even though preparations had been made for the audo-de-fé (of the rabbinic texts) and men were ready on the appointed days to light the fires, a hasty message from Archbishop Uriel postponed the carrying out of the sentence for one month; he ordered the commission to reopen the case after one month and threatened, if it refused, to nullify all its previous work and to deprive it of all power to act in the future. The case reopened, dragged along slowly and was carried to Rome. In November, 1513, Pope Leo X, beloved of the Jews in Italy, persuaded by his Jewish physician Bonet de Lates, ordered all former verdicts to be set aside…the Bishop of Speier himself decided that Reuchlin’s writings were not heretical or false…A humanist party arose throughout Europe in support of Reuchlin…” 42

  The preceding history, while readily accessible, is largely unknown, in part, perhaps, because it constitutes one more nail in the coffin of the caricature of the early and middle-Renaissance papacy as a hammer “against the Jews.” What Pfefferkorn endured under Archbishop Uriel and Pope Leo X is not very different from what Bishop Richard Williamson endured from Cardinal Roger Mahony and Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. 43

  Throughout the campaign against Pfefferkorn, snobbery was invoked to paint him as deficient in scholarship and intellect, while his opponents, as personified by Reuchlin, were puffed as paragons of genius, learning and decency. This snob appeal was played up by the Neoplatonic-Hermetic operatives behind the writing and circulation of the Epistolae obscurorum vivorum, which rapidly acquired a reputation as a daring and intellectually brilliant act of defiance of the established order. As Europe’s intelligentsia processed further into Renaissance humanism, and scholasticism began to fall into disrepute, Pfefferkorn was successfully caricatured as an obtuse ultraconservative who had no right to contradict the views of Christian humanists of the calibre of Reuchlin.

  The merits of Pfefferkorn’s expert inside knowledge of Judaism’s canonical books was not directly contested in the Epistolae obscurorum vivorum. The authors were too astute for that. We know now that one of the co-authors of this anonymous pamphlet was a Catholic-Lutheran double-agent, one “Crotus Rubeanus,” who, in 1517, was a doctor of Catholic theology at the University of Bologna and a humanist; then a convert to Lutheranism and one of the first Lutheran “missionaries to Prussia.” Then, in 1530 “Rubeanus” reverted to Catholicism. Another author of the Epistolae is said to have been Ulrich von Hutten, the man Emperor Maximilian crowned poet-laureate in 1517.

  The behind-the-scenes maneuvering within the Roman Catholic Church and the Royal Court against the Judaic-Catholic convert Pfefferkorn and in favor of the rabbis and Reuchlin, is labyrinth. There is the treachery of the Prince Archbishop Uriel of Mainz (designated a prince because he was one of the seven “Electors” who chose the Emperor). As Pfefferkorn was working for the Gospel and exposing the Talmud in Frankfurt am Main, the Judaic community sent the son of Simon Weissenau, the wealthiest Judaic in Frankfurt, to “appeal” to the Prince Archbishop Uriel in Aschaffenburg. It didn’t hurt the cause of the Judaics that Uriel was in debt for a substantial sum of money (fifteen hundred gulden) to Weissenau. Consequently, Uriel defended the Talmud against the confiscations by Pfefferkorn. Placing his priests under a threat of harsh punishment, the Prince Archbishop commanded all clerics under his jurisdiction to refuse to cooperate with Pfefferkorn’s seizure of the Talmud.44

  The record also shows that Emperor Maximilian, who was supposed to be an ally of Pfefferkorn in Germany (in part, so the story goes, due to appeals from Maximilian’s devout Catholic sister, Kunigunde von Bayern), nonetheless employed Henricus Cornelius Agrippa, one of the leading Satanic Kabbalists inside the circles of the Church of Rome, as a spy in Spain, and later in an important military capacity. 45

  Maximilian accepted bribes from Jonathan Levi Zion, one of the leaders of the Frankfurt Talmudists. 46 Maximilian’s military ally, Duke Erich of Braunschweig, was in heavy debt (fifty-four hundred gulden) to Itzing Bopfingen, a Judaic loanshark in Frankfurt. In return for Maximilian halting the confiscation of the Talmud, in May, 1511, Bopfingen promised to lift the interest on the duke’s debt for three years.

  Defenders of the papacy of Leo X will point out that he eventually “silenced” Reuchlin. Taken out of context it seems that this datum settles the matter. When considered as part of Leo’s papacy as a whole however, one comprehends that Pope Leo had permitted Reuchlin to spread his occult virus far and wide, until the conservative counter-reaction grew so intense that Leo went on record “silencing” Reuchlin. This was a farce; a token gesture intended for consumption by pious believers in the integrity of the pope and his word. The fact of the matter is that Reuchlin was certainly not “silenced.” In the last years of his life Reuchlin was a very vocal and high profile professor at the Catholic University of Tübingen. More significantly, he and his occult-Catholic cabal were victorious. A “Golden Age” of Talmud publishing commenced in Catholic Europe thanks to their efforts. While the Vatican launched a draconian crackdown on Protestant books, an edition of the complete Talmud was published by the printing house of Bomberg, with papal sanction:

  “The natural liberality of Pope Leo X and the many influences friendly to Jews that surrounded him prompted his interest in Jewish literature and not only moved him to grant permission for a Jewish press at Rome but resulted in his open advocacy of the Talmud…Toward the beginning of the sixteenth century Joseph Pfefferkorn, a Moravian Jew, finding himself in straitened circumstances…embraced Christianity and, as a violent and bloodthirsty Jew hater, seems to have flourished for many years thereafter. We are not so much concerned with his successful method of earning a living as with the fact that his attacks on the Talmud, encouraged by the Dominicans of Germany, the most illiterate and stupid of all the monastic brethren, led to the conflict between th
e Humanists and Obscurantists, which brought out the noble Reuchlin’s temperate and well-considered defense of the Jews and their literature. The charge of heresy brought against Reuchlin by the Dominicans raised the issue of the relation of the Talmud and rabbinical writings towards Christianity. The trial of the case dragged from Mainz to Speyer, and thence to Rome, but long before the final decision was rendered, Pope Leo X gave unmistakable indication of his position in the controversy between culture and ignorance. This noble son of Lorenzo di Medici, whose plastic intellect had been moulded by the master hand of Poliziano of Florence, who had been initiated into the mysteries of the Hebrew tongue and its literature, was deaf to the importunities of ignorant monks and overzealous apostates. To the great consternation of the faithful, he followed the suggestion of his friend, Cardinal Egidio of Viterbo, to permit the establishment of a Hebrew press at Rome and he officially endorsed Daniel Bomberg’s project to print a complete edition of the Talmud…whereupon Messer Daniel, within five years, completed this magnificent work, sparing no expense…to the delight of Jews and Christian scholars and to the chagrin and despair of the pious multitude.” 47

  Feeling the heavy hand of papal tyrants to “the great consternation of the faithful…and to the chagrin and despair of the pious multitude,” is an old story in the Church of Rome. These Renaissance and post-Renaissance dictators are supposed to be Christ’s shepherds, yet with impunity they suppressed the birthright Christ bequeathed unto His people by right of their redemption by His blood. This spectacle shows that these travesties are transpiring not in His Church but in another organization altogether, administered by Antichrist “Holinesses” and “Eminences.”