Academy for the Judeo-Christian West

17/05/2021

May 13th Press Statement from Benjamin Harnwell, Chairman, Dignitatis Humanae Institute:

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“On 15th March, in a shock announcement that made headlines around the world, the Dignitatis Humanae Institute lost its high-profile legal challenge against the Italian Ministry for Culture (MIBACT] regarding the politically motivated annulment of the lease for the monastery of Trisulti.

The surprising sentence from the Council of State followed an otherwise unbroken run of seven out of seven legal decisions won by the DHI over the last two years.

The legal instrument that the ministry had used (Article 21 nonies, Law on Administrative Procedure, 7 August 1990, n. 241) to annul the lease clearly states that the Italian civil service — when seeking, after 18 months from the decree of adjudication, to annul a contract on the grounds of fraudulent statements made during a tender — can only do so after it has obtained a definitive sentence from the criminal courts affirming the criminal nature of the purported fraudulent statements.

Astonishingly, even though this legally-obligatory procedure is still yet to take place, MIBACT nonetheless unilaterally annulled the lease, effectively arguing that the law is for me to obey, not them. Even more astonishingly, the Council of State accepted and endorsed this argument.

The ministry annulled our lease at 28 months after the decree of adjudication — well after the limit explicitly established by law.

It ought to go without saying, I made no fraudulent statements in the tender (as had been repeatedly affirmed in the previous legal decisions).

But there’s more.

I also signed a legally-binding “auto-certification” when I participated in the public tender, confirming that the DHI met the necessary conditions to participate.

An auto-certification is a very important legal mechanism in Italian jurisprudence, which can only be declared false by the criminal courts (i.e. not by the administrative courts, of which the Council of State is the highest expression).

I therefore demand my right to be tried in the criminal courts, in absolute confidence that I will be totally exonerated of any wrongdoing. And in fact, there is already a criminal case that will start in November of this year which will consider, amongst other things, the charge that I made fraudulent statements during the public tender.

The highest court of appeal in Italy is the Court of Cassation, which hears appeals from all three branches of Italian law (criminal, administrative and civil).

If on appeal, the Cassation were to uphold the Council of State’s sentence, two consequences would immediately arise that would totally transform the Italian jurisprudential landscape.

1. The Italian civil service would henceforth have the power to unilaterally assume the proper jurisdiction of the criminal court in declaring false any citizen’s auto-certification, based exclusively on its own authority.

2. The Italian civil service would henceforth have the power to unilaterally annul any public tender award — at any point in time — based exclusively on its own authority.

Both of these new legal precedents, were they to be upheld at Italy’s highest court of appeal, would clearly have catastrophic and immeasurable repercussions both for the rights of the citizen (in the first instance) and all entities that have won any public tender (in the second).

Both of these new legal precedents would also be totally unnecessary because, as mentioned above, a criminal case is already set to start this November. If I should be condemned in the criminal courts, the ministry will obtain what it needs to proceed with the annulment without needing to trample all over the law to get me out, and especially without needing to force on Italy these two new horrific legal precedents in order to do so.

Everybody, both friends and opponents alike, readily acknowledges that this dispute is really about “political and social considerations” as one of the earlier sentences, in our favour, was candid enough to affirm.

It is also clear that the Italian political left is, perhaps not surprisingly, vehemently opposed to the idea of a school run by Steve Bannon to defend the West’s Judeo-Christian heritage taking place on the Italian peninsula. And in Italy, the left dominates with its henchmen strategically placed throughout the civil service, the press — and according to many, also the judiciary.

Against these omnipresent and omnipotent forces, my only protection is the law.

Since the Council of State sentence came out in March, I have been deluged by literally thousands of messages of support, especially from local people, encouraging us on, pleading with us not to give up.

Therefore, on behalf of all citizens of the Italian republic, both those who support and those who oppose my personal politics; as well as on behalf of all businesses and organisations who have won any public tender (or who have any aspiration to do so), as well as all those whose jobs depend on such contracts; as well as on behalf of any foreign enterprise that wishes to come to this most beautiful but deeply troubled country in order to bring much needed investment — I have today instructed the DHI’s lawyers to formally deposit our appeal with the Court of Cassation.

We shall fight on, we fight to win.

On the wall of every court chamber in Italy, the words “The Law is Equal for All” are proudly emblazoned. The world is now watching to see just how true that actually is in practice.”

16/03/2021

Apropos of yesterday's ruling by Italy's Council of State, Stephen K Bannon issued the following statement:

"After winning seven of seven previous legal decisions, this ruling is a joke which brings further shame on Italy’s already-stained judiciary in eyes of the whole world.

The government have proven themselves corrupt, incompetent, and broke. Everybody — allies and foes alike — admit the annulment of our lease was politically motivated.

They have failed repeatedly to treat Trisulti with the care it deserves; depriving the monastery with the resources for maintenance it so desperately needs.

We refuse to be stopped by the corrupt bureaucracy that infests Italian government and hurts the Italian people.

This is the sort of thing you expect from third world countries, not a founding nation of Western Civilization. We intend to appeal and win. Trisulti is an Italian treasure and we will fight for it.”

07/02/2021

And here's one of many reasons we need the Academy: to counter things like this.

The Davos agenda is a remote elite which doesn't give a damn for ordinary folk. We are many; they are few - and therein lies our only hope.

20/01/2021

STATEMENT ON STEVE BANNON’S PRESIDENTIAL PARDON, from Benjamin Harnwell, Chairman, Dignitatis Humanae Institute:

“Steve Bannon never did anything wrong.

A presidential pardon is the greatest privilege the American justice system can bestow. But the fact remains Steve Bannon never did anything that required pardoning.

The 24 page indictment was a politically-driven hit job which would have had zero credibility before a jury in a court of law.

As someone who has spent the last two years proving his own innocence in court (and until now, between court injunctions and sentences, I have won all 7 out of 7 court decisions) I can affirm that proving one’s own innocence is expensive, tiring and almost literally all consuming. I have lost the last two years of my life. President Trump in his mercy decided in one of his last official acts as president to spare Steve this ordeal, effectively giving him the next few years of his life back to him.

But as we rejoice with Steve, and celebrate with him this most rare privilege, let’s never forget that he has only ever been an innocent man who has not been convicted of anything by any court. And he will remain such. A presidential pardon, even with the great honour that its recipient receives, does not charge this reality, as much as Steve’s political opponents might fervently wish this were the case.

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute takes this moment to wish President Trump and his family a well-deserved rest after four eventful years. Likewise, on the first day of President Biden’s term of office, we assure him of our prayers and wish him every success as he leads his country through these difficult times."

15/01/2021

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute, which is working with President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon to found an academy in Italy to defend Judeo-Christian [...]

14/01/2021

IMPORTANT NEWS REGARDING THE ACADEMY:

On January 12, 2021, the Court of Auditors of Italy totally absolved the Dignitatis Humanae Institute from the outrageous and politically motivated accusations that the DHI had not paid the rent for the Monastery of Trisulti.

In a statement, Benjamin Harnwell, chairman of the DHI, said:

"Contrary to what has universally appeared in the world’s newspapers, the 2018 rent was not owed and the DHI has fulfilled its contractual obligations with respect to all payments due. The Ministry of Culture simply wanted me out because I proudly work with Steve Bannon, architect of Donald Trump's historic 2016 victory; and because literally every day we were both energetically supporting Matteo Salvini and his heroic blockade of the illegal migration into Italy.

The left should know I am totally unrepentant of these two facts. I will never give in to their bullying or absolute intolerance of those who have different political views from theirs.

For these two motives, the political left initiated an unprecedented public campaign of lies and character assassination against me, which the Ministry of Culture was only too happy to accommodate.

I take great comfort from the fact that everything political I was saying publicly was affirmed at the ballot box at the last European Elections, when literally half the electorate in the Ciociaria voted for the Lega; and that everything regarding the law that I was saying since the lease annulment has been since upheld in the courts.

The DHI has now won six legal decisions out of six. As the remaining cases are now drawing to their successful close, I can start to return my attention to fulfilling our lease obligations at Trisulti, and preserving this fantastic monument for future generations to enjoy."

07/01/2021

Statement from Benjamin Harnwell, Chairman, Dignitatis Humanae Institute, on recent events:

“For those who revere democracy, the only legitimate way to affect change is through the ballot box. Sometimes your side wins, and sometimes it loses.

That said, the disconcerting displays we have seen in the US both over the summer and now over Epiphany are the result of what happens when millions and millions of people feel themselves deliberately locked out of a society mismanaged by elites who brazenly make themselves richer as the people grow poorer.

MAGA supporters spent four years watching the political establishment annul their president’s mandate and legitimacy through judicial activist court injunctions, outrageous congressional inquiries and groundless impeachments. And now that same political establishment condescendingly tells Trump supporters that they must recognise the results of an election!

In my experience living as a guest in Italy for over ten years, I am extremely alert to a similar degree of anger, contempt and disgust among Italians towards their own political class. Let the lessons be learnt before it’s too late."

11/11/2020

They won't stop until all dissent is supressed.

The social network's crackdown comes after the former White House strategist was permanently suspended from Twitter. Facebook said the pages were using "deceptive tactics" to mislead people.

08/11/2020

    The world in which we find ourselves living is, to use an expression from the Gospel, “in se divisum” (Mt 12:25). This division, [...]

12/09/2020

Courtesy of our friends at The European Conservative:

In the summer/fall of 1683, a Muslim Turkish army of 300,000 men, under the command of Kara Mustafa, besieged the city of Vienna. Their ultimate goal, in fulfillment of Muhammad’s prophecy, Rome. With infighting and betrayals among Europe's leaders, it took a humble Capuchin friar -- Blessed Marco D'Aviano -- to unite everyone to save Europe.

EXCERPT FROM HIS SPEECH IN THE MOVIE, "The Day of the Siege": "My brothers: Soon you will have to fight [....] When that moment comes [...] remember my words: You are fighting […] to defend your Faith and your traditions. You are defending your wives and children, your sisters, your bothers, your mothers and fathers — because if Vienna falls, Rome will fall; and if Rome falls, Holy Mother Church will fall. Defend your Faith so that your children may be free to worship God, free to love Christ, free because you have fought on this day.”

i saw this movie on netflix and i thought this was a very powerful speech from a Historical Drama. The Battle of Vienna was a Christian Crusade Success. Chri...

28/08/2020

The Academy is a response, in part, to the kind of self-mutilation and su***de going on in the West -- like this story:

The monks of Downside Abbey are to leave the famous monastery, the community has announced.

21/08/2020

From our friends across the pond ...

Under the patronage of our Lady on this feast of her Assumption into Heaven, The Aquinas Institute is pleased to announce a new online masters in theology program. The aim of the Graduate Theology …