Years ago, Catholic publisher John Sharpe became the target of a campaign by the Southern Poverty Law Center and activist Heidi Beirich. The consequences extended far beyond hostile headlines, drawing John into a prolonged struggle involving his livelihood, his reputation, and the federal government.
Now, the woman who helped target him is herself facing federal wire-fraud charges.
John joins The Backlash to tell the full story: why the SPLC came after him, how those accusations affected IHS Press, and what his experience reveals about the institutions that decide which political and religious ideas are permitted in American public life.
But this conversation goes far beyond the SPLC.
As the publisher of IHS Press, founder of the Legion of St. Louis, an advocate of Distributism, and a longtime student of Catholic social teaching, John has spent decades considering what a genuinely Catholic social order would require.
We discuss the successes and failures of the traditionalist movement, the limitations of conventional conservative politics, the legacy of the International Third Position, and the duties of lay Catholics who desire the restoration of the Social Reign of Christ the King.
What must Catholics actually build? What responsibilities belong specifically to the laity? And how do we move beyond commentary and nostalgia toward real Catholic social action?
