Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Léon de Poncins (3 November 1897 – 18 December 1975) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

aristocrat and a

traditional Catholic A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays o ...

journalist and essayist. He authored numerous books and articles advancing a

Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory The Judeo-Masonic conspiracy is an anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic conspiracy theory involving an alleged secret coalition of Jews and Freemasons. These theories were popular on the far-right, particularly in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ger ...

. Léon de Poncins' explanation for most of the major revolutionary political upheavals of

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the " ...

was the influence of certain

secret societies A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

with an

anti-Christian Anti-Christian sentiment or Christophobia constitutes opposition or objections to Christians, the Christian religion, and/or its practices. Anti-Christian sentiment is sometimes referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, although these terms ...

agenda — as well as a "occult war" waged by those possessing a diabolical kind of "faith".

Biography

Born Gabriel Léon Marie Pierre de Montaigne de Poncins in

Civens Civens () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of the 323 communes of the Loire department of France. The communes cooperate in the followi ...

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. He was descended of an aristocratic family

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

in 1696. His writings enjoyed some prominence in the 1930s (many of his works were translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

). Léon de Poncins contributed to many newspapers like ''

Le Jour ''Le Jour'' (French for "The Day") was a Quebec independence newspaper. It was founded in Saint-Laurent, near Montreal, by Yves Michaud, Jacques Parizeau and René Lévesque. Michaud was editor-in-chief. The paper was published as a daily from ...

'', ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'', ''

L'Ami du peuple ''L'Ami du peuple'' (, ''The Friend of the People'') was a newspaper written by Jean-Paul Marat during the French Revolution. "The most celebrated radical paper of the Revolution", according to historian Jeremy D. Popkin, ''L’Ami du peuple'' ...

'', and '' Le Nouvelliste''; he also directed the journal '' Contre-Révolution'' (''Counter-Revolution'') from 1937 to 1939. Léon de Poncins was a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

. His writings show

anti-Jewish Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

anti-Communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

, anti-Masonic, and

anti-progressive In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''wikt:status quo ante, status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positiv ...

views. Until his death, in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, he denounced the occult forces and organizations that ruled the world and sought to poison Christianity.

Views

Influence of secret societies

In his writings, he denounced Masonic conspiracies (pointing out the relationship between Freemasonry and the French Revolution, the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

, etc.), and the Jewish influence in Catholic affairs. His work was seen as a continuation of the '' Revue Internationale des Sociétés Secrètes'' (''International Review of Secret Societies''), whose primary editor was Mgr.

Ernest Jouin Monsignor Ernest Jouin (21 December 1844 – 27 June 1932) was a French Catholic priest and essayist, known for his promotion of the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory. He also published the first French edition of ''The Protocols of the Elders of Z ...

(1844–1932). Léon de Poncins was a friend of Emmanuel Malynski (died 1938)— with whom he wrote ''La Guerre occulte'' (''The Occult War'')— and Jean Vaquié (1911–1992), with whom he wrote in the journals ''Lectures françaises'' and ''Lecture et Tradition'', and for the

Chiré-en-Montreuil Chiré-en-Montreuil () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. See also *Communes of the Vienne department The following is a list of the 266 communes of the Vienne department of France ...

-based publishing house Éditions de Chiré. Léon de Poncins wrote the preface to Vaquié's ''La Révolution Liturgique'' ( 'The Liturgical Revolution''.

Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, esotericist, and radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocratic, masculine, traditionalist, heroic, and defiantly ...

translated ''La Guerre occulte'' into

. In a 1949 letter from René Guenon to Evola, he expresses a belief that Léon de Poncins was subjected to attacks from "a group of dangerous sorcerers" who were connected to his secretary, Eve Louguet.

On World War I

In his historical analysis of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Léon de Poncins suggests that concerted

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

by international

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

circles led to the creation of the future

Jewish state In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland of the Jewish people. Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewish people. It ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

by means of manipulating alliances and oppositions between countries. In 1916— at a time when

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

triumphed on all fronts and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

planned to sign an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

then advanced by the Kaiser— Zionists secured a promise of Palestine (then under the domination of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

) as a Jewish settlement from the government of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in exchange for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

' entry into the war alongside the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

. To corroborate his thesis, Léon de Poncins cited ''Great Britain, The Jews and Palestine'', a 1936 book by pro-Zionist author, Samuel Landman.

On Vatican II

During the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, following the vote on 20 November 1964, at the third session of the provisional scheme dealing with the Church's attitude towards Judaism, Léon de Poncins wrote a pamphlet, ''Le Problème juif face au Concile'' (''The Jewish Question Facing the Council''), which was distributed to the

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

before the fourth and final session. The author noted "by the Council Fathers a profound misunderstanding of what constitutes the essence of Judaism." Léon de Poncins' advice had a significant effect on the drafting of ''

Nostra aetate (from Latin: "In our time") is the incipit of the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated o ...

'', adopted on 28 October 1965.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poncins, Leon de 1897 births 1975 deaths People from Loire (department) French male non-fiction writers French Roman Catholics Roman Catholic writers French traditionalist Catholics Traditionalist Catholic conspiracy theorists French conspiracy theorists French political writers Writers from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Far-right politics in France Anti-Masonry French anti-communists Antisemitism in France Late modern Christian antisemitism 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers