Quote:
Originally Posted by Skybird
(Post 2955051)
[ NZZ] "MAGA won't rest until we take control of the Catholic Church"
Following the death of Pope Francis, the MAGA movement is hoping for a change of course in Rome. British journalist and Trump ally Benjamin Harnwell is working on a "gladiator school" for Christian nationalists.
Two days after the livestream in St. Peter's Square, Benjamin Harnwell, sporting a wide mohawk and a medallion of the Virgin Mary around his neck, sits in a Rome café, dreaming of total power: "MAGA won't rest until we take control of the Catholic Church," he says.
MAGA is Donald Trump's right-wing nationalist "Make America Great Again" movement, and Harnwell, a Briton, is its champion in Italy. He sips his pilsner and is visibly pleased with the impact of his words. "Hard line, right?" he asks, grinning. He doesn't say exactly how he intends to take control of the Catholic Church. But Harnwell knows: attention is everything. And the more he provokes, the more attention he gets.
Not all Catholics see the death of Pope Francis as a cause for mourning. Some hope that the end of his pontificate will usher in a new era in the Catholic Church – a return to the conservative, traditional roots of the Christian faith and away from Francis's supposedly progressive path.
One of those Catholics is Harnwell. Less than twelve hours after the death of Pope Francis last Easter Monday, the 49-year-old set up his camera in St. Peter's Square and began the live broadcast to the US: "It will take a hundred years, Steve, to repair the damage [Francis] has caused," he commented.
Harnwell's interview partner, "Steve," is Bannon, the former chief strategist of US President Donald Trump. The right-wing nationalist played a key role in Trump's victory in the 2016 election campaign. Although Bannon no longer plays an active role in the US government, his online show "War Room" has established itself as an important voice in the MAGA camp.
In this show, Harnwell, as an "international correspondent," attacks Pope Francis. Bannon gives him prominent space because his theories fit perfectly with his style. The Christian faith—or what MAGA circles consider it—has become increasingly important both for Bannon, the most prominent representative of the Catholic MAGA movement, and for the Trump administration. It is a culture-war version of the Catholic faith that opposes immigration, so-called gender ideology, abortion, and even divorce.
Since Trump survived an assassination attempt during the election campaign, he has presented himself as a politician with a divine mission, promising to "bring back religion," and has established a task force to identify and end "anti-Christian" tendencies. Trump is not a Catholic, though his vice president, J.D. Vance, is: he converted to Catholicism in 2019. This also proved useful in the presidential election for votes from the working-class community, which traditionally has a large Catholic population in the United States. However, when Vance attempted to justify the US government's mass deportations with Catholic doctrine in February, things backfired badly: The Pope contradicted him in a letter that was unusually direct for Vatican diplomacy.
The criticism was not surprising: Even during Trump's first term in office, there had been tensions between Vance, a climate change denier and MAGA capitalist, and the America-critical Pope. Francis preached against "predatory capitalism," which exploits people and destroys the environment. Now, after Francis's unexpectedly swift death, the MAGA camp is hoping for a new Pope who will stand on its side in the culture war.
One of their preferred candidates is Cardinal Raymond Burke. The American, who belongs to the conservative camp, has repeatedly publicly criticized Pope Francis. In November 2023, the Pope had had enough: He withdrew Burke's salary and his apartment in Rome.
Now is the time for revenge. That's how Harnwell sees it, who would like to pass on his worldview to the right-wing nationalists of tomorrow as a lecturer at the "Academy for the Defense of Western Judeo-Christian Culture."
In 2018, he and Bannon planned to establish this academy together in the Trisulti Charterhouse, an abandoned monastery two hours' drive southeast of Rome. Bannon once aptly called the academy the "Gladiator School." But after two years, they lost the lease because Harnwell was accused of various criminal and administrative offenses. In 2024, a court acquitted him of all charges. Now he's trying to get the monastery back.
"The academy is aimed at everyone who wants to fight more effectively for the defense of Western civilization," he explains. Politicians, journalists, and activists. That's why it's supposed to be built near Rome, one of the most important birthplaces of this civilization. Harnwell calls the ideology that will be taught there "Christian nationalism." "It unabashedly affirms the Christian faith in public life and puts the nation first." And it stands in contrast to the "dictates of the globalist supranational consensus." The most important representatives of Christian nationalism today are "obviously" Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to Harnwell.
Harnwell no longer counts Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni among them, even though Bannon publicly supported her in 2018 with a visit to Atreyu, her party's political festival. But because Meloni positioned herself against Russia as prime minister in the Ukraine war, Harnwell says she's out of favor in the MAGA camp: "She has betrayed her principles and her base," says Harnwell. While observers viewed Meloni's meeting with Trump as evidence of the good relations between the two leaders, Harnwell believes Trump was merely "friendly."
It remains to be seen whether the Meloni administration will be kind enough to return the monastery to Harnwell and Bannon so they can realize their plans there. And whether their wish for a more MAGA-friendly pope will be fulfilled.
Vatican observers assume that the outcome of the upcoming conclave is particularly uncertain because the cardinals eligible to vote largely do not yet know each other: 108 of the 133 cardinals who will elect the new head of the Catholic Church have been appointed by Francis since 2014. Many of them come from the peripheries of the universal Church, whose integration he placed great value on during his pontificate. In the days leading up to the conclave, from May 5 to 10, they will exchange ideas about their visions of the Catholic Church of the future.
In addition to Raymond Burke, Harnwell also names the conservative Cardinals Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Robert Sarah, and Peter Erdö as preferred candidates. However, he would also agree with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who, as Vatican Secretary of State under Francis, was the number two in the Vatican and is considered a great diplomat and mediator. Parolin is currently considered the best chance of becoming the next pope. But there's a saying in Italy: Whoever enters the conclave as the favorite leaves it as a cardinal.
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Who is NZZ ? Never heard of them. And could you remind me, what is the Dominant religion in Germany today ? 2025. I think your country has a bit of a Muslim problem than a American MAGA problem. Do you think American Catholicism,Christianity and our Jewish oh and the 7th day Adventist and i don't know how many other religions that we have our country. But for some reason, You think MAGA...For a man with your education and intelligence. You show your true colors and the hate you have for the USA. It's ok ,The Pope lives behind 40 foot tall walls with armed guards. The Vatican itself will fall not to Maga , But to AI. |
