"So the question, of course, is, was Prevost—a very high-level bishop and cardinal out of Peru—was he associated with this? Is he investigating this?"
“There’s other information, by the way,” Posobiec said, “specifically where the Vatican just recently was seeking US assistance, and people really need to hear about this. Just a couple years back, where the Vatican bank scandal, and what was the Vatican Bank Scandal directly associated with? It was real estate, it was money throughout Italy, and in some cases, there was even money, by the way, in Peru. Peru, which is exactly where the new pope hails from, looking for a billion dollar for this financial scandal where they want this to come in.”
Posobiec continued, citing a report from the Catholic Herald. According to the report, Cardinal Pietro Parolin was linked to “financial crimes committed by a powerful Catholic entity called Soldadium Cristiane Vitae (SCV),” an organization based in Peru.
“So the question, of course, is, was Prevost—a very high-level bishop and cardinal out of Peru—was he associated with this? Is he investigating this?” Posobiec asked. “Clearly there’s a lot of questions going on here, but at the end of the barrel is this: the Vatican is not exactly as rich, or at least as cash-heavy, as a lot of people think. Isn’t that right, Roger?”
Stone replied, “I think what you mean to ask, Jack, is what did Pope Leo know and when did he know it?”
“I was gonna go there,” Posobiec laughed, “but you went there. Of course Roger Stone would go there.”
Stone later added: “I think the Church is rich, but also think that they’re very rich but may not be that liquid. I think there are a lot of real estate holdings, for example, but I think they have liquidity problems. If they’re looking for the United States to bail them out, they’re looking in the wrong place, because these days, we’re putting America first. I don’t know about you, Jack, but I’m not tired of winning yet. This has been an incredible 72 hours. We have a trade deal with the Chinese—or at least the framework of one. Scott Bessent, I think, one of the president’s very best appointees—perhaps the most brilliant secretary of the treasury since Alexander Hamilton.”
Regarding the outcome of the papal vote, Stone said, “The outcome of this conclave was somewhat surprising. When you understand that 80 percent of the cardinals who had the ability to vote were handpicked by Pope Francis, the outcome, meaning the conclave producing a moderate to progressive pope, is really not surprising.”
Stone said his preferred candidates were Cardinal Erdo and Cardinal Sarah. “Those were my emotional favourites,” he said, “but as you know, I wrote a couple of long pieces, I came on your show… I'm gonna have to admit that Robert Provost, now Pope Leo, was not on my list.”
Stone said he’s willing to give the newly elected pontiff “the benefit of the doubt,” praising some of his views on Church doctrine. “He’s clearly very solid on some of the Church’s traditional positions, for example, he doesn’t buy into any of this gender nonsense. He’s solid on the right to life, on the priesthood continuing to be maintained for men,” Stone said.
However, he raised concerns over Pope Leo XIV’s political views, particularly on border security and immigration. “But I don’t like the fact that he’s—not speaking from the throne of Peter but speaking in a pastoral sense—he’s opposed to President Trump and Vice President Vance on the very important issue of illegal immigrants. He seems to favour an open borders policy, which is hard to reconcile with the fact that, of course, the Vatican, where he’s going to live and work, has very high walls and very tight security. It’s hard to reconcile those two.”
Later in the episode, the conversation turned to the AI photo posted by President Trump of him in papal regalia. Stone dismissed the backlash, saying, “Some Catholics flipped out when President Trump put out a picture of himself in papal vestments—some people can't take a joke.” Trump posted the photo after being asked who his pick for pope would be, before he quickly joked, "I'd like to be pope."
He added, “Well, I'm offended by the fact that Pope Francis accommodated the Chinese communists, basically agreed to let them veto who could be a bishop in China, because accommodation with evil, Jack, is evil. I’m offended by the fact that Pope Francis brought Cardinal McCarrick, who was a vicious pedophile, out of retirement and gave him a position as a key advisor inside the Vatican. That offended me. People need to lighten up.”
Stone, who authored a book on President Nixon and the Watergate scandal, also noted that he was amused to learn that the new pope’s brother is reportedly “not only MAGA, not only a supporter of President Trump and a harsh critic of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, but he also seems to be fully awake on the question of Richard Nixon and Watergate.”
Watch the full episode below:
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