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Sure, subverting the government of a superpower sounds fun, and Steve Bannon has definitely been enjoying it. He lets the man-child in the next room rant, and occasionally slides something in front of him for an unpresidented scrawl. That Donald, he’ll sign anything. But the whole shadow-presidenting gig can get a little boring, what with Congress providing all the push-back of damp tissue. Really, what’s a fun-loving fascist going to do for an encore?
Just as Mr. Bannon has connected with far-right parties threatening to topple governments throughout Western Europe, he has also made common cause with elements in the Roman Catholic Church who oppose the direction Francis is taking them. Many share Mr. Bannon’s suspicion of Pope Francis as a dangerously misguided, and probably socialist, pontiff.
Others think Francis’ “socialist” concerns about the poor are far from misguided and actually kind of Christian. But now that he’s got an Oval Office for his ante room, Bannon is ready to take on bigger games. He’s ready to lean on His Holiness.
In a newly turbulent world, Francis is suddenly a lonelier figure. Where once Francis had a powerful ally in the White House in Barack Obama, now there is Mr. Trump and Mr. Bannon, this new president’s ideological guru.
And there are conservative Catholic groups ready to hitch their dreams of rolling back the last three centuries onto Bannon’s Pepe-painted wagon.
[Benjamin Harnwell] made it clear he was speaking for himself, not for the Institute for Human Dignity, a conservative Catholic group that he founded, and insisted that he shared the pope’s goals of ensuring peace and ending poverty, just not his ideas on how to achieve it.
Harnell has been a staunch defender of unfettered capitalism, which he somehow fits just fine with the church’s teachings, and an outspoken critic of social safety nets which were apparently fine for the first century, but got evil on them since then. He’s also a big, big fan of Islamophobia. In recent appearances, Harnell has made it clear that he’s on Team Bannon.
That talk has garnered much attention, and approval by conservatives, for its explicit expression of Mr. Bannon’s vision. Less widely known are his efforts to cultivate strategic alliances with those in Rome who share his interpretation of a right-wing “church militant” theology.
Perfect. A right-wing church militant would be just what’s needed to roll back those unfortunate cultural changes. Like the Renaissance.
Also among Bannon’s Roman legion are those who claim Francis is an illegitimate pope.
“He really seemed to get the battles the church needs to fight,” said Mr. Pentin, the author of “The Rigging of a Vatican Synod?” a book asserting that Pope Francis and his supporters railroaded opponents. Chief among those battles, Mr. Pentin said, was Mr. Bannon’s focus on countering a “cultural Marxism” that had seeped into the church.
If you can claim fake polls and call everything fake news, why not shout fake Pope? The idea of a revolt of conservatives in the Vatican seems impossible, but then so did the idea of Trump winning the election. It doesn’t have to be commandos overcoming the Swiss Guard in the night. It can be a surprise vote in a decade—or maybe sooner. After all, despite his energy and presence, Pope Francis is 80 and has one functioning lung. He won’t be there forever. Just as hard-right ultra nationalists are rising in power in multiple countries, they’re energizing hard-right ultraconservatives who think the Holy See is ready for a sea change.
Conservatives and traditionalists in the Vatican secretly pass around phony mock-ups of the Vatican’s official paper, L’Osservatore Romano, making fun of the pope. Or they spread a YouTube video critiquing the pope and his exhortation on love in the family, “Amoris Laetitia,” which many traditionalists consider Francis’ opening salvo against the doctrine of the church. Set to the music of “That’s Amore,” an aggrieved crooner sings, “When will we all be freed from this cruel tyranny, that’s Amoris” and “It’s the climate of fear engineered for four years, that’s Amoris.”
For his part, Pope Francis seems undaunted. He’s not backing away from his statements, his reforms, or bringing new leadership to the fore. Steve Bannon may outweigh the pontiff by 100 pounds, but I know who I’d pick if push comes to shove.