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‘Spies inside the Holy See’: Report reveals US espionage campaign targeting Pope Leo XIV (thecradle.co)

submitted 4 days ago by Salamence@mander.xyz to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

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cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8330316

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/44788

Independent US journalist Ken Klippenstein says Washington stepped up intelligence activities against the Vatican following Trump’s spat with the Pope

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been “spying” on Pope Leo XIV as part of a years-long intelligence campaign by Washington against the Vatican, US investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein said in a report released on 24 April.

Klippenstein – an independent, Washington-based investigative journalist who formerly wrote for The Intercept – cited sources as saying that Trump’s recent comments on the new Pope were taken by the intelligence community as “a directive to prioritize spying on the Vatican.” Trump had said earlier this month that Pope Leo was “terrible on foreign policy” and “weak on crime.”

According to Klippenstein’s sources, Washington has “for years” been spying on the Vatican.

“The CIA has human spies working inside the Holy See bureaucracy. The NSA and CIA seek to intercept telecommunications, emails, and texts. The FBI investigates crimes committed against and by the Vatican. The State Department closely follows the ins and outs of Papal diplomacy and politics. All of these agencies liaise with the Vatican’s own foreign policy, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies,” the report stated.

Klippenstein pointed to a “longstanding – and quietly extensive – relationship between the US national security apparatus and the Vatican” involving diplomatic, law enforcement, and cybersecurity cooperation.

Much of it is “genuine” but also serves as a “convenient cover for collecting intelligence.”

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[-] GiorgioPerlasca@lemmy.ml 40 points 4 days ago

Great job by Ken Klippenstein as usual. After Snowden leaks and Wikileaks in general, USA spying the Pope is not surprising.

[-] ChristchurchAsshole@lemmy.ml 8 points 4 days ago

The issue is that the Vatican does diplomacy and makes political statements. Despite being a religious organisation, they also act like a government of sorts. If you read the book Gideon's Spies by Gordon Thomas you'll learn that Mossad is also spying on the Vatican. I think every government with a budget is doing this.

[-] MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com 24 points 4 days ago

The Vatican is not a religious organization. It's a sovereign city-state. It has territory it governs with a government and government positions. Most religions have things to say about diplomacy and politics even if they don't have a head of state though. The issue is that Trump doesn't like what the pope has to say.

[-] Bane_Killgrind@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 days ago

Doubt that it's that new, probably Regan was the first president to send the CIA into the Vatican, and I'm about to write some assassin's Creed fanfics on that basis

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

I mean, it is not merely a religious org I wanna quibble over words for a sec. Calling it that sells it short. It has the financial size and soft power of many countries. It provides a lot of services via charity (I'm specifically thinking medical services and homelessness services, and yeah I'm aware they generally only provide some and not all medical services. don't get me started, that's some bullshit but it's better than nothing)

[-] MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com 4 points 4 days ago

I think we're making the same point. The comment I responded to called it a religious organization and I was making the point that it's much more than that. Though I tried to add the caveat that even religions that don't have full blown governments likely have stances on politics and diplomacy.

[-] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 18 points 4 days ago

Man, I don't even like Roman Catholicism and offshoots like that but goddamn I hate America even more. Sodom and Gomorrah falls short in comparison, honestly.