Christopher Hale

uh pope boniface they kidnapped and in fact killed him uh murdered him and so it was a stunning suggestion to be made to bring up in this meeting and um cardinal christophe pierre from our sourcing takes this information back to the holy see back to the vatican and there have been discussions about pope leo xiv coming to the united states this year

and that was put on ice.

And from what I can understand, it's been put on ice indefinitely.

There's some thoughts that he might come here in 2027.

I honestly do not think we'll see Pope Leo in the United States until after Donald Trump leaves the presidency.

Well, I must say that this report originated with the Free Press, and we were able to confirm it throughout the day.

But here's how the story goes.

In early January, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, as you mentioned, who was up until last month, Pope Leo's personal nuncio, which is Vatican's feat for ambassador to the United States, was strangely called not to the State Department, mind you.

He is a diplomat, but actually directly to the Pentagon, which is strange in itself.

And then while he was there at the Pentagon, there was a meeting with the Undersecretary of State.

And in this meeting, it suggested that Cardinal Christophe Pierre, that they were upset with Pope Leo XIV's early January address to the Vatican, to the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, where he said that war is back in vogue.

There is a zeal for war, and that the rule of law

regarding the territory of nations have been violated.

Mind you, this speech took place days after Trump's invasion of Venezuela.

So the administration was correct to read this as a critique of their policy, obviously global in nature, but yes, of what they had done in Venezuela and what they were threatening at that point to do in Greenland and what they've done now in Iran just months later.

So when he came in, it was tense.

And one of the diplomats suggested, brought up the Avignon Papacy, which you mentioned earlier.

For your readers, the Avignon Papacy was this 14th century phenomenon where the French regime was upset with the papacy.

So not only did they influence the papacy, they kidnapped the pope.

Pope Boniface, they kidnapped and in fact killed him, murdered him.