With no little venom, certain anti-Catholic podcasters are claiming that Jeffrey Epstein infiltrated the Vatican, had a business relationship with a Pope, and had even stayed on the Vatican premises.
While there is no merit to the vitriol, it seems to have been sparked by bragging Epstein did in e-mails and by the fact that Epstein kept a photo of himself and cohort Ghislaine Maxwell “meeting” John Paul II.
These photos were displayed both at his massive townhouse on East 71st Street in Manhattan and on his equally nefarious Caribbean island.
What the photos, reportedly taken in 2003, show is the couple on a receiving line in St. Peter’s Square or elsewhere at the Vatican, as opposed to a personal meeting. Tickets for a Papal Audience or to meet the Pope are collected at the Bronze Door (Portone di Bronzo), located under the right-hand colonnade in St. Peter’s Square. Thousands do so every year.
Of note is how awestruck both Epstein and Maxwell seem, considering the conman’s distaste for Catholicism’s teachings on human equality and the unfortunate, non-religious, and decidedly sordid lives they led (prayer need indeed).
Also of note: how newly released files showing that in 2019, Epstein and former White House advisor Steve Bannon (a self-proclaimed traditional Catholic) discussed strategies to “take down” Pope Francis and infiltrate the Vatican Bank.
When it came to spirituality, Epstein has been linked to the arcane mystical Jewish practice of Kabbalah and had yoga mats in his homes. E-mails obtained from the Epstein files indicate the purchase of books that covered topics including the occult, Kabbalah, tantra, and Thelema, but Epstein read widely and his involvement with spirituality—at least as far as is currently known—seemed tacit.
As we have previously pointed out, there have been unverified claims connecting his circle of “elites” and interests in “satanic” or “black magic” rituals.
Maxwell did have an obsession with the “lost” continent of Atlantis and the New Age themes of the legend seemed engendered on the island, with its arcane gold dome, owl statue, representation of Poseidon or Neptune, and other features. Maxwell’s father owned a publishing house called Pergamon.
Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey) is identified in Revelation 2:12-13 as the site of “Satan’s throne” and “where Satan dwells.” It was one of the seven churches addressed by Jesus, praised for holding fast to faith despite extreme pressure but criticized for tolerating heretical doctrines.
Curious too was that Epstein had a bank account named “Baal,” as if after the pagan god of child sacrifice.