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Summarised by Centrist
Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel has taken a lecture tour to Rome, with an invitation-only series on the “Antichrist”.
The event became so controversial that the Catholic universities first linked to it “have all denied official involvement”.
AP describes it as “one of the hottest tickets in the Vatican’s backyard”, a four-lecture series on the Antichrist. The lectures were initially reported as being held at the Pontifical St. Thomas Aquinas University, known as the Angelicum. But as Italian media began reporting on the event, the university backed away: “We would like to clarify that this event is not organised by the University, will not take place at the Angelicum, and is not part of any of our institutional initiatives.”
Another Catholic institution, The Catholic University of America, told AP they are, “not sponsoring or hosting an event featuring Peter Thiel this month in Rome. The Cluny Project is an independent initiative incubated at the university.”
AP reports Thiel is “deeply interested in the apocalyptic concept of the Antichrist” and is “known to be somewhat obsessed with the Antichrist” and Armageddon.
The invitation itself says Thiel’s remarks would be “anchored on science and technology” and would comment on “the theology, history, literature and politics of the Antichrist”.
AP also stresses the political backdrop. Thiel is a PayPal and Palantir co-founder, an early donor to JD Vance, and a figure with ongoing ties to Donald Trump.
Palantir, AP notes, has been “assisting the Trump administration’s migrant deportation crackdown”. Thiel is also described as “close to Vance”, with some seeing him as a mentor to the vice president.
Read more over at The Associated Press
Image: JD Lasica
