Ultra-conservatives are waging a stealth campaign to install a hardline pope—and they’re not above smear tactics or American money to make it happen.
As the College of Cardinals prepares to enter the Sistine Chapel on May 7, an ideological battle unlike any in modern Church history is already raging beyond its frescoed walls.
At the heart of it is a movement—well-financed, media-savvy, and unapologetically political—aiming to wrest control of the Catholic Church from its current progressive direction and
“make the Vatican great again”
These ultra-conservative Catholic factions, many with deep roots in the U.S. culture wars, have long branded the late Pope Francis as a heretic, an anti-pope—even the Anti-Christ. His advocacy for refugees, his openness to LGBTQ+ individuals and the divorced, and his Vatican diplomacy with China infuriated those who see the Church’s mission as strictly theological and staunchly traditional.
Now, with a new conclave imminent, they see a divine opportunity—and they’re pulling out all the stops.
The Hard Right’s Holy Grail
From Kazakhstan’s Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who claims Europe’s refugee influx is an orchestrated Muslim invasion, to Cardinal Raymond Burke, a Latin Mass stalwart and open Trump supporter, the ultra-right is rallying behind figures they believe will bring the Church back to a pre-Vatican II orthodoxy.
And they’re not just praying. They’re organizing. Lobbying. Digging dirt.
One group, for instance, launched the Red Hat Report, a dossier campaign using ex-FBI operatives to compile files on every cardinal—ranking them on everything from their loyalty to traditional doctrine to their response to the sex abuse crisis. Their main target: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Francis’ second-in-command and the current frontrunner.
In one internal memo, a researcher was urged to make sure Parolin was
“globally known as a disgrace to the Church”
Money, Power, and Wine Country Conferences
Behind this movement is a constellation of wealthy U.S.-based Catholic organizations blending hardline theology with libertarian economics.
At the forefront: the Napa Institute, known for its elite, $10K-a-head conferences at California wine resorts where conservative theology is served with vintage cabernet and anti-globalist sentiment. There’s also Sophia Institute Press, OnePeterFive, and the Catholic media juggernaut EWTN, whose broadcasts routinely attacked Pope Francis as doctrinally dangerous.
Their combined media firepower and fundraising clout—millions in annual donations—are helping shift the ideological terrain of the Vatican, even as 80% of voting cardinals were appointed by Francis himself.
But with the Vatican reportedly facing a €83 million budget shortfall, whispers are growing that the conclave may not be immune to influence from wealthy donors seeking a pope aligned with right-wing politics.
Digital Crusade
This conclave is not just being fought in Vatican corridors—it’s happening online.
The campaign, according to Church insiders, has gone “fully digital,” powered by viral blog posts, memes, TikTok videos, and email newsletters.
Some front-runners have already been targeted. A karaoke video of Cardinal Tagle, singing John Lennon’s Imagine, was used to paint him as a soft heretic. Others fear deeper smear campaigns are coming.
“It’s psychological warfare,” said one Vatican insider. “They know they don’t have the votes. So the goal is intimidation.”
What’s At Stake
This isn’t just about theology. It’s about the soul of the Church—and its political footprint on the global stage.
The conservative faction wants a pope who echoes their rhetoric on borders, abortion, and ‘family values,’ and who pushes back against what they see as the Vatican’s dangerous flirtation with liberalism.
“The new pope must take back the reins,” said John Yep, CEO of Catholics for Catholics, a nonprofit that recently held a $1,000-a-ticket prayer event for Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Yep claims that 56% of U.S. Catholics voted for Trump, and many of them expect the Church to reflect that same vision: tough on immigration, pro-nationalism, and unflinching in the face of secularism.
Still, even insiders acknowledge the hard right doesn’t have the numbers to elect one of their own. Their best hope? Block reformist candidates and force a compromise pope—one who halts Francis’ liberal legacy without pushing the Church into chaos.
But the conclave is an unpredictable beast. Once the cardinals are locked in the Sistine Chapel, they’re cut off from the world. No phones. No influencers. No wine-country strategy memos.
“It’s like a pressure cooker in there,” one Vatican ambassador said.
“And pressure can forge something completely unexpected”
