Peter Thiel lectures in Rome draw criticism from Vatican advisers

09:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Peter Thiel lectures in Rome draw criticism from Vatican advisers

Technology billionaire Peter Thiel is in Rome this week to deliver a series of private lectures on the Antichrist, an event that has sparked criticism within Catholic institutions and prompted several universities to publicly distance themselves from the gathering.

The invitation only conference series runs from Sunday through Wednesday near St. Peter’s Square. Although the exact venue has not been disclosed, participants are reportedly bound by confidentiality agreements. The lectures have quickly become one of the most debated events within Vatican circles.

Controversy began even before Thiel arrived in Italy. Early reports in Italian media linked the event to the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican institution known as the Angelicum, where Pope Leo XIV completed his doctoral thesis in canon law. The university promptly rejected the association, stating that the event was not organized by the institution, would not take place on its campus and was unrelated to any official academic initiative.

The Catholic University of America in Washington issued a similar clarification. Invitations for the conference referenced the Cluny Institute as a co organizer, an entity originally incubated at the university. However, the institution emphasized that the institute now operates independently and that it is not sponsoring or hosting any event involving Thiel in Rome.

The lectures are instead organized jointly by the Cluny Institute and the Vincenzo Gioberti Cultural Association, an Italian group that promotes political and cultural renewal through classical and Christian intellectual traditions.

Criticism intensified after Father Paolo Benanti, an adviser to Pope Leo XIV on artificial intelligence, published an essay on the Le Grand Continent website sharply criticizing Thiel’s ideas. In the article, Benanti described Thiel’s intellectual project as a prolonged act of heresy against liberal consensus, arguing that it challenges the foundations of modern civic coexistence.

Italian Catholic media also raised concerns about the growing influence of technology leaders in political and ethical debates. Avvenire, a newspaper owned by the Italian bishops’ conference, published commentary warning against allowing Silicon Valley figures to set their own ethical boundaries without democratic oversight.

The controversy has extended into Italian politics. Lawmakers from the center left opposition filed a formal parliamentary question asking whether Thiel planned to meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during his visit. According to the prime minister’s official schedule, no meeting is planned. Likewise, the Vatican calendar lists no encounter between Thiel and Pope Leo XIV.

Thiel’s lectures draw heavily on the thought of René Girard, the French philosopher whose work shaped Thiel’s intellectual outlook during his time at Stanford University. The talks also reference thinkers such as Carl Schmitt, Francis Bacon and Cardinal John Henry Newman.

The Rome series follows a similar four part lecture program that Thiel delivered in San Francisco in September. Thiel has argued that the concept of the Antichrist can serve as a framework for understanding the risks of a global authoritarian system that might arise in response to existential threats such as nuclear war, artificial intelligence or climate change.

His appearance in Rome comes amid a broader pattern of visits by figures linked to the American conservative movement. In recent years, personalities including Steve Bannon, Elon Musk and United States Vice President JD Vance have also traveled to Italy, drawing attention within the Vatican and Italian political circles.