May 23, 2026 (Steven O’Reilly) – Over the last couple of years, John-Henry Westen and Liz Yore, and others, have pushed the claim that a “globalist” cabal shutoff the Vatican ATMs in January 2013 in order to pressure Pope Benedict XVI to resign. Roma Locuta Est has previously published articles debunking this claim (see Pope Benedict XVI Resigned Freely).
Recently on a LifeSiteNews video, Mr. Westen and Ms. Yore again claimed that globalists used the ATM shutdown to “force out Benedict XVI” (see Liz Yore: Globalists used NSA spying, SWIFT, ‘Catholic Spring’ to force out Benedict XVI). However, there is no evidence for this claim. Rather, to the contrary, we know why the ATMs were shut down, and why they were turned back on–and it has nothing to do with any “plot” or “conspiracy.”
I explain why the claims of Mr. Westen and Ms. Yore are false in an article recently appearing in OnePeterFive:
Benedict’s Resignation: the Question of the Frozen ATMs
In addition, I was recently invited onto Joe McClane’s show, a Catholic Take, where he interviewed me regarding my OnePeterFive article. This interview may be found here:
“Debunked”: The Vatican ATM Conspiracy That Never Happened).
My hope is, as more folks see and understand the evidence and arguments against this bogus story, that the Benepapist purveyors of it will cease to spread it as they are confronted with the actual facts. So, if you ever see them talking about this ATM claim again, please forward them my article and interview, and ask them to address the facts. Time to end this nonsense.
Steven O’Reilly is a graduate of the University of Dallas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. A former intelligence officer, he and his wife, Margaret, live near Atlanta. He has written apologetic articles, and is author of Book I of the Pia Fidelis trilogy, The Two Kingdoms; and of Valid? The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. He writes for Roma Locuta Est He can be contacted at StevenOReilly@AOL.com. Follow on Twitter: @S_OReilly_USA.