The Vatican officials have been steeped in

The Vatican officials have been steeped in centuries of secrecy and absolute financial power over the entire Western world. Most people have no idea of the enormous wealth and the civil edicts that are still in place, which give the Church ownership of all the lands that have ever been held by the Crown of England, along with all the lands that were allied under the Axis powers, and all the countries of South America that have adopted the beliefs of the Catholic Church. This includes nearly all of Europe and the Western Hemisphere. So, as you may have suspected, the Catholic Church has been the most powerful consolidated political force on the Planet.