Is there a ‘Deep State’ within the Vatican

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Oct 30, 2025

With the rise of Donald Trump and his supporters, Americans have become familiar with references to the “Deep State”—that class of political power-brokers who hold themselves responsible for the affairs of the nation. The doyens of this Deep State can tolerate shift in the political power balance. They are confident that if their party is voted out of office, they will be back soon enough. In any case they can work with the opposing party, since on fundamental issues their ideologies are not too far apart. But the denizens of the Deep State will vigorously resist any dramatic change in policies. They represent the strong inertial power of the status quo.

Is there a “Deep State” within the Vatican? In theory the offices of the Roman Curia exist only to carry out the wishes of the Roman Pontiff. But every bureaucracy has its own institutional interests, its tendencies toward self-preservation and self-aggrandizement. Why should the Roman Curia be any different?

Over the past two decades we have witnessed concerted efforts by two Pontiffs (and now a third has begun) to reform the chaotic financial affairs of the Vatican. Those efforts have encountered determined resistance in the Curia, and to date that resistance has warded off the serious changes that would ensure transparency and accountability. The same three Popes have repeatedly demanded a full commitment to the fight against clerical abuse, yet the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors still complains about a lack of cooperation. Cynical Romans remark that Popes come and go, but the Roman Curia remains. Isn’t that the equivalent of the Deep State?

Yesterday I wrote about the overweening power of the Vatican Secretariat of State. Stato wins every important intramural battle, with or without papal approval. The late Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who held sway as Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006, literally did not leave his office for months after he was replaced by Pope Benedict XVI, and even after he finally vacated his desk, he remained an influential player in Vatican affairs until his death in 2022.

Now Pope Leo faces the formidable challenge of coaxing the entrenched bureaucracy to reflect his priorities. The first step in that process, naturally, will be to choose his own leadership team.

When a Sovereign Pontiff dies (or resigns), the top leaders of the Roman Curia cease to hold their offices (since, again, they serve at the pleasure of the Pope). Ordinarily a newly elected Pontiff asks the prefects of dicasteries to resume their duties donec aliter provideatur—that is, unless or until he makes other arrangements. Pope Leo confirmed all of the prefects on that basis on May 9, the day after his election.

To date Pope Leo has not replaced a single dicastery head. His only major appointment has been that of Archbishop Filippo Iannone to fill the seat that the Pope himself had held, as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. (And Archbishop Iannone, significantly, was already serving a ranking member of the Curia, as prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.) Nor has the new Pope been energetic in bringing in his own men at lower tiers of Vatican officialdom. text Vatican-watcher Andrea Gaggliarducci observes: “Leo XIV continues—so far—to work with the structure that preceded him, with the same ghostwriters as Pope Francis.” (If you were wondering why some of Pope Leo’s public statements sound like they might have been made by Pope Francis, you now have your answer.)

If there is a “Deep State” at the Vatican, no prelate is more central to its operations than Cardinal Kevin Farrell. Writing in The Pillar today, Ed Condon calls attention to the fact that Cardinal Farrell is not just the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life. He was also chosen by Pope Francis to be camerlengo: the official who supervises the material goods of the Holy See during a papal interregnum. Pope Francis went on to name him as chairman of a new Commission for Reserved Matters—that is, the group that keeps the Vatican’s top secrets. Then Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Farrell to head a Committee for Investments. Condon concludes: “The cumulative effect of those appointments has, in practice, made Farrell one of the least noticed but quietly powerful men in the realm of curial finances.” As I observed last November, the appointment of Cardinal Farrell to all these sensitive posts is curious at best, since he has a proven track record of not noticing indiscretions, not blowing the whistle on wrongdoing. He is, in other words, the ideal guardian for the interests of the bureaucratic status quo.