... American military might...

Trump urges US allies to send warships to Strait of Hormuz as Iran vows to retaliate https://apnews.com/article/iran-iraq-us-trump-march-15-2026-...

I feel, his phrasing may come over as Catholic, but that is neglecting his history. His defining years as a child he lived in Swapokmund, today's Namibia, where a swastika flag was raised in celebration of Hitler's birthday.

Swakopmund was known for its continued glorification of Nazism after World War II, including the celebration of Hitler's birthday and "Heil Hitler" Nazi salutes given by residents.[13][14] In 1976, The New York Times quoted a German working in a Swakopmund hotel who described the city as "more German than Germany".[14] As of the 1980s, Nazi paraphernalia was available to buy in shops.[13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swakopmund

His parents moved to the US when it became clear that with the opening the uranium mine the influx of black people was unavoidable.

His current ramblings are only the latest change in his views. There's a very good history of Peter Thiel video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAeTKyY3LB4

To answer your question: I think his lectures being held in the backyard of the Vatican is a deliberate provocation. He is a philosophy student, after all and forcing the Angelicum and others to publicly deny involvement may be his goal.

because the EU has been a mooch since the end of the Cold War, at least.*

Source?

The stream will be up until 1800h GMT on March 13th, 2026. It's free theatre. I watched it earlier and thought it was a brilliant staging.