President Clinton Refused to Take Pope John Paul II Phone Call

Broadcasting live from the Holy See, President Clinton’s former Ambassador to the Vatican, Ray Flynn, told Breitbart News Saturday host Stephen K. Bannon that Clinton refused to take a call from the man greatly responsible for the dismantling of the “Evil Empire,” Pope John Paul II.

The Breitbart News special was dedicated to the canonization of Pope John Paul II and focused on his life as a crusader for Christianity, as he traveled the world visiting 130 countries during his papacy, spreading the message of Jesus Christ that good can conquer evil.

Flynn, who was also the Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1984 to 1993, first met Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) in 1968 during Wojtyla’s first visit to the U.S. “I was introduced to him by Cardinal Richard Cushing who I had sold newspapers to as a kid,” said Flynn. Flynn admitted that at the time it was hard to tell that before him was a man that would change the world and be loved by hundreds of millions. Yet, “He immediately connected with me,” said Flynn.

Eleven years later, in 1979, Flynn met Wojtyla again when he was now Pope John Paul II and came to Boston as the first city he visited in his new role as Pontiff. Their reunion established a long-lasting bond between the two men and, as a result some 13 years later, President Bill Clinton called upon Flynn to be his Ambassador to the Vatican.

“Clinton did not have a very good relationship with the Vatican, and that came up pretty obviously during the 1992 campaign. But I did,” said the erstwhile mayor. Many thought Flynn would be called on to be Secretary of Labor, but Clinton thought that his highest value would be as the Ambassador to the Vatican. Bannon asked him how great an honor it was for him to be named Ambassador, and Flynn replied, ” I was honored that a poor Irish Catholic kid coming out of the tough working class streets of South Boston… I didn’t have the pedigree, poor family, I was a dockworker myself, so I knew I would have some problems.”

Flynn agreed to take the position, but he told Clinton that if he didn’t agree with him on issues he was going to make it known. Bannon asked him what Clinton said, and Flynn said he didn’t remember, “but he didn’t say no.”

The former Ambassador related one story that demonstrated how Clinton was not aligned with the Pope. Clinton would not take a call from John Paul II, who wanted Clinton’s support to denounce leftist agendas being espoused in an upcoming conference in Cairo, including the advocating for abortion worldwide. Flynn broke all Ambassadorial protocols and flew from Rome to the White House without approval or an appointment and waited for sixteen hours until the President came out to see him and agreed to take the Pope’s call. Flynn said Clinton then called the Pope.