I have some pressing matters this morning, so I hope Mary Ann doesn’t mind me cross posting in full:
The Coup that Failed: Liars Never Prosper…
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| Is this what the board didn’t want published? |
…at least in the long run.
The 8th Commandment isn’t a suggestion.
The truth about the attempted coup at LifeSiteNews is coming out and it’s ugly. You can read the whole sordid tale at Chris Jackson’s Hiraeth in Exile.
A short synopsis: Some of the board members and the co-CEO, Robert Hoover, didn’t like the direction that LifeSiteNews was taking under Westen. They didn’t want any criticism of Pope Leo’s actions. They wanted to change the brand of LSN. What exactly that brand would look like we don’t know.
So they took a survey. Only about 20% of the employees responded. The board claimed everybody gave John-Henry Westen a thumbs down. Stephen Kokx, the journalist fired at the same time as Westen, responded to the survey. He disputed that tale since he did not give negative comments about Westen. How many others are with him? I don’t know if Maike Hickson, whom I know personally, responded to the the survey, but following the coup she quit in solidarity with Westen.
The survey results haven’t been released. (Does this sound familiar? Were they channeling Pope Francis?)
Chris Jackson began his article with this:
LifeSiteNews was never supposed to be respectable.
It was loud, confrontational, unapologetically pro-life, and willing to say what other Catholic outlets wouldn’t: that the Church is in crisis, and that the problem isn’t just secularism, it’s the men in miters enabling it. For over two decades, John-Henry Westen was the face of that mission.
And last week, the board tried to get rid of him.
Thanks to a leaked recording and statements from former employees, we now have a clearer picture of what really happened behind the scenes. It wasn’t just a personnel dispute. It was an ideological knife fight, thinly veiled as an “administrative decision.”
The attempted coup failed, for now, and you have yourselves to thank! You let your voices be heard and it had an effect. As of July 18, 2025, Westen has been reinstated as CEO and President of LifeSiteNews, though “subject to administrative review and investigation.”
But the deeper problem remains. A once-militant Catholic news outlet is now infested with careerists, climate liturgy defenders, and opinion-policing board members who seem more scandalized by alleged sedevacantists than by sacrilege in Rome.
What bothered me most in the article was the involvement of Bishop Joseph Strickland. I hoped that he was another victim of the lies rather than an active participant in the coup attempt. But that’s hard to believe based on the leaked audio of the board meeting [Source] which is available here. [I have not listened to the entire audio, only the first It’s obvious that the anonymous sender thought the audio would sink Westen. The act seems to have backfired. Most of the employees (80%) did not reply to the survey so to make the survey the hammer was dishonest.
Jackson ends his article with this:
This wasn’t just a leadership shakeup. It was an attempted course correction: a quiet, donor-friendly decapitation of LifeSite’s traditionalist legacy.
The goal? Soften the tone. Broaden the appeal. Distance the site from “radicals” who question papal legitimacy or the morality of synodal documents. In short: become another respectable Catholic outlet that laments the crisis but never names its architects.
If Westen had gone quietly, the purge would be complete. But thanks to the work of Stephen Kokx, Liz Yore, Frank Walker, Steve Bannon, and the outcry from you, dear readers, it has been exposed and stopped…for now.
The question going forward isn’t just whether Westen keeps his job. It’s whether LifeSiteNews keeps its mission.
If you want even more drama, there are some very interesting comments from Jackson’s readers here. There are also some legitimate criticisms of Westen’s promotion of questionable visionaries here.
For now, John-Henry is back. Let’s pray for LSN and all the employees. I am frankly tired of the internecine warfare and this may be my last post on this soap opera. God knows the truth. I suspect much of it has more to do with egos and personality conflicts than substance.
For a brief announcement about Westen’s restoration go to Catholic Vote.
No problem. You’re welcome to repost any time.
One positive is that it exposed the real character of the fraudulent Bishop Strickland. I never trusted him with that beard. He most likely is a freemason actor playing the part of opposition to the sodomite antipopes Bergoglio and Prevost. His role is to undermine Archbishop Vigano, the likely true pope.
Speaking of actors with ridiculous beards, did anyone notice how the ubiquitous Kennedy Hall et al. did not utter a peep of support for John-Henry Westen? This is why when we get a public holy pope again, we need to go back to the pre-Vatican II prohibition of professional lay Catholics. These “men” need real jobs to support their wives and eight children, not constantly begging for donations.
I wrote Strickland off a long time ago. Same for Schneider and same for Burke. When the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart happens and the Church is re-built and restored to glory, it’ll happen with pious, humble prelates none of us have ever heard of. It won’t happen with political hacks like Schneider, Strickland and Burke. Won’t happen with celebrities like Dolan and I don’t think I need to even bring up the 80 plus percent of novus ordo priests and bishops who are active sodomites. Good riddance!
Amen!
Well said.
Thank you.
I found it worthwhile to read the alleged Board transcript. https://substack.com/home/post/p-168689107
Draw your own conclusions.
Mine:
1) John-Henry was railroaded. But
2) The railroaders are sincere. They feel that they have major issues to bring up, about his management choices. Thus
3) It isn’t over. More to come.
We agree. The comptroller brought up some serious issues. ASSUMING that he is correct (and not shading the meanings here) JHW has put the organization in some danger with his hiring practices, and that’s before we get to the alleged nepotism.
Thank you for the repost.
As I was following the saga closely, I decided to go ahead and listen to the leaked recording.
Doing so has changed my sympathies. This reversal of sympathy was totally unanticipated, making it harder to handle and most disturbing.
It is necessary for everybody to listen to ALL THREE parts because in the second portion are SERIOUS irresponsible dealings, legal and financial dealings engaged in by John-Henry Westen which I found very disturbing and enormously troubling — actions and details and behavior on his part as CEO which deserved scrutiny by the Board long before now.
Based upon what is presented in the second portion, I can now say the remova of John-Henry Westen — that beloved figure we gravitated to — he is not all we thought — and his removall is justified and sadly, overdue.
A human foundation and “light in the darkness” just crumbled.
Why emphasis was put upon an incomplete subjective survey is strange, I’ll grant you that, when there were multiple grievances and anamolies which were cut and dry FACTS — who needed a survey?
The whole thing is demoralizing. What is equally disturbing is that Chris Jackson’s reporting — which I avidly read and totally trusted (because I loved his spot on reporting of the Vatican, Pope Leo and the Roman Forum) yet, this on John-Henry has all the look of hiding pertinent facts because from the recording, it is obvious to me that Chris made out the whole affair as if the ONLY contentious and controversial aspect at LifeSite was the slant of its news — as if this were a case of personal persecution.
The latest from Chris is a piece entitled “The Return of The King” with a photo of a jubilant proud as peacock, John-Henry Westen — which now, having listened to what I did, well, I see it with new eyes — so much so — that I decided to unsubscribe from Chris Jackson because… I thought I was getting the full truth… and I wasn’t.
I agree, the whole thing is as sticky as old-fashioned fly catcher paper.
But my desire to know has been replaced by the desire not to know… and that desire is growing today — given what was exposed within the full recording — growing, yes, to include not only knowing the latest of the church’s current goings-on but to that of the secular farce and geopolitical machinations as well. Time to trim down my subscriptions I decided and for me to reprioritize my time because reading all this stuff and listening takes time — and hey, by now I know the direction of where it is all going!
How will I wished I would have spent this time when I am taking my last breath at death’s door?
This then is my reflection. Indeed, I thank you for the repost.
The recording only gives one side of the story. There’s an interesting video by a lawyer who points out that only the “prosecution” got to present its case in the audio. I recommend everyone watch his video. He points out that Patrick’s statements aren’t necessarily accurate. The “illegalities” may not have been illegal at all. He also addresses the accusations from the other board members. He compared the audio to a court case where only the prosecution was allowed to present their case and it sounds good. But there was no defense, no opportunity even for John-Henry Westen to do what a defense lawyer can do in cross examining the witnesses. Westen has had NO chance to offer a defense. Watch the video if you want a fair and balanced analysis of the audio which was leaked as a gotcha against Westen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo09ZuDOiYE
Mary Ann, you should post this video.
If he was removed for malfeasance, why were we given the other non reasons And why did the other bigwig say that JHW was removed unjustly?
This. If any of the “SERIOUS irresponsible dealings, legal and financial dealings” were really that serious, they would’ve just led with that.
Instead they led with “2 Trad 2 Serious.”
From the recording, among nepotism and questionable pay raises, we learn that John-Henry Westen was adroit at playing favorites. If you were among his favorites then it makes sense that you would say he was removed unjustly. The atmosphere was such that for those not among his favorites, he was characterized as being, and I quote, “vindictive” which seemingly led to high staff turnover and low morale for a sizeable number.
The recording revealed several things. About the accused and the accusers. Mixed bag.
Many people don’t understand the concept of “perks” in a job anymore, especially young woke entitled people. It is because they have been so indoctrinated in socialism, even traditional Catholics.
For example, a teacher has the perk of having June, July, and August off. A teacher has the perk of being able to photocopy things from home at work occasionally. It is a perk of the job.
Someone who works in a restaurant has the perk that he can get free meals. Career military get the perk of PX privileges for life.
AND someone who founded HIS OWN company and is the CEO has the perk of being able to hire a family member and “play favorites.” What is so hard to understand about this? This is not a government job. A person who OWNS a company can hire and fire whoever he wants to!
We all know the real reason for the attempted theft of the company he himself founded: He questioned the legitimacy of Bergoglio and Prevost.