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Matthew Sanders

Role(s): Founder/CEO of Magisteria (Longbeard), Vatican Conference Organizer, Self-Proclaimed "Catholic AI" Leader Last interaction: October 23, 2025 - Discussed indirectly through Mark Baciak's investigation

Background​

  • Former seminarian who left the priesthood track
  • Military service background (did not advance far in career)
  • Founder of Magisteria/Longbeard, claiming to be building AI for Catholics
  • Has organized Vatican conferences for approximately 7-8 years
  • Currently raising $100 million Series A (as of October 2025)

Company: Magisteria/Longbeard​

Fraudulent Claims​

User Base Misrepresentation: Claims 100 million users when actual database shows only 13,800 unique users:

Mark Baciak: "The unique user account was less than 13,000... unless they had a several hundred thousand percent growth in the last 90 days, that's not reality"

Financial Issues​

Invoice Non-Payment: Refused to pay agreed $10,000 invoice to Mark Baciak's team after work completed Conflicting Information: Lawyer (Laura) provides different facts than Matthew regarding business arrangements

Vatican Digitization Concerns​

Ownership Structure: Structuring Vatican archive digitization so Magisteria owns digital copies rather than Vatican Free Scanners Deal: Getting scanners for free in exchange for ownership of digitized content

Vatican & Church Relations​

Cardinal Turkson's Assessment (7-8 years observation)​

Brutal Evaluation:

"He's a great guy who talks, but doesn't know how to do... he's good for organizing conferences that don't do anything"

Church Exploitation:

"He prostitutes out the church for his company... all it does is cost the church money and nothing gets given back to the church"

Excluded from Pope Leo's AI Initiative:

"Matthew cannot be a part of this zero" - Cardinal Turkson's directive regarding sovereign AI project

Conference Organization​

  • Only hosted by Father David Nazir at Gregorian University (no other cardinals would host)
  • Uses Vatican venues repeatedly but provides no value back to Church
  • November 2025 conference being used to impress investors for Series A

Church Perception Issues​

Self-Aggrandizement: Acts as if he speaks for the Catholic Church Limited Venue Support: Conference moved from Academy of Sciences to Gregorian due to lack of support

Business Practices & Red Flags​

Material Misrepresentation​

Fundraising Fraud Risk:

Mark Baciak: "When you're doing a raise, if you give out factually or material deficient information is considered fraud and a felony... you cannot lie to your investors"

Intellectual Property Concerns​

Using Others' Ideas: Basing $100M raise on concepts Mark Baciak provided without compensation or acknowledgment No Original Expertise: Limited understanding of AI concepts he presents to investors

Communication Patterns​

Narrative Control: Always ensures he's present in meetings with his lawyer or partners Avoidance Behavior: Ducks important business meetings despite claiming partnership importance Mixed Messages: Tells different stories to different parties about same business arrangements

Gary Sheng's Assessment​

Limited Direct Experience​

  • Met at Vatican conferences over the years
  • Occasional friendly catch-up calls
  • Never worked on business deals directly
  • Generally positive initial impression but limited depth

Conference Observations​

Humanity 2.0 Initiative:

Gary: "What did it really accomplish? It gathered a bunch of name brands... There's little output, a lot of just sucking of brand value"

Board Quality Concerns:

Gary: "I was so thoroughly unimpressed by some of the people that he brought into his board or advisory council for Humanity 2.0. Almost none of them do anything"

Current Status (October 2025)​

Active Fundraising​

  • Conducting $100M Series A raise
  • Conflicting start dates given to different parties
  • Using Vatican connections to impress investors

Conference Planning​

  • November 2025 Vatican conference approaching
  • Multiple key participants reconsidering attendance
  • Mark Baciak minimizing participation to 2 hours
  • Lawyer: Laura (last name unknown)
  • Providing different information than Matthew to partners

Personality & Behavior Patterns​

Fame-Seeking Behavior​

Media Obsession: Constantly name-dropping media appearances Legacy Concerns: No children, appears to seek fame as legacy Social Media Focus: Aggressive pursuit of publicity and recognition

Trust Issues​

Fact Discrepancies: Multiple instances of conflicting statements Financial Inconsistency: Behavior changes dramatically when money involved Power Claims: Acts as unofficial spokesperson for Catholic Church

Notes​

Critical Warning: Multiple indicators of fraudulent behavior including 10,000x user count exaggeration, material misrepresentation during fundraising, and systematic deception of partners. Cardinal Turkson's 7-8 year assessment confirms pattern of exploitation without value creation. Mark Baciak's decision to completely cut Matthew out as middleman and work directly with Vatican represents appropriate risk mitigation.

Matthew Sanders represents a cautionary tale of religious technology opportunism - using Vatican connections for personal gain while providing minimal value to the Church. His exclusion from Pope Leo's sovereign AI initiative and Cardinal Turkson's damning assessment suggest his influence within Vatican is rapidly diminishing despite his public claims.

Transcripts​

Transcript IDDateSummary
2025-10-23-mark-baciak-matthew-sanders-vatican-strategy2025-10-23Confidential call where Mark Baciak reveals serious fraud and integrity issues including user count misrepresentation and Cardinal Turkson's damning assessment