(my opinion)

notable potential Vatican - Freemason collusion detected...

Since the Catholic church is the woman of Rev. 17:5, they needed their "arch-nemesis" (/sarc) to be the ones who set up this diversionary "woman on water". (not to say the idol itself is fake, only that identifying it as the woman of Rev. 17:5 is a misdirection). The Catholic church couldn't put it there, for obvious reasons, but Freemasons? Oh yea. Par for their course! They now have a vicarious (kek!) "woman on many waters" who (America) has power over kings of the earth! Perfect, now people will not think the Catholic church fills this role. The only problem is this was not enough and many people have written extensively about the subject. Here's something I just found off one brave search:

Many books have been written and sermons preached insisting that "Mystery Babylon" is the United States. That is clearly not the case, for the United States is a country, not a city. One might justifiably refer to the United States as Sodom, considering the honor now given to homosexuals, but it is definitely not the Babylon that John sees in this vision. The woman is a city.

Furthermore, she is a city built on seven hills. That specification eliminates ancient Babylon. Only one city has for more than 2000 years been known as the city on seven hills. That city is Rome. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of Vatican State proper is now confined."

Even Catholic apologist Karl Keating admits that Rome has long been known as Babylon. Keating claims that Peter's statement "The church here in Babylon ... sends you her greeting" (from I Peter 5:13) proves that Peter was writing from Rome. He explains further: "Babylon is a code word for Rome. It is used that way six times in the last book of the Bible [four of the six are in chapters 17 and 18 and in extrabiblical works such as Sibylling Oracles (5, 159f.), the Apocalypse of Baruch (ii, 1), and 4 Esdras (3:1). Eusebius Pamphilius, writing about 303, noted that "it is said that Peter's first epistle... was composed at Rome itself; and that he himself indicates this, referring to the city figuratively as Babylon."2

As for "Mystery," that name imprinted on the woman's forehead is the perfect designation for Vatican City. Mystery is at the very heart of Roman Catholicism, from the words "Mysterium fide" pronounced at the alleged transformation of the bread and wine into the literal body and blood of Christ to the enigmatic apparitions of Mary around the world. Every sacrament, from baptism to extreme unction, manifests the mysterious power which the faithful must believe the priests wield, but for which there is no visible evidence. Rome's new Catechism explains that liturgy "aims to initiate souls into the mystery of Christ (It is 'mystagogy.')" and that all of the Church's liturgy is "mystery."3

The beast = the entire global political-military-financial network.

The woman who rides the beast = the Catholic church / Vatican City / Rome

The many waters = all the different peoples of the world

The anti-christ = the papacy (not a single man, but a single class of men, who set themselves up as Christ over all the earth)

I have a strong suspicion that the exoteric rivalry between the Catholic church and the Freemasons is some fancy kayfabe in one hell of a dialectic device.. since they both worship Lucifer.. or maybe they fight each other for who gets the most power within Lucifer's system.

Thank you for your comment fren, it really got the gears turning in my brain.