February 7, 2017, Tuesday -- The New York Times and Steve Bannon "Vatican Traditionalists See Hero in Trump Aide." —Headline of a New York Times front-page article today (link) which argues that "Vatican Traditionalists" see US President Donald Trump's top aide and "strategic advisor," the Irish American Catholic and former Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon, as [...]
May 5, 2016, Thursday -- A Russian Concert in Palmyra, Syria, Contains a Message to the West The Diplomacy of Music As I write this, a renowned Russian conductor is conducting an orchestral concert called "Prayer for Palmyra: Music Revives Ancient Ruins" in the ruins of the ancient desert city of Palmyra in war-torn Syria. As [...]
April 6, 2016, Wednesday -- A Religious "Off-Ramp" for Ukraine? US Ambassador Pyatt Visits Rome An American official has made a quiet, important visit to the Vatican to discuss the situation in Ukraine. In a visit that has received no press attention up until now, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt (photo) was in Rome [...]
March 22, 2016, Tuesday -- The Nuncio A Man of the Church About half a decade ago, at an event in Rome, I ran into an American woman I hadn't seen for more than 20 years, since the time we were both students working on dissertations in the manuscript room of the Vatican Library. To my [...]