Latest news with #papacy
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Robert Harris: Why Conclave should have elected an older pope
The author of Conclave has joked that he wishes cardinals had chosen an older pope to increase his chances of seeing another round of revived popularity in his book. Robert Harris said Pope Francis's death had elevated him from a journalist into an unlikely papal commentator who was regularly called in to offer expert insight. His novel Conclave, first published in 2016, also rode a wave of popularity on the back of its recent film adaptation. The 68-year-old told the Hay Festival: 'From my point of view it would have been better if the Conclave had gone on for one or two more days and if they had elected an older pope because I feel as though I have written a Christmas number one which will keep coming back. 'We will have to wait until the next Conclave which may be after my time.' He added: 'I feel like I have suddenly become a most unlikely expert on the papacy, not a role I really ever expected to play. 'But now we can all move on.' The author praised Peter Straughan, whose screenwriting credits include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, for a 'brilliant adaptation' released to critical acclaim in 2024. 'He kept a lot of the dialogue, characters and story, but he boiled it down and kept what was best – he did a terrific job,' Mr Harris said, adding that director Edward Berger was 'wonderful'. Mr Harris said Robert De Niro and Javier Bardem had been pegged for the role of Cardinal Lawrence before Ralph Fiennes was chosen. 'That speech that he delivers – 'there will be no need for faith' – is just so brilliantly done,' the author said of Mr Fiennes, revealing that the actor and director had asked to change the character's nationality from Spanish to English. 'I looked across the table and I thought do I really want to lose Ralph Fiennes? No, make him English it won't make any difference. And of course it doesn't make any difference at all,' the author said. Looking back at the revival of interest in his book, he said: 'I found myself peculiarly having written a sort of primer. 'So much so that the new pope watched the Conclave movie on the eve of the Conclave so that he knew what was coming.' Pope Leo XIV watched the film to 'know how to behave', according to his brother. John Prevost, 71, who lives in Chicago, told news reporters that he had asked his brother as a joke whether he had watched the film, and the future pope confirmed he had. 'His brother is one of those great brothers who clearly just blurts out anything,' Mr Harris said, adding: 'He could be a source of great amusement in the years to come.'
Arab News
5 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
The future of American soft power
Power is the ability to get others to do what you want. That can be accomplished by coercion ('sticks'), payment ('carrots') and attraction ('honey'). The first two methods are forms of hard power, whereas attraction is soft power. Soft power grows out of a country's culture, its political values and its foreign policies. In the short term, hard power usually trumps soft power. But over the long term, soft power often prevails. Joseph Stalin once mockingly asked, 'How many divisions does the Pope have?' But the papacy continues today, while Stalin's Soviet Union is long gone. When you are attractive, you can economize on carrots and sticks. If allies see you as benign and trustworthy, they are more likely to be open to persuasion and follow your lead. If they see you as an unreliable bully, they are more likely to drag their feet and reduce their interdependence when they can. Cold War Europe is a good example. A Norwegian historian described Europe as divided into a Soviet and an American empire. But there was a crucial difference: the American side was 'an empire by invitation.' That became clear when the Soviets had to deploy troops to Budapest in 1956 and to Prague in 1968. In contrast, NATO has not only survived but voluntarily increased its membership. A proper understanding of power must include both its hard and soft aspects. Niccolo Machiavelli said it was better for a prince to be feared than to be loved. But it is best to be both. Because soft power is rarely sufficient by itself, and because its effects take longer to realize, political leaders are often tempted to resort to the hard power of coercion or payment. When wielded alone, however, hard power can involve higher costs than when it is combined with the soft power of attraction. The Berlin Wall did not succumb to an artillery barrage; it was felled by hammers and bulldozers wielded by people who had lost faith in communism and were drawn to Western values. If allies see you as benign and trustworthy, they are more likely to be open to persuasion and follow your lead Joseph S. Nye Jr. After the Second World War, the US was by far the most powerful country and it attempted to enshrine its values in what became known as 'the liberal international order' — a framework comprising the UN, the Bretton Woods economic institutions and other multilateral bodies. Of course, the US did not always live up to its liberal values and Cold War bipolarity limited this order to only half the world's people. But the postwar system would have looked very different if the Axis powers had won the Second World War and imposed their values. While prior US presidents have violated aspects of the liberal order, Donald Trump is the first to reject the idea that soft power has any value in foreign policy. Among his first actions upon returning to office was to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, despite the obvious threats that climate change and pandemics pose. The effects of a US administration surrendering soft power are all too predictable. Coercing democratic allies like Denmark or Canada weakens trust in our alliances. Threatening Panama reawakens fears of imperialism throughout Latin America. Crippling the US Agency for International Development — created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 — undercuts our reputation for benevolence. Silencing Voice of America is a gift to authoritarian rivals. Slapping tariffs on friends makes us appear unreliable. Trying to chill free speech at home undermines our credibility. This list could go on. Trump has defined China as America's great challenge and China itself has been investing in soft power since 2007, when then-President Hu Jintao told the Communist Party of China that the country needed to make itself more attractive to others. But China has long faced two major obstacles in this respect. First, it maintains territorial disputes with multiple neighbors. Second, the party insists on maintaining tight control over civil society. The costs of such policies have been confirmed by public opinion polls that ask people around the world which countries they find attractive. But one can only wonder what these surveys will show in future years if Trump keeps undercutting American soft power. Will America's cultural soft power survive a downturn in the government's soft power over the next four years? Joseph S. Nye Jr. To be sure, American soft power has had its ups and downs over the years. The US was unpopular in many countries during the Vietnam and Iraq wars. But soft power derives from a country's society and culture, as well as from government actions. Even during the Vietnam War, when crowds marched through streets around the world to protest US policies, they sang the American civil rights anthem 'We Shall Overcome.' An open society that allows protest can be a soft power asset. But will America's cultural soft power survive a downturn in the government's soft power over the next four years? American democracy is likely to survive four years of Trump. The country has a resilient political culture and a federal constitution that encourages checks and balances. There is a reasonable chance that Democrats will regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. Moreover, civil society remains strong and the courts independent. Many organizations have launched lawsuits to challenge Trump's actions and markets have signaled dissatisfaction with Trump's economic policies. American soft power recovered after low points in the Vietnam and Iraq wars, as well as from a dip in Trump's first term. But once trust is lost, it is not easily restored. After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia lost most of what soft power it had, but China is striving to fill any gaps that Trump creates. The way Chinese President Xi Jinping tells it, the East is rising over the West. If Trump thinks he can compete with China while weakening trust among American allies, asserting imperial aspirations, destroying USAID, silencing Voice of America, challenging laws at home and withdrawing from UN agencies, he is likely to fail. Restoring what he has destroyed will not be impossible, but it will be costly. Copyright: Project Syndicate
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Cardinal says he's relieved not to have been elected Pope
A Catholic cardinal who was considered a leading candidate to be elected Pope has expressed relief that he was not chosen, saying anyone who actively wants the job is either 'a martyr or crazy'. Mario Grech, from Malta, was one of a dozen or so cardinals that Vatican experts saw as a 'papabile' – literally 'Pope-able' cardinal – following the death of Pope Francis. But he insisted he had no desire for the job and was deeply relieved to be able to leave Rome 'a free man' after the conclave, the secret election inside the Sistine Chapel that resulted in the nomination of Robert Prevost as Leo XIV, the first Pope from North America. 'Someone told me before the conclave: in order to want it [the papacy], you must either be a martyr – and I don't feel I'm one – or crazy,' Cardinal Grech said. He said he had urged his brother cardinals not to push him forward as a candidate, telling The Times of Malta: 'Several people would tell me they're praying for me, and I would say, 'Continue praying, but according to my intention, not yours.'' Asked whether he was relieved not to have been elected by the 133 cardinals, he said: 'Yes, definitely. On Thursday evening, I returned home a free man. 'I only realised after the conclave why the new Pope takes a new name – because his old life is not his any more. He is not his own man any more. He cannot even go out for a coffee, or for a short walk. And those are just the little things.' Cardinal Grech, 68, comes from the island of Gozo to the north of the main island of Malta. He was appointed a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2020. He said it was wrong to think that every cardinal had a desire to become Pope, adding that the same reluctance to assume high office permeated throughout the Catholic hierarchy. Around a quarter of priests who are chosen by the Pope to become bishops are turning down the promotion, and Cardinal Grech said: 'They don't want it, because the burdens of authority in the Church are truly immense.' He said that as a member of the Synod of bishops, he saw the problem first hand, adding: 'When a bishopric becomes vacant anywhere around the world, we receive dossiers from the local nuncio detailing three nominees. We review these files, rank the candidates by preference, and submit them to the Pope for his final selection. 'Yet, it's increasingly common for the chosen candidate to decline – roughly 25 per cent refuse the appointment. One in every four priests chosen by the Pope to be bishops are refusing.'
Fast Company
25-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Americans are fueling a massive pope economy
It was a fun moment to be online. When the news broke on May 8 that Pope Francis's successor would be the first-ever American to hold the sacred position —and a Chicagoan, no less—social media erupted with celebration and Windy City-specific memes. Within days, some of those memes had morphed into t-shirts for sale. As the conversation around Pope Leo XIV quickly spread to his environmentalist leanings and political opinions, though, the wellspring of unauthorized merchandise spread far beyond novelty shirts that read 'Da Pope.' What has flourished in the days since is a broader pope economy that spans clothing, memorabilia, food, tourism, and more—both in the U.S. and in Rome. Demand in both places appears largely driven by Americans. Stateside fervor for pope merchandise is not without precedent, of course. A pontifical cottage industry sprang up around Pope Francis's 2015 visit to Philadelphia, for instance. Along with t-shirts commemorating the event, Philly streets were flooded with plush pope dolls, life-sized cardboard cutouts, and other pope swag. There was even pope cheese, a mozzarella ball shaped like the bishop of Rome. Considering this level of entrepreneurial excitement marked the occasion of a sitting pope merely visiting the U.S., it's no wonder so many people have found creative ways to capitalize on an American ascending to the papacy. No business like pope business The scope of the pope-based merch empire is already vast. It has a devotional side, with various faith-based online retailers lining up to sell prayer cards, framed portraits, and an insta-book called When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV's Early Days, which currently has a June 30 release date. Topps offered a limited-release Pope Leo-themed trading card for four days in May, and reportedly sold 133,535 units at $8.99 a pop. (Though the cards are part of a special Topps collection marking significant moments in sports and culture, Pope trading cards date back to the early 1900s.) The Pope Leo cards are now being listed at up to $199 on eBay. For those who would like something a little more three-dimensional, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum recently put on presale two separate iterations of Pope Leo for $30 each. There's also piping hot content on the way: Castletown Media's forthcoming documentary, Pope Leo XVI: A Pontiff's Path, which is expected to reside on an upcoming faith-based streaming service called CREDO. Perhaps some of the many viewers who made 2025 Oscar nominee Conclave a massive hit on streaming during Pope Leo's election will be among the first to tune in. Unsurprisingly, Chicago has become the white-hot epicenter for stateside Popemania. The merch frenzy includes custom White Sox jerseys, in the wake of Pope Leo's brother dispelling rumors of Cubs fandom and archival video footage confirming his Sox bona fides. The Chicago sports shop Grandstand claimed to Sports Illustrated that their Sox jerseys with the Pope's name on it are outselling those of any other player on the team. The Sox's home, Rate Field, took the team's papal love public, installing a mural of him at the stadium. Beloved Chi-town restaurant chain Portillo's also named a new sandwich The Leo, which it describes as 'divinely seasoned Italian Beef, baptized in gravy.' Meanwhile, in Evanston, Bennison's Bakery is offering limited edition cookies that bear Pope Leo's likeness. Chicago may eventually become an even bigger tourist destination for the faithful. The owner of Pope Leo's now-decrepit childhood church—St. Mary of the Assumption, on Chicago's south side—is reportedly in talks to convert the space into a place of worship for local congregations, with a food pantry named after the new pope. (The Chicago suburb in which he grew up intends to either purchase his childhood home that was up for sale, or obtain it through eminent domain, and allow it 'to be viewed and visited by the public as a historic site.') A lot of the papal tourism, however, is currently taking place in Rome. When in Rome Americans already account for the largest segment of tourist visits to Rome, with a record 2.5 million arriving in 2024 alone, according to The Guardian. Now that an American will occupy the Chair of St. Peter in Vatican City, though, vendors and various service providers are preparing for a full-on religious tourist invasion. Tour companies are reporting an increase in bookings for pilgrimages, especially from Americans. The owner of Atlante Star, a hotel in Rome known for its impressive view over St Peter's Basilica, told The Guardian ahead of Pope Leo's inaugural service on May 18 that the hotel was 'mostly full with people from North America, and not just pilgrims.' And as in Chicago, culinary business owners near the Vatican, including gelato makers and brewers, are offering pope-themed confections to entice American visitors. Out on the streets of Rome, some vendors began to sell posters and trinkets bearing the new pope's name and image within 48 hours of his election. No official Pope Leo XIV holy cards or rosaries have gone on sale yet in the Vatican gift shop, though, nor are any available at many of the other souvenir shops throughout the city, which are reportedly waiting for 'the authorization of the dicastery,' a department within the administrative body of the Holy See, to be able to sell merch celebrating the new pope. Waiting seems like a wise move—and not just because it will give all remaining official Pope Francis merch a chance to sell out. Divine copyright protection The Vatican, it turns out, has a long history of legally protecting the pope's image. Back in 2009, toward the end of Pope Benedict XVI's tenure, the Holy See essentially declared a divine copyright. Citing a 'great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father' as contributing to broader use the Pontiff's name and image, the Vatican emphasized that 'it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter,' and therefore, to protect the Pope from unauthorized uses of his name, image, or any related symbols. Perhaps inspired by all the papal ephemera Pope Francis and his handlers would have seen during the 2015 trip to the U.S., the Vatican went on the offensive two years later. In 2017, it hired global law firm Baker McKenzie to protect the rights to its intellectual property. (Representatives for Baker McKenzie did not respond to Fast Company's request for comment on the work it may have done, or continues to do, for the Catholic Church.) It's unclear how long it will take for the Vatican to authorize official Pope Leo XIV merch. According to Italian news organization Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, it could be as soon as a matter of weeks. In the meantime, the enterprising souls selling trinkets and sandwiches with the pope's name appear to be taking advantage of a Wild West moment of slow trademark enforcement. In the long haul, those 'Da Pope' shirts made in America fall under the parody allowance in the fair use doctrine, but the online merch store with the audacious URL seems destined for litigation. (The operator of the site did not respond to a request for comment, but WHOIS Domain Lookup shows that it went live on May 9 and operates out of Reykjavik.) Retailers selling rosaries decorated with Pope Leo's face, and supposedly blessed by him, may be able to operate unimpeded for the moment. If any folks operating unauthorized shops are religious, though, a much greater punishment than litigation could serve as a deterrent.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Will Pope Leo improve Chicago's image? From ‘O Block' to hot dogs, Vatican tourists share what they know
VATICAN CITY — When 15-year-old Maria Izworska from Poland hears the word Chicago, the first thing that comes to mind is 'O Block,' the notoriously high-crime strip of South King Drive that's been immortalized in rap songs and social media. 'I also think about food,' said the teen, who was sitting on the steps of St. Peter's Square on a recent weekday while on a trip to the Vatican. 'I think about corn dogs and hot dogs.' But now that Chicago can claim a pope, Izworska believes this papal association might improve the city's image on the international scene. Chicago 'was already famous before the pope was elected, but it could have some influence on the reason why people would come there,' said her friend Weronika Kotarba, 15. 'Now I think that when someone hears the word Chicago … they'll think of this stuff, but also the pope.' During the first official week of Pope Leo XIV's papacy, the Tribune asked Vatican City tourists from around the globe what they thought about having a Chicago-born pontiff, the only American to lead the Catholic Church in its 2,000-year history. The teens from Poland at one point broke into song, singing the first few lyrics to 'Chicago' by Michael Jackson: I met her on the way to Chicago/ Where she was all alone/ And so was I so I asked her for her name. They have some understanding of the papacy's powers to change public perception: When Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978, it raised the profile of both his hometown, Wadowice, and the entire nation of Poland, the teens said. Back then, many were shocked when the conclave picked a pontiff from an Eastern European country, similar to two weeks ago when much of the world was stunned to learn the newly elected pope had been born in the United States. 'It was also surprising for our country to have a pope. I think it's a similar situation,' Kotarba said. 'It's a very important person from your country.' Diane Stenback, 78, who lives near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, said she hopes producing a pope will 'make people from Chicago better.' 'You know, so they don't fight each other and shoot each other,' she said. 'There's cultural stuff there too. But nowadays all you hear about is the violence and things like that.' Her husband, 82-year-old Martin Stenback, added that 'there's idiots for mayors and governors there' as well. While the new pontiff stresses peace and bridge-building, he might have unwittingly stoked an age-old Wisconsin-Illinois rivalry. Diane Stenback pauses in the piazza to pull up a meme on her phone of Pope Leo XIV dressed in a Chicago Bears-themed mitre and vestments, with the caption, 'Popes from Green Bay: 0, Popes from Chicago: 1.' Gui Rodrigues Melo, 20, from the Atlanta area, said he finds a Chicago-born pope 'hilarious.' He surmised that 69-year-old Pope Leo XIV, who was born at Mercy Hospital and raised in south suburban Dolton, could become an icon of Chicago internationally. 'Especially for people outside the U.S. who don't even know about Chicago. When they think of Chicago, they probably think of Michael Jordan,' he said. 'At least now they'll have something else to associate Chicago with.' Rei Suzuki, who was born and lived most of her life in Japan but now resides in Kentucky, said she appreciates that the pontiff has spent time in both the Chicago area and Peru, two very different cultures. 'He's Peruvian and American, he has dual citizenship, so he's exposed to many places in the world,' she said. 'He has more perspective of a different side of the world.' Chiara Valentina Puzzello, 20, who lives in Rome, said she didn't have much of an opinion about the pope's background as an American or native of Chicago. She's more worried about his actions as pontiff, citing accusations that he has mishandled clergy sex abuse allegations during his career in Chicago and Peru. 'I hope for the better' going forward, she said. Dame Ndiaye, who is from Senegal, works for a company that gives Vatican tours. He doesn't think the pope's nationality matters. 'He is uniting people,' Ndiaye said. 'If he can bring people together, it's going to be for the benefit of everyone everywhere.' Ndiaye said he has friends from Chicago who attended the Loyola University Chicago John Felice Rome Center. In 2015, they invited him to his first Thanksgiving celebration. 'People that I know from Chicago are very nice,' he said. But Pope Leo XIV's birth city or heritage aren't paramount to him. 'It doesn't matter, to me, where he's from. Nationality doesn't matter,' he added. 'It is important that he is the right one.'
