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New York Times
03-07-2025
- New York Times
Pope Leo Returns to Tradition: A Summer Break at a Papal Villa
For 400 years, as Rome sizzled under the summer sun, most popes found solace in a cooler pontifical palace in the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, 18 miles southwest of Rome. John Paul II and Benedict XVI set up camp there for several months each year to rest, but also work. Then along came Pope Francis. He traveled there three times in 2013, the year he was elected, twice to say Mass and once to visit his predecessor, Benedict, who loved Castel Gandolfo so much that he briefly retired there after leaving the papacy. He never went back. 'We were orphaned,' said Maurizio Carosi, one of many residents who confessed to being dismayed by Francis' decision. It's no surprise, then, that the announcement last month that Pope Leo XIV would be staying in Castel Gandolfo for two weeks in July — 'for a period of rest' — was met with excitement, relief and a burst of last-minute renovations on papal properties. He is expected to arrive on Sunday. 'The Vatican is part of the DNA of our city; it is a second Vatican' because of the pope and the dignitaries who would visit him here, said Alberto De Angelis, the mayor. 'You can't imagine St. Peter's without the pope, and you can't imagine Castel Gandolfo without the pope,' he added, referring to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Other local residents were equally enthusiastic. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
How Many Saints Can Pope Leo Add to His Army?
Pope Leo XIV must have found out about the US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites just like the rest of Europe — first thing Sunday morning upon waking. It was the 46th day of his papacy and he did what the Roman pontiff was expected to do. At his weekly noon message to the vast throng gathered in St. Peter's Square, he condemned war as an instrument of policy and pleaded with world leaders to remember the suffering of the innocent. The crowd applauded on that muggy morning, but those virtues feel a little toothless in the wake of bunker-busters and the potential for anarchy. A geopolitical lesson of the late 20th century was never to underestimate the power of the papacy. John Paul II played a part in dissolving the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact and ending the Cold War, but that's increasingly dusty history. The Vatican has spent the last couple of decades cleaning up Saint John Paul's administrative messes — from priestly abuse to banking fiascos. The late Pope Francis may have come across as avuncular, embracing and a liberal, but he was also a tough manager and went a long way to putting the Vatican back on a surer financial footing, although more work needs to be done.
Associated Press
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Pope Leo XIV's fashion choices make waves, and many wonder what they mean
VATICAN CITY (AP) — When Pope Leo XIV stepped out on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to greet the crowd for the first time after his May 8 election, liturgical fashion aficionados around the globe took note: Gone was the simple white cassock and silver cross favored by Pope Francis. Back was the red satin mozzetta shoulder cape, the burgundy stola with gold embroidery and a gold cross held by a double-stranded silken gold cord. Over Leo's first few weeks, the excitement grew among liturgical fashion-conscious Catholics as they noticed new additions to the wardrobe, or rather a return to the old additions of the papal wardrobe: cufflinks, white pants, lace. After Francis' revolutionary papacy, Vatican watchers are now wondering if Leo's return to the past sartorial look means a return to the past on other things too, including more substantial policy issues. But for tailors at the elite handful of liturgical tailoring shops in Rome, there is hope that Leo's return to the fancier garb of popes past will mean a boon to business if Leo's traditional look has a trickle-down effect from the pope to priests and all those in between. The style is a return to form According to the Rev. John Wauck, professor of church communication at the Pontifical Holy Cross University in Rome, Leo's clothing choices are a 'return to form,' and his attire similar to that worn by Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II and other popes going back to the middle ages. They show 'a respect for tradition,' he said. Such respect for the papal office is important for many conservative Catholics. Many conservatives and traditionalists soured on Francis' informal style and disdain for tradition, which reached its pinnacle with his his crackdown on the old Latin Mass. The old liturgy was celebrated before the modernizing reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council; Francis greatly restricted access to the old liturgy, saying it had become a source of division in parishes. Leo has shown strong familiarity with Latin, and has taken to singing the Sunday noontime prayer in Latin. Some traditionalist Catholics are hoping Leo will take the pro-Latin path even further and reverse Francis to allow greater use of the traditional Latin Mass. Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology at Villanova University, where Leo went to college, said it's too early to tell if Leo will reverse Francis' reform. 'It remains to be seen if Leo's more traditional attire and liturgical style means that he will change Francis' strong decisions limiting the so-called 'Latin Mass,'' he said. That said, Faggioli said U.S. conservatives seems particularly happy with Leo's traditional attire, given Francis' disdain for the fashion pomp of the papacy. 'In this sense, Francis might have been a parenthesis or an interlude, more than a changer of the tradition in 'papal style,'' he said in an email. Leo has made other changes, too At his inaugural Mass on May 18, 2025, Pope Leo XIV reached out his arm to sprinkle holy water and revealed a shirt with cufflinks, which Francis had largely avoided. He was also wearing an amitto, and an alb held in place by a cingulum. For the non-experts, the amitto is a lacy linen cloth that goes around the neck, the alb is the white tunic worn under the ceremonial vestment, and the cingulum is a braided rope with tassels that serves as a belt. If it weren't for photographers' long lenses relentlessly trained on the pope's every gesture, Leo's switch from Francis's standard black pants to more traditional white papal trousers would have gone completely unnoticed. In addition to the clothing changes, Leo has returned to some other traditions of the Vatican that Francis eschewed. He has shown himself willing to accept the traditional 'baciamano' or kissing of his ring. Francis disliked having his ring kissed and often pulled his hand away if someone tried to kiss it. 'I think that what we see with Pope Leo is a willingness to embrace tradition, even if it risks seeming perhaps more formal than Pope Francis,' Wauck said. The idea is that 'seeing that tradition as a treasure to be conserved and embraced as opposed to something that makes one feel perhaps a little bit standoffish.' It remains to be seen whether Leo will move into the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace, which stood empty during the 12-year Francis papacy. Francis shocked the world by choosing to live in a small room at the Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, eating his meals in the common dining room. For the Rev. Castro Prudencio, this is all much ado about nothing. 'For Pope Francis it was simplicity. Always. And Pope Leo has taken up what Pope Benedict had and many others. That is what the church is like,' he said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Telegraph
30-05-2025
- 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
29-05-2025
- 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
