#papal-diplomacy

#papal-diplomacy

We're dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people and the killing of children and our own soldiers into entertainment. It is sickening. To splice together movie cuts with actual bombing and targeting of people for the purposes of entertainment is sickening, he said. This is not who we are. We're better than this.

The law says consent cannot truly be given in those circumstances due to the power imbalance, and it also applies to a professor and a student, or a boss and an employee, or a therapist and a client.

On Feb. 28, 2013, Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)

"No trip to the U.S. is expected in 2026," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

I think they heard the president's message yesterday loud and clear. It is my understanding over the past several hours they've agreed to cooperate with the US military. Well, not really. Our Madrid correspondent Sam Jones says her comments sparked another angry reaction from top Spanish politicians, with foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares telling Cadena Ser radio on Wednesday night: Our no to war' stance remains clear and unequivocal.

France cannot accept any form of interference or manipulation of its national public debate by the authorities of a third country. The ambassador took note, expressed his willingness not to interfere in our public debate, and recalled the friendship that binds France and the United States.

American diplomats are supposed to represent the nation, advocate for the interests and policies of the U.S. government, and stay on generally good terms with the country to which they're assigned. Even when they are sent to places that have an adversarial relationship with the United States, they are expected to maintain decorum while conveying messages these regimes may not want to hear.

Catch up quick: President Trump created the White House Faith Office by executive order on Feb. 7, 2025, placing it within the Domestic Policy Council and moving it into the White House complex. The move was designed to signal a "direct line" between people of faith and the executive branch. Unlike the versions under prior administrations, which were often situated in agencies or outside the immediate West Wing orbit, this office is central to Trump's "religious freedom" agenda.

There are some things that defy explanation. When the loathsome House Speaker Mike Johnson recently took it upon himself to explain the Bible to Pope Leo XIV, the Bishop of Rome, the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics, and a person who has truly earned his Jesus stripes, it just confirmed what a sanctimonious idiot Johnson is. This bizarre Bible babble from one of the most unholy people on Earth went beyond being absurd because the very idea that the narcissistic Johnson really thought he knew more about the Bible than the humble Leo is ... well, inexplicable.