How Pope Francis Became a Diplomatic Ninja
His clerical army of diplomats made a difference in the world
Pope Francis passed away today at the age of 88. He’ll be remembered as the first Pope from Latin America and as someone who advocated for a more humane and inclusive Catholic Church, with a particular focus on the welfare of refugees and migrants. But as we remember Pope Francis we should also recall his skills as an international diplomat, including his back-channel diplomacy lead to the historic detente between the United States and Cuba in 2014.
And because I’ve been doing this for so long…there’s a podcast episode about that!
Father Thomas Reese of the National Catholic Reporter walked me through the play-by-play that lead to the Pope playing a central role in the USA-Cuba deal. This was high diplomacy, Vatican style. Father Reese also discusses the Vatican's robust history of diplomacy and the unique role of the Vatican's veritable clerical army of skilled diplomats. It's a fascinating discussion about the Vatican's specific role in the Cuba-USA detente and the international relations of the Holy See.
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