I don't know what's worse, a US ambassador who presents this myth as fact or a reporter who repeats it. The Pope may not be subject to democratic elections, but to believe he has no agendas and no constituents is naive. The US Supreme Court doesn't have to answer to any constituency either, but there's an old saying that "The Court follows the election returns." The Pope, too, knows just how far his influence carries. There is a vast, worldwide Church that is held together not by the power of the state, not by armies and police forces, but solely by moral suasion, by appeal to authority, by promise of salvation and threat of damnation. The Church doesn't have the power to tax. It must convince millions of believers to empty their pocketbooks willingly to keep the Vatican's coffers full. It takes a skilled politician and marketer indeed to maintain the Church's power in the world. It's utter nonsense to believe that Vatican power has been maintained for two millennia by ignoring the politically expedient course.
Either Ambassador Rooney finds it in the current US national interest to suck up to the Pope or he has "gone native" and ought to be recalled by the President. My hope is the former. The FrontBurner reporter, who gave the ambassador a free pass to spread the Vatican propaganda, might be a name dropper who knows how to suck up to an ambassador to keep his connections. The reporter being associated with Park Cities People certainly suggests that explanation.
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