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Alarm Bells for China

Russia, Venezuela, and Iran are warnings to Beijing, but the US doesn’t have an easy game with China. A ghost will haunt China’s NPC annual plenary session, which opens on March 5 – the ghost of US military lightning successes against top leaders in Venezuela and Iran, and of Russia’s war failures. Russian President Vladimir […]

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Iran, the defeat of Islamic extremism

The war between Russia and Ukraine, first, and Hamas’s attack on Israel have changed the rules. The US and Israel have responded by raising the stakes. It is a new world in which the United Nations no longer exists. Another space for international mediation is needed, and perhaps it should arise under the Pope’s aegis. […]

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Heiner Wilmer New Head of the German Catholic Bishops 

German Catholicism still plays a central role within the global Church, and it is a key player in the country’s life through its charities and many educational and social agencies. With the so-called Synodal Path, the German Catholic Church has become a forerunner of the synodality Pope Francis called for in the global Church. This week, the […]

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The Court and the King

Something seems to be stirring in Washington, though it’s hard to say what or where it’s headed. The recent Supreme Court ruling that President Trump lacked the authority and jurisidiction to impose tariffs through executive orders without congressional approval could be a sign of this change. The internal debate between Justices Gorsuch (who concurred) and […]

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Nutella, in the name of Italy

The popular spread is becoming American, an occasion to help find a new identity for the peninsula, and the US, or lose it. It happened only to Coca-Cola, the symbolic brand that represented — and still represents — America. During the Cold War, people weren’t drinking a cold, fizzy syrup; they were swallowing, in large […]

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The Germans and the Future of Synodality in the Catholic Church

In a few days, the German Catholic bishops will decide whether to establish a permanent synodal body at the national level. This decision will affect not only Catholicism in Germany, but also the entire Catholic Church. The stakes are high. On the one hand, the outcome in Germany will impact synodality globally, as it represents […]

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Is Xi Jinping Right?

The April US-China summit is suddenly in question. Beijing wants to talk politics rather than trade and believes it has the upper hand. And there is a bigger calculation The April summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may never occur. Beijing has warned that US arms sales to Taiwan (the […]