FEATURED

When Realpolitik Challenges Theology

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- Religion -
25 July 2025

The violence of the clash between Israel and Hamas cannot leave theology indifferent—not even Christian theology. If only because the merciless situation it has produced since October 2023 is taking place in a land that is in some way “holy” to the three Abrahamic religions that inhabit it. But above all because every time there […]

Appia Institute
FEATURED

Pizzaballa’s Way to Peace

/ Director
- Middle East -
23 July 2025

The Cardinal offered himself in return for the Israeli hostages right after Hamas’ massacre. The offer could now help to break a deadlock in the region. It’s resurfacing on the web (see here), the October 2023interview (see here) where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, offered himself in exchange for the release of Israeli […]

Appia Institute
FEATURED

Time for no Change – or Not?

/ Director
- China -
21 July 2025

The history of the CPSU, the CPC, and the global situation don’t push Xi’s China toward democratic reforms. But domestic contradictions create fissures that could be hard to control otherwise. In 2012, the year Xi Jinping took power, it was the 63rd anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPC) rule in China. It was a […]

Appia Institute
FEATURED

On Theology and its Public Practicality

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- Religion -
20 July 2025

The modern enlightened thought has made out of the working hypothesis «etsi Deus non daretur» a kind of procedural dogma of its attempt to bring order to our world. Sometimes, in doing so, it has shown an intransigence worthy of the most rigorous religious belief. It often forgot that «living without God» is certainly possible—but […]

Appia Institute
FEATURED

Blooded Holy Land

/ Director
- Middle East -
18 July 2025

The Israeli bombing of the Church of the Holy Family raises bigger questions about the future of Israel. Does it want to live under siege, or does it want to become a powerhouse integrated into the region? The Holy Land is made up of symbols and of symbolic places. Jerusalem is the holy city of […]

Appia Institute
FEATURED

West against West

/ Director
- Culture -
16 July 2025

There are two Wests: one is dead, though pretending to be alive, and the other is thriving, though pretending to have troubles. They are different and must not be confused, lest great mistakes be made. For centuries, the West has struggled with the recurring idea of its own decline and looming disaster.  While other nations refrain […]

Appia Institute
FEATURED

Libyans in Rome

/ Director
- Italy -
13 July 2025

The core issue in recent Italy-Libya events is that Italy’s real influence in the country is minimal, despite Rome’s huge strategic interests (energy and migrants). Schoolbooks tell the story: during the Renaissance, when independent city-states relied on mercenaries, the warlords ended up taking over the cities themselves. Thus, the towns lost—at the hands of hired […]

Appia Institute