Vatican policy debate confirmed

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Dec 21, 2003

In his weekly column for the National Catholic Reporter, John Allen confirms that Cardinal Renato Martino makes other Vatican officials uneasy, because of his persistent anti-American comments.

There are now at least 4 different reports-- from L'Espresso, CWNews, Il Foglio and the National Catholic Reporter-- all pointing to a foreign-policy debate within the Vatican. These outlets have markedly different ideological slants; it's fair to assume that we're not all talking to the same sources inside the Vatican.

Conclusion: This disagreement is for real. Vatican diplomats don't ordinarily let their disagreements become matters of public records. When it happens, the argument is already pretty well advanced.