Vatican press office: “The night passed peacefully; the Pope got up and had breakfast in his armchair.”

Vatican press office: “The Holy Father’s clinical condition remains stable. Blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in signs of inflammation.”

Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni visited Pope Francis in the hospital today. “I am very happy to have found him alert and responsive,” she said. “We joked as always. He has not lost his legendary sense of humor.”

Vatican press office says the pope has double pneumonia and is receiving corticosteroid and antibiotic therapy for his polymicrobial infection. Says the pope is nevertheless in good spirits.

Fascinating discussion of the rise of Islam with the eloquent Tim Winter

The president of Colombia has retweeted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s post.

Is this the most assertive use of executive power by a new administration since FDR?

Is this diplomacy? Or is electoral politics basically professional wrestling?

Yes, although I wouldn’t rule out a post-presidential visit. I suspect Francis would be very open to it — and wouldn’t that get diplomatic and journalistic tongues flapping?!

Biden’s canceled visit to Italy deprives him of a valedictory meeting with Pope Francis, a missed chance to stress his legacy as the second Catholic president — and as a progressive leader on issues, such as migration and the environment, championed by the pope.

Five years after the advent of COVID-19, handshakes are back in the news. Who’d have predicted?

Online reactions to the Washington appointment yesterday are a reminder that the Internet and especially social media have made church politics an activity for laypeople in a way that would have been unthinkable a few decades back.

In light of reports that Pope Francis will name Cardinal McElroy archbishop of Washington, I'm reupping a double profile of the cardinal and his fellow Californian Archbishop Cordileone, who together epitomize much of the division in the Catholic Church in the U.S. today. www.wsj.com/articles/two...

Memories

The F word is everywhere now. As well as weakening every sentence in which it appears, it loses force from overuse. Serious question: what will replace it as the most powerful expletive?

It’s jarring to see Biden’s name in this headline. You have to remind yourself he’s still president. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Donald Trump names Brian Burch, president of conservative advocacy group Catholic Vote, as ambassador to the Holy See

What a scandal. Lots of people complicit in this one. www.wsj.com/politics/bid...

Tina Brown names jailed Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai her person of the year 2024 open.substack.com/pub/tinabrow...

CNN statement on the Clarissa Ward report. Just want to note that in order get something on air at CNN it has to go through many layers of executives. This is a systemwide failure.

Happy birthday, Jane Austen -- 249 and never better

See we’ve settled on Man-joan, as a compromise between the Italian Mahn-joan-eh and the all-American Man-gee-oney

This man was not made for this moment.

Joe Biden did always say that he was an enthusiastic commuter

Pope Francis drew criticism after unveiling the nativity scene with a Palestinian keffiyeh, aiming at neutrality 'The pope and the Vatican try to be even-handed about this, which of course doesn't make everyone happy, or perhaps makes everyone unhappy,' @fxrocca.bsky.social says.

The real legacy test for any president is not what the New York Times obituary will say but what the high school history textbook will say, if anything, in 50 or 100 years.

Fairly or not, what future high school history students learn and remember about Biden will be anecdotes of his transparent decline late in his term. What that means to them will depend on what happened afterwards.

It really is as if he’s already president

A stern rebuke for Biden from a Democratic senator. Has Harris commented yet? x.com/senatorbenne...

The Patel nomination, following those of Ramaswamy and Gabbard, means that at least three Hindus are to play prominent roles in the new administration— four if you count the next Second Lady, Usha Vance.

New book offers salacious details about Opus Dei, but eschews the spiritual lives of Opus Dei members and leaders, even deeply flawed ones, who might hold sincere convictions—insightful review by the editor of The Washington Post. Thanks Matt for reviewing it www.ncronline.org/culture/book...

I’m ashamed to admit that for all these years I didn’t realize it was spelled “froot.”

“It’s the ultimate form of discrimination to offer people with disabilities help to die, without having offered real options to live.” www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/u...

Jimmy Lai’s rags-to-riches-to-prison story mirrors Hong Kong’s path from outpost to hive of unbridled commerce and now battleground for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s determination to stamp out dissent. My free to read profile of Lai on the resumption of his NSL trial: www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Vice President Kamala Harris spent a remarkable $1.5 billion in her hyper-compressed presidential campaign. But in the days since losing to Donald Trump, her operation has faced questions internally and externally over what exactly the money went toward. nyti.ms/3YW7rM9

@johnfettermanpa.bsky.social and Pope Francis differ on Gaza

Donald Trump has given Taiwan more than a few reasons to be anxious, with some saying its survival as a self-ruled democracy is at stake. Now, as his new team begins to take shape, Taiwan’s leadership is emphasizing the positive. Latest analysis on @wsj.com: on.wsj.com/40RDv6p

Will this get pushback from @msnbc.com.web.brid.gy viewers?

Noticing that apparent catfish accounts here and in other social media are getting slightly more sophisticated, pairing glamorous photos with nerdy bios

In new book, Pope Francis says war in Gaza should be investigated to determine whether it is genocide. elpais.com/ideas/2024-1...

Just rewatched the Magnificent Ambersons for the first time in many years. What a moving, imaginative and spectacular film, even in its truncated form. So many haunting moments.

Who is for a social media network where all accounts are verified and none are anonymous?

When Dunleavy was run over by a snow plow while bonking a new acquaintance in New York snow drift and it broke his foot, Pete Hamill said, “I hope it wasn’t his writing foot.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/200...

Mike Tyson laying some brutal Buddhism on unsuspecting kid journalist www.tiktok.com/@streamershu...

I keep getting old posts at the top of my Discover feed which is kind of annoying

Taking advantage of the external media preferences function on this platform to post a movie I directed on the history of Vatican II. (Make sure to activate English subtitles.) youtube.com/watch?v=Xqh_...