All the Ambassador’s Men

William Cash | 8th May 2025 | Diplomacy, Embassy News, Magazine, Politics

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Trump’s Catholic allies are exerting growing influence in Rome as a new conclave approaches. Backed by wealthy donors and political operatives, they are campaigning for a more traditional pope. Central figures include Brian Burch and Steve Cortes, who see Trump’s return as key to reshaping US–Vatican relations and global Catholic leadership.

William Cash reports from Rome on how American conservative Catholics are trying to win souls and influence the Vatican

A rumour is circulating in the Italian press that although there is little chance of an American pope, there is a good chance that if Italy’s Cardinal Parolin—Francis’s Secretary of State—is elected, we may, for the first time, see an American Cardinal appointed as Secretary of State. I have no idea who this might be, but members of Trump’s Catholic circle will be praying over the next 78 hours that it could be the charismatic Cardinal Dolan of New York. He has been acting as a bridge-builder in Rome over the past week, bringing under his wing inexperienced rookie Cardinals—say, from Africa, who hold 18 votes—and educating them in the complex arts of Conclave voting.

On the other hand, a more likely candidate may be 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who has served as head of the Vatican’s ultra-powerful Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis for the past two years. That made him the man who advised Francis on global episcopal appointments which, as John Allen Jr wrote in Crux, is a “great way to make friends in the Catholic hierarchy”.

Whether we see an American Secretary of State for the first time or not, the fact that President Trump and his Catholic First Lady attended the funeral of Pope Francis signalled how religion has returned to the …

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