An audacious proposal for our polyglot pope, from veteran Vatican observer Robert Mickens:
Francis did not speak any languages aside from Italian and Spanish. Leo, in contrast, is a polyglot. He is fluent in Spanish, French, and, clearly, Portuguese. Unlike most other “American” priests and bishops who studied in Rome, he speaks Italian almost flawlessly. He has already established that.
But his greatest linguistic asset is that he is a native English speaker. He can and must leverage this to its fullest potential because English is currently the undisputed lingua franca in the world. Obviously, this makes many Italians in the Roman Curia extremely anxious, as they have historically used their language to control operations in the Vatican and, by extension, much of the Catholic world (or at least its hierarchy)…
… When he makes appeals for world peace or issues other important messages related to global concerns, he must do so in English. Or even in Spanish. Italian is not effective. It is a language spoken by only 60-some million people, only about half or fewer of whom are even remotely interested in what he has to say.
When the Pope appeals for peace in Ukraine or the Middle East, for instance, it will be more effective if he does so in English. Then his words will be broadcast around the world in his own voice rather than that of someone translating or talking over him.
Do you want more proof of why English is important in today’s world? Consider the example of the United Nations in Geneva. This city in Switzerland is French-speaking, but in the UN offices, French is rarely used for official business; English is. That’s because the United Nations is an international organization, just like the Catholic Church…
…Leo, already established as a polyglot fluent in Italian, should not hesitate to use English and increasingly make it the dominant language at the Vatican. This will be crucial to his effectiveness as a global voice of conscience and peace.
