51吃瓜

The world now awaits the iconic puff of white smoke indicating the election of an individual who may be regarded as holding the unique remaining position of power with a claim to exercising a form of universal moral authority. Whether one accepts that authority or not, we cannot avoid sensing that the authority of every other institutional leader on Earth appears to focus exclusively on something very different from moral logic, if not clearly at odds with it.

The problem today is that moral authority doesn鈥檛 carry much weight in a world motivated by financial success and celebrity at the individual level and national security at the collective level. Moral authority, at least in the Western world, persists only amorphously in each individual鈥檚 heart 鈥� which means nowhere in the shared landscape 鈥� and officially in each nation鈥檚 laws. Moral standards exist in the form of reigning fashions. Tradition quotes Winston Churchill as the for Stalin鈥檚 dismissive question: 鈥淗ow many divisions has the pope?鈥�

So why are so many people willing to put up hard-earned cash to bet on the eventual winner in the race among papabiles? It isn鈥檛 just practicing Catholics who feel concerned by the conclave鈥檚 decision. An by Rose Morelli on the website LBC informs us that 鈥渂etting houses are cashing in on the opportunity鈥� as 鈥済amblers鈥� interest in the future papal rivals even Formula 1 and the Europa League on betting sites.鈥�

And just to reassure us that this isn鈥檛 a modern vice associated with late-stage capitalism and its culture of financialized speculation, the article claims that the tradition of betting on the conclave鈥檚 decision dates back to 1503. As two popes were elected that year 鈥� the unfortunate Pius III died 26 days after his election, some say by poisoning 鈥� Morelli doesn鈥檛 provide sources to determine which of the two elections got Renaissance bookmakers excited enough to post their odds.

Posterity retains two major associations with Julius II, who lost the first but won the second election in 1503. It was Julius whose idea of commissioning the work to Michelangelo made it possible for today鈥檚 visitors to the Vatican to marvel at the Sistine Chapel鈥檚 ceiling. Perhaps more significantly, Julius, whom his contemporaries called 鈥渢he Warrior Pope,鈥� made a major contribution to Italy鈥檚 and Europe鈥檚 political instability over the subsequent century. His style of papacy transformed the Vatican into a European military empire Stalin might have respected. It helped create the conditions that would eventually lead,  four years after the pope鈥檚 death in 1513, to Martin Luther鈥檚 open revolt against the Vatican鈥檚 militarized empire. The pope鈥檚 political adventurism set the stage for the humiliating disaster known as the Sack of Rome in 1527.

Pope Francis, whose successor will soon be elected, provided a stark contrast with the popes of half a millennium ago, such as Julius or his predecessor, Alexander VI, the Borgia pope. Could a new 鈥渨arrior pope鈥� 鈥� for example, hailing from a nation committed to war 鈥� succeed a Holy Father who famously that all wars are unjust?

USA Today features an by John Bacon with the title, 鈥淲ill we see the first-ever American pope? How USA鈥檚 image could come into play.鈥� It expresses a secret hope regularly evoked in recent decades following the death of a reigning pontiff.

罢辞诲补测鈥檚 Weekly Devil鈥檚 Dictionary definition:

American pope:

A fantasized historical figure, who speaks Latin and maybe Italian as well as English, but probably not Spanish.

Contextual note

The same article contains this true assertion: 鈥淔rancis made history as the first pope from Latin America.鈥� A totally logical visitor from Mars 鈥� even after colonization by Elon Musk 鈥� who happened upon this article would probably struggle with the idea that a 鈥減ope from South America鈥� might be succeeded by a 鈥渇irst-ever American pope.鈥� Does 鈥渇irst-ever鈥� mean 鈥渟econd鈥� in English? If so, that might make some sense.

Just asking the question in the title of the article appears to indicate the logical answer to the question. The reason there has never been a pope from the US lies in the hubris contained within Bacon鈥檚 use of the word, 鈥淎merican.鈥� Of course, there鈥檚 nothing original about applying the term exclusively to things proper to the nation officially known as 鈥淭he United States of America.鈥� After all, among the five words that compose the nation鈥檚 somewhat cumbersome title, one happens to be 鈥淎merica.鈥�

People from the US long ago somewhat presumptuously developed a habit they subsequently shared with the world. It is based on the assumption that, because of the history of US economic, military and cultural dominance, the adjective 鈥淎merican鈥� refers exclusively to one of the three North American nations (Canada, US and Mexico) and not to the entire continent. We have all been conditioned to use language in precisely that way. Particular thanks go to Hollywood, the soft power machine that has used the adjective 鈥淎merican鈥� in so many of its titles: 鈥淎merican Beauty,鈥� 鈥淎merican Psycho,鈥� 鈥淎merican Gangster,鈥� 鈥淎merican Sniper,鈥� 鈥淎merican Hustle,鈥� 鈥淎merican Graffiti,鈥� 鈥淎merican Pie,鈥� to name only a few. And it has celebrated the Marvel superhero, 鈥淐aptain America.鈥� All that belongs to the broader idea of 鈥渢he American dream.鈥�

But honestly, wouldn鈥檛 it be a generous gesture on the part of a US journalist to acknowledge the Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the first American pope? It鈥檚 true that Papa Francesco was of Italian stock and probably had no true 鈥渘ative American鈥� ancestry. Argentina is, nevertheless, an American state, far more substantially than Idaho or Rhode Island.

Some cultural icons have taken the trouble to make the distinction. Bruce Springsteen described his true origins in the lyrics of 鈥淏orn in the USA.鈥� Of course, he could do it because he鈥檚 a 鈥渃ool rocking Daddy in the USA.鈥�

Historical note

Springsteen鈥檚 song recounts some of the effects of a particularly painful episode in the history of US hubris: the war in Vietnam. That was the period that featured patriotic bumper stickers inciting war protesters to 鈥渓ove America or leave it.鈥� Some chose to stay in America鈥� but in Canada or even Mexico. 鈥淥h, but that鈥檚 not what we meant by America,鈥� the dyed-in-the-wool (and authentically sheeplike) owners of the bumper stickers might have objected.

Speaking of Mexico, when visiting Mexico City鈥檚 wonderful anthropological museum many decades ago, I鈥檒l never forget the moment when I found myself in a room also occupied by a group of US youngsters. Upon examining the displays and discovering the Mexican symbol of an eagle seizing a snake, one of them shouted out: 鈥淭hey stole our national bird.鈥� This is the same mentality that recently incited US President Donald Trump to claim naming rights over what he wants everyone now to refer to as the 鈥淕ulf of America.鈥� We cannot deny that this gulf is located alongside the American continent鈥� but that name could place it anywhere from the North Pole to Tierra del Fuego.

The legendary US architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, conscious of the rich variety of national and regional architectural and cultural traditions that existed across the globe understood the need to offer equal respect to all nations and people. To avoid confusion when speaking about anything pertaining to the US, he coined the word, 鈥淯sonian.鈥� Wright spent a significant period of his career designing and building some of the most exquisitely original homes in and around Hollywood. Had he instead worked on movies, adopting the great studios鈥� mindset during that period, he might have had more success convincing the general public to adopt the epithet Unosian.聽

In the USA Today article, Bacon quotes Reverend James Bretzke, a theology professor at John Carroll University in Ohio, who offers an interesting explanation of the real issue the article addresses: Why, even after the reign of an authentic American pope (from a different part of America), the Catholic church has never dared to elect a pope born in the US.

鈥淏retzke says a pope is a diplomat who must be accepted globally, and the papacy must appear to represent a cross-section of the world. In the past, Italians were viewed within the church as diplomats, so they were more acceptable across ethnic groups 鈭� although this appears to be less important now.鈥�

Now that鈥檚 a convincing explanation. It has never been more evident 鈥� in the current age of former US President Joe Biden and Trump 鈥� that despite the superficial differences those two presidents have embodied, they have both maintained a principle that has become sacred in US geopolitics: the rejection of the practice of diplomacy. 罢辞诲补测鈥檚 US leaders see diplomacy as wastes of time and money, the kind of thing that should be rooted out in the name of 鈥済overnment efficiency鈥� and unipolar rectitude. That has become baked into the contemporary US psyche. It鈥檚 something the Vatican cannot afford.

Trump was probably sincere when he, 鈥淚鈥檇 like to be pope.鈥� That attitude may indicate why so many people find The Donald refreshing. Unlike other presidents, who carefully disguise their intentions by ranting about democracy and human rights, Trump wears his hubris on his sleeve. Hubris only works if you know how to hide it.

*[In the age of Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, another American wit, the journalist Ambrose Bierce produced a series of satirical definitions of commonly used terms, throwing light on their hidden meanings in real discourse. Bierce eventually collected and published them as a book, The Devil鈥檚 Dictionary, in 1911. We have shamelessly appropriated his title in the interest of continuing his wholesome pedagogical effort to enlighten generations of readers of the news. Read more of 51吃瓜 Devil鈥檚 Dictionary.]

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The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.