Before the new pope has literally said a word, his chosen name may speak volumes. Who will the next pope be? I would be delighted if the cardinals were to elect Gregorian alumnus Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's current Secretary of State Cardinal. He is certainly papabile, as the Italians say, but at this point speculation seems crass, or at least inappropriate

My lunch with John Paul II proved a feast for the theological mind as he ranged from building bridges with the Orthodox churches to Hegel and -- something I would never have expected -- Bernard Langer's gratitude to God after sinking a five-foot putt to win the 1993 tournament's coveted green jacket

When people learn that I lived and taught at Rome’s […]

'I have never met anyone else whose daily experience of horrendous evil lasted for the entire Second World War and played itself out in only two infamous death camps. It served to strengthen his desire to be an instrument of divine mercy and peace. For myself, I want to borrow from W.B. Yeats, and say my glory was I had such a friend'

I wrote Peter Steele’s obituary for the Sydney Morning Herald in 2012, and reprinted it in Portraits: Popes, Family, and Friends. The obituary ended with a brief reference to his friendship with Heaney. At the time I had no idea of its rich significance for those two warm, witty and learned poets