ROME – Back in 2007, the prestigious English news magazine The Economist carried an article on Vatican diplomacy, which concluded with a bit of unsolicited advice: The Vatican, the journal opined, “could renounce its special diplomatic status and call itself what it is – the biggest non-governmental organization in the world.”
The Vatican was not amused. The then-Secretary for Relations with States, French Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, responded with a truculent one-sentence riposte: “This is certainly not an acceptable invitation!” He added that the suggestion reflected a worryingly “reductionist vision” of the Holy See’s role in international affairs.
