Few of those present on the dais at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner last autumn will forget the sight of the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, sharing a plate of pasta with Henry Kissinger. One of the principal reasons for the warm friendship that developed over the years between the two men was their mutual knowledge and love of history.
When invited to pen a reflection at the celebration of Dr Kissinger’s 100th birthday in 2023, Cardinal Dolan wrote: “The art of diplomacy requires precision in certain areas – economics, military readiness, geography – and a keen sense of the expectations, motives and goals of the other party. In saluting Henry Kissinger on his 100th birthday, we hail a consummate diplomat, one in the pedigree of a Metternich or Ercole Consalvi, and a master of these skills just mentioned.
