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| As Bernie Sanders Heads to Rome, Vatican Rules Out Meeting With Pope Francis | As Bernie Sanders Heads to Rome, Vatican Rules Out Meeting With Pope Francis |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| On the campaign trail and in Congress, Senator Bernie Sanders has frequently invoked Pope Francis, quoting his writings about the “idolatry of money,” sending solicitations for donations headlined “Why we must listen to Pope Francis” and praising the pope as a “radical” for “speaking out with courage and brilliance about some of the most important issues facing our world.” | On the campaign trail and in Congress, Senator Bernie Sanders has frequently invoked Pope Francis, quoting his writings about the “idolatry of money,” sending solicitations for donations headlined “Why we must listen to Pope Francis” and praising the pope as a “radical” for “speaking out with courage and brilliance about some of the most important issues facing our world.” |
| Someone was listening. On Friday, Mr. Sanders was scheduled to fly to Rome to address the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, in effect the Vatican’s in-house think tank on social, economic and environmental issues. | Someone was listening. On Friday, Mr. Sanders was scheduled to fly to Rome to address the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, in effect the Vatican’s in-house think tank on social, economic and environmental issues. |
| “We invited the candidate who cites the pope the most in his campaign, and that is Senator Bernie Sanders,” said Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, the academy’s chancellor. | “We invited the candidate who cites the pope the most in his campaign, and that is Senator Bernie Sanders,” said Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, the academy’s chancellor. |
| Monsignor Sánchez Sorondo, an Argentine who is close to the pope, said that Mr. Sanders’s focus on climate change and his attention to poor people on the margins of society were “very analogous to that of the pope.” He said that made the Vermont senator an obvious person to invite to Friday’s conference, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of an encyclical by Pope John Paul II about the potential pitfalls of the market economy after the fall of the Berlin Wall. | Monsignor Sánchez Sorondo, an Argentine who is close to the pope, said that Mr. Sanders’s focus on climate change and his attention to poor people on the margins of society were “very analogous to that of the pope.” He said that made the Vermont senator an obvious person to invite to Friday’s conference, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of an encyclical by Pope John Paul II about the potential pitfalls of the market economy after the fall of the Berlin Wall. |
| But the issues of globalization at the heart of the conference have been eclipsed by questions over whether Mr. Sanders fished for an invitation to the Vatican to help his presidential campaign and whether he would get a coveted meeting with the pope. | But the issues of globalization at the heart of the conference have been eclipsed by questions over whether Mr. Sanders fished for an invitation to the Vatican to help his presidential campaign and whether he would get a coveted meeting with the pope. |
| As recently as Wednesday, Mr. Sanders said he was hoping to see Pope Francis. Though the possibility of that meeting was always a stretch, the Vatican seemingly put the matter to bed on Thursday. | As recently as Wednesday, Mr. Sanders said he was hoping to see Pope Francis. Though the possibility of that meeting was always a stretch, the Vatican seemingly put the matter to bed on Thursday. |
| “There won’t be a meeting with the Holy Father,” a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said. The pope, who is leaving for Greece on Friday some time after Mr. Sanders’s arrival, would not be meeting with any participants of the conference, Father Lombardi said. | “There won’t be a meeting with the Holy Father,” a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said. The pope, who is leaving for Greece on Friday some time after Mr. Sanders’s arrival, would not be meeting with any participants of the conference, Father Lombardi said. |
| But that was not the final word for Monsignor Sánchez Sorondo, who has a reputation among some in the Vatican for attracting attention to his conferences with star-studded names. (Last year the academy screened a movie directed by Angelina Jolie, who did receive an audience with the pope.) He dismissed the Vatican statement on a potential papal audience as “all the Roman gossip” and suggested Mr. Sanders could bump into the pope at the Vatican dormitory where he keeps his apartments. | But that was not the final word for Monsignor Sánchez Sorondo, who has a reputation among some in the Vatican for attracting attention to his conferences with star-studded names. (Last year the academy screened a movie directed by Angelina Jolie, who did receive an audience with the pope.) He dismissed the Vatican statement on a potential papal audience as “all the Roman gossip” and suggested Mr. Sanders could bump into the pope at the Vatican dormitory where he keeps his apartments. |
| Almost since the moment that Mr. Sanders announced last week that he was “delighted to have been invited” to what his campaign called a “high-level meeting” at the Vatican, the visit has prompted typical Vatican politicking. That day, a Bloomberg News article quoted the academy’s president, Margaret Archer, a laywoman professor, as saying that Mr. Sanders had asked for the invitation. “Sanders made the first move,” she said. Monsignor Sanchez Sorondo called Ms. Archer’s remarks “a little strange” and insisted he alone had the idea to invite Mr. Sanders. | Almost since the moment that Mr. Sanders announced last week that he was “delighted to have been invited” to what his campaign called a “high-level meeting” at the Vatican, the visit has prompted typical Vatican politicking. That day, a Bloomberg News article quoted the academy’s president, Margaret Archer, a laywoman professor, as saying that Mr. Sanders had asked for the invitation. “Sanders made the first move,” she said. Monsignor Sanchez Sorondo called Ms. Archer’s remarks “a little strange” and insisted he alone had the idea to invite Mr. Sanders. |
| A visit to the Vatican is not, senior church officials pointed out, the same thing as receiving an audience from the pope. And while Mr. Sanders has not claimed that a papal reception was in the works, his campaign has made much of the Roman detour from the New York campaign trail. | A visit to the Vatican is not, senior church officials pointed out, the same thing as receiving an audience from the pope. And while Mr. Sanders has not claimed that a papal reception was in the works, his campaign has made much of the Roman detour from the New York campaign trail. |
| “Anybody even coming to see St. Peter’s Basilica, they say is coming to the Vatican,” said Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who oversaw the drafting of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical about climate change. Cardinal Turkson added that the academy, like any other of the Vatican ministries, “can invite anybody.” | “Anybody even coming to see St. Peter’s Basilica, they say is coming to the Vatican,” said Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who oversaw the drafting of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical about climate change. Cardinal Turkson added that the academy, like any other of the Vatican ministries, “can invite anybody.” |
| “Just like they welcomed de Blasio, the mayor of New York, to their meeting once,” he said. “That does not mean de Blasio came to see the pope. He came to an event of the academy.” | “Just like they welcomed de Blasio, the mayor of New York, to their meeting once,” he said. “That does not mean de Blasio came to see the pope. He came to an event of the academy.” |
| The visit and the contretemps over who made the first move put a rare world spotlight on the academy. It was established by Pope John Paul II in 1994 to promote “the study and progress of the social, economic, political and juridical sciences, and of thus offering the church the elements which she can use in the study and development of her social doctrine.” Since then it has held conferences such as “Democracy — Some Acute Questions,” “Conceptualization of the Person in Social Sciences,” and “Trafficking With a Special Focus on Children.” | The visit and the contretemps over who made the first move put a rare world spotlight on the academy. It was established by Pope John Paul II in 1994 to promote “the study and progress of the social, economic, political and juridical sciences, and of thus offering the church the elements which she can use in the study and development of her social doctrine.” Since then it has held conferences such as “Democracy — Some Acute Questions,” “Conceptualization of the Person in Social Sciences,” and “Trafficking With a Special Focus on Children.” |
| Among the dozens of academics who belong to the academy are the prominent economists and Sanders allies Joseph E. Stiglitz and Jeffrey D. Sachs. Mr. Sachs conferred with the pope in advance of his encyclical on the environment last year, which called for sweeping political and economic reforms to address climate change. | Among the dozens of academics who belong to the academy are the prominent economists and Sanders allies Joseph E. Stiglitz and Jeffrey D. Sachs. Mr. Sachs conferred with the pope in advance of his encyclical on the environment last year, which called for sweeping political and economic reforms to address climate change. |
| Reached in Vienna, where he was en route to the Vatican conference, Mr. Sachs, who is a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Sanders, said he was involved in the invitation, but only as a messenger. The Vatican, he said, “reached out to me to ask me how they could reach him. And I said I was happy to forward the invitation to him. Which I did.” | Reached in Vienna, where he was en route to the Vatican conference, Mr. Sachs, who is a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Sanders, said he was involved in the invitation, but only as a messenger. The Vatican, he said, “reached out to me to ask me how they could reach him. And I said I was happy to forward the invitation to him. Which I did.” |
| He noted that the conference would be opened by Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras, the pope’s right-hand man, and that it also marked the 125th anniversary of an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on capital and labor. | He noted that the conference would be opened by Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras, the pope’s right-hand man, and that it also marked the 125th anniversary of an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on capital and labor. |
| “The takeaway for 125 years now is the church favors a market economy but one that operates within moral standards,” he said. | “The takeaway for 125 years now is the church favors a market economy but one that operates within moral standards,” he said. |
| Pope John Paul II, a critical figure in the opening up of Eastern Europe, warned in 1991 of the eroding of worker rights, the rising inequality of income, and the ecological disasters that could result from a purely profit-driven economy. | Pope John Paul II, a critical figure in the opening up of Eastern Europe, warned in 1991 of the eroding of worker rights, the rising inequality of income, and the ecological disasters that could result from a purely profit-driven economy. |
| The senator, Mr. Sachs noted, “has been saying these things for a long time. He has been distributing papal encyclicals for a long time going back to the time that he was mayor of Burlington.” | The senator, Mr. Sachs noted, “has been saying these things for a long time. He has been distributing papal encyclicals for a long time going back to the time that he was mayor of Burlington.” |
| Decades later, Mr. Sanders is hoping to cement that common bond on economic issues with an embrace, however unlikely, from an unpredictable pope. | Decades later, Mr. Sanders is hoping to cement that common bond on economic issues with an embrace, however unlikely, from an unpredictable pope. |
| “It’s something that happens or doesn’t,” Mr. Sachs said. “One never knows until the day of the event.” |