John L. Allen Jr.
Chicago-born Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, greets a bishop in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican after Pope Francis made him a cardinal September 30, 2023. Photo: CNS /Lola Gomez. Naturally enough, journalists covering the Vatican tend to seek out figures in the system from their own countries or language groups. French speakers seek out the French, Spanish speakers the Spaniards and Latin Americans, the Italians gravitate to their paesani, and, by the same logic, Americans are drawn to fellow Americans. Thus it was that when…
