Callista Gingrich 
New US ambassador to the Holy See
US President Donald Trump has nominated Callista Gingrich to be his ambassador to the Holy See.
She will face several challenges representing the US in the Vatican, particularly following Trump’s decision to abandon the Paris climate agreement, while Pope Francis has made clear that care for the environment is a priority.
“What I used to say is that I dealt in moral diplomacy, which is the diplomacy about the human condition and human dignity,” Jim Nicholson, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
Diplomatic work with the Vatican “didn’t deal in arms, in military basing, it dealt in what I called the soft power of moral diplomacy, of trying to create a life for people with more dignity, and more opportunity,” Nicholson said.
Mrs Gingrich is a former congressional aide, the author of several children’s books and has made several documentaries. She is the wife of former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Pope pays tribute as baby Charlie Gard dies
Pope Francis has paid tribute to baby Charlie Gard, who died last Friday as a result of a rare brain disorder.
Writing on Twitter, the Pontiff said: “I entrust little Charlie to the Father and pray for his parents and all those who loved him.”
The Pope was seen to follow Charlie Gard’s case closely “with affection and emotion”. After a lengthy legal battle the 11-month-old’s parents lost a High Court case to bring their terminally-ill child for experimental treatment in the US.
President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
“I offer my sincere and profound condolences to his parents who have treasured him with such a strong and undiminished love,” he said in a statement.
Vatican says don’t forget Middle Eastern Christians
The Middle East needs peace, human rights, and the continued presence of Christians, a Holy See diplomat told the UN Security Council last week.
“Christian communities have existed for over two thousand years in that region and have peacefully coexisted with the other communities. The Holy See urges the international community, through the Security Council, not to forget them,” Monsignor Simon Kassas, interim chargé d’affaires of the Holy See’s permanent observer mission to the United Nations said.
“The Holy See believes that the rule of law, including respect for religious freedom and equality before the law based on the principle of citizenship and regardless of one’s race, ethnic origin or religion, is fundamental toward the achievement and maintenance of the peaceful and fruitful coexistence among individuals, communities and nations in the whole region and beyond,” he continued.
Msgr Kassas spoke in an intervention during the UN Security Council’s open debate on ‘The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question’.
He voiced the Holy See’s regret at the loss of lives and property in wars and conflict in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.
Vatican fights for peace in Venezuela
Pope Francis and the Vatican have “tried very hard” to find a solution that’s “peaceful and democratic” in Venezuela.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, told Italian media the Vatican wanted to “help all without destruction”.
On Sunday a referendum was held to elect a body to re-write Venezuela’s constitution, a matter which has been the subject of fierce protests and violence, and since April over 100 people have died.
The president, Nicolas Maduro, claimed victory as more than eight million people are said to have voted in favour of the new constitution-writing body.
This was met by the deaths of at least 13 people, including teenagers, during a day of violence.
Cardinal Parolin said their efforts sought “to recall each person to their own responsibilities” and that: “The criteria for any solution must be only the good of the people”.
