The Pope, Putin, and Necessary Formalities

    First, the necessary formalities. Welcome to the blog. I hope you enjoy reading it. Etc. (What can I do? It's the first post. I have to say something.)

     Apparently, Vladimir Putin kept Pope Francis waiting for an hour and twenty minutes at their recent meeting. However, the actual substance of their talk is more interesting.  It seems that His Holiness did not issue a strong condemnation of Russia's activities in Ukraine. I did not expect him to, though. By putting himself in the position of being the only western leader willing to speak to the Russian president, Pope Francis will obtain a better standpoint to assist in future negotiations regarding Ukraine. I suspect that he hopes to be able to act as a sort of middleman, much as he did in the US negotiations with Cuba. But there is a risk that President Putin could attempt to use him as a tool to court Uktraine's Catholics. (I understand Ukraine has a significant Catholic--Orthodox divide.) Here's a link to Vatican Radio's story on their meeting.
      I didn't see many birds today--except for a Blue Jay that attempted to, um, vandalize our resident House Wrens' nest. He had his head inside before we sent him packing.
     By the way, to show solidarity with my family, I should post a link to my mother's blog, www.untroddenpaths.blogspot.com. I, personally, prefer my own, but that's a matter of taste. Und ja, wie meine Mutter spreche ich auch Deutsch, nur schreibe ich ein bisschen besser Englisch. Aber Kommentare auf Deutsch heisse ich genauso wie die englischen willkommen.