Dear Blog Readers – I traveled to the southern Italian city of Bari this weekend to cover a summit called by Pope Francis with Orthodox Patriarchs and leaders of Eastern Christian churches to discuss peace in the Middle East and the persecution of Christians in that region. Bari, a port city that is roughly at …
Doves, Candles and Prayers for Mideast Peace in Bari Read More »
Dear Blog Readers – Italian Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, certainly one of the most extraordinary and awe-inspiring woman I have ever met, spoke to journalists from Rome’s Foreign Press Association this week about her experiences during nearly seven months in space from November 2014 to June 2015. Forty-year-old Cristoforetti—known to many as Astro-Samantha– gave birth to …
Dear Blog Readers – It has been a rocking and rolling week in Italy as the new populist government decided to take a tough stand on migration or “raise our voice” according to Italy’s new Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. The new policy is to block any ships that are not Italian from disembarking migrants in …
Dear Blog Readers, I have been working for months on a long story for AP on the tens of thousands of Nigerian girls who are victims of sex trafficking to Italy. AP finally came out with the story for International Women’s Day on March 8th. Here are the links: TV VERSION: https://vids.press/ap-archive/only-on-ap-italy-failing-to-help-migrants-trafficked-as-sex-slaves/ WIRE VERSION: https://www.apnews.com/df4b0f007cd7475e90754e99189f5572 …
Dear Blog Readers, Ok, I admit it. I needed an excuse to get out of Rome and be distracted. I got a nasty flu after Christmas and at the last minute had to back out of going on the Papal Trip to Chile and Peru. That was a big, important trip and I missed it. …
Nineteen-year-old Precious is a smiling, laughing, living testament to human resilience. She sits at the end of a table in a safe house near Rome for Nigerian sex slaves who have managed to escape their exploiters and tells me her story. The first impression of Precious, with her beautiful, gentle face, smooth skin, lively brown …
A week ago today, I found myself standing on a street corner in a Cartagena slum with a handful of photographers, camerapersons and reporters—what is known as a tight pool. As always when we cover the Pope, we were dressed in black. Sweat was soaking through our clothing and I could feel the drops running …
Passing the Babies and Forgiving the Unforgivable in Colombia Read More »
Dear Blog Readers – Next Wednesday I will be heading to Colombia on the Papal plane to cover Pope Francis’ five-day trip to four Colombian cities as part as his effort to boost the peace process. I intend to do a post once I am back so this is just a little preview – mostly …