The ITALIAN DISPATCH By Eric J Lyman

The ITALIAN DISPATCH By Eric J Lyman

A Thousand-Year-Old Fight

From Napoleon to Trump, powerful men have tried to bring the papacy to heel. It rarely works.

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Eric J Lyman
Apr 21, 2026
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Detail from a portrait of Napoleon and Pius VII (Museo Napoleónico)

How it starts

Imagine this: the most powerful man in the world refuses to see the pope in Rome as a moral counterweight, but instead considers him an impediment -- out of touch, meddlesome. Then the pontiff fires back, warning against the vice of pride, the seduction of power, and the be…

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