iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Vatican press office: “The night passed peacefully; the Pope got up and had breakfast in his armchair.”

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Vatican press office: “The Holy Father’s clinical condition remains stable. Blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in signs of inflammation.”

030

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni visited Pope Francis in the hospital today. “I am very happy to have found him alert and responsive,” she said. “We joked as always. He has not lost his legendary sense of humor.”

041

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Vatican press office says the pope has double pneumonia and is receiving corticosteroid and antibiotic therapy for his polymicrobial infection. Says the pope is nevertheless in good spirits.

020

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

The president of Colombia has retweeted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s post.

7711023

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Is this the most assertive use of executive power by a new administration since FDR?

010

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Is this diplomacy? Or is electoral politics basically professional wrestling?

010

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Yes, although I wouldn’t rule out a post-presidential visit. I suspect Francis would be very open to it — and wouldn’t that get diplomatic and journalistic tongues flapping?!

010

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Biden’s canceled visit to Italy deprives him of a valedictory meeting with Pope Francis, a missed chance to stress his legacy as the second Catholic president — and as a progressive leader on issues, such as migration and the environment, championed by the pope.

110

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Five years after the advent of COVID-19, handshakes are back in the news. Who’d have predicted?

000

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Online reactions to the Washington appointment yesterday are a reminder that the Internet and especially social media have made church politics an activity for laypeople in a way that would have been unthinkable a few decades back.

110

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

In light of reports that Pope Francis will name Cardinal McElroy archbishop of Washington, I'm reupping a double profile of the cardinal and his fellow Californian Archbishop Cordileone, who together epitomize much of the division in the Catholic Church in the U.S. today. www.wsj.com/articles/two...

wsj.com

Two California Bishops Personify Catholic Divide Over Politics of Abortion

As bishops gather this week in Southern California, Cardinal-designate Robert McElroy of San Diego and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco represent progressive and conservative wings of ...

120

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

The F word is everywhere now. As well as weakening every sentence in which it appears, it loses force from overuse. Serious question: what will replace it as the most powerful expletive?

000

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Donald Trump names Brian Burch, president of conservative advocacy group Catholic Vote, as ambassador to the Holy See

001

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

CNN statement on the Clarissa Ward report. Just want to note that in order get something on air at CNN it has to go through many layers of executives. This is a systemwide failure.

“No one other than the CNN team was aware of our plans to visit the prison building featured in our report that day. The events transpired as they appear in our film. The decision to release the prisoner featured in our report was taken by the guard—a Syrian rebel. We reported the scene as it unfolded, including what the prisoner told us, with clear attribution. We have subsequently been investigating his background and are aware that he may have given a false identity. We are continuing our reporting into this and the wider story.”

2535553

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Happy birthday, Jane Austen -- 249 and never better

060

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

See we’ve settled on Man-joan, as a compromise between the Italian Mahn-joan-eh and the all-American Man-gee-oney

000

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

This man was not made for this moment.

Joe Biden v @JoeBiden • 1h

I pray to God that the president-elect

throws away Project 2025. I think it would

be an economic disaster.
I believe the only way for a president to lead America is to lead all of America.
03.4K 1721K O16K | 643K W

8694180

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Joe Biden did always say that he was an enthusiastic commuter

000

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Pope Francis drew criticism after unveiling the nativity scene with a Palestinian keffiyeh, aiming at neutrality 'The pope and the Vatican try to be even-handed about this, which of course doesn't make everyone happy, or perhaps makes everyone unhappy,' @fxrocca.bsky.social says.

youtu.be

Pope Francis inaugurates nativity scene with Palestinian keffiyeh

YouTube video by i24NEWS English

030

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

The real legacy test for any president is not what the New York Times obituary will say but what the high school history textbook will say, if anything, in 50 or 100 years.

140

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Fairly or not, what future high school history students learn and remember about Biden will be anecdotes of his transparent decline late in his term. What that means to them will depend on what happened afterwards.

000

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

It really is as if he’s already president

010

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

A stern rebuke for Biden from a Democratic senator. Has Harris commented yet? x.com/senatorbenne...

x.com

100

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

The Patel nomination, following those of Ramaswamy and Gabbard, means that at least three Hindus are to play prominent roles in the new administration— four if you count the next Second Lady, Usha Vance.

211

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

James V. Grimaldi @jamesvgrimaldi.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

New book offers salacious details about Opus Dei, but eschews the spiritual lives of Opus Dei members and leaders, even deeply flawed ones, who might hold sincere convictions—insightful review by the editor of The Washington Post. Thanks Matt for reviewing it www.ncronline.org/culture/book...

ncronline.org

New book on Opus Dei is salacious, but fails to offer critical insight

By focusing on the most salacious parts of its history, as well as recent U.S. politics, the book Opus doesn't shed much light on the lingering questions around Opus Dei or its place in the church in ...

1252

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

I’m ashamed to admit that for all these years I didn’t realize it was spelled “froot.”

340

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

Ruth Graham @ruthgraham.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

“It’s the ultimate form of discrimination to offer people with disabilities help to die, without having offered real options to live.” www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/u...

nytimes.com

Diane Coleman, 71, Dies; Fiercely Opposed the Right-to-Die Movement

Her fight for disability rights included founding a group called Not Dead Yet, which protested the work of Dr. Jack Kevorkian and others.

617065

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

Austin Ramzy @austinramzy.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Jimmy Lai’s rags-to-riches-to-prison story mirrors Hong Kong’s path from outpost to hive of unbridled commerce and now battleground for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s determination to stamp out dissent. My free to read profile of Lai on the resumption of his NSL trial: www.wsj.com/world/china/...

wsj.com

He Rose to Riches in Hong Kong. Now He’s a Symbol of China’s Crackdown.

Media baron Jimmy Lai, who protested for democracy, faces possible life sentence.

24926

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 18/11/2024

Vice President Kamala Harris spent a remarkable $1.5 billion in her hyper-compressed presidential campaign. But in the days since losing to Donald Trump, her operation has faced questions internally and externally over what exactly the money went toward. nyti.ms/3YW7rM9

13734945

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

Joyu Wang @joyuwang.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Donald Trump has given Taiwan more than a few reasons to be anxious, with some saying its survival as a self-ruled democracy is at stake. Now, as his new team begins to take shape, Taiwan’s leadership is emphasizing the positive. Latest analysis on @wsj.com: on.wsj.com/40RDv6p

on.wsj.com

As Beijing Threatens, Taiwan Looks Nervously at Trump

The president-elect pressed Taiwan during his campaign to spend significantly more to defend against the growing threat of attack by China. Some in Taiwan say it can’t afford to spend what Donald Trum...

062

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Noticing that apparent catfish accounts here and in other social media are getting slightly more sophisticated, pairing glamorous photos with nerdy bios

010

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Just rewatched the Magnificent Ambersons for the first time in many years. What a moving, imaginative and spectacular film, even in its truncated form. So many haunting moments.

010

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Who is for a social media network where all accounts are verified and none are anonymous?

230

Reposted by Francis X. Rocca

Jack Shafer @jackshafer.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

When Dunleavy was run over by a snow plow while bonking a new acquaintance in New York snow drift and it broke his foot, Pete Hamill said, “I hope it wasn’t his writing foot.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/200...

newyorker.com

The Hell-Raiser

Steve Dunleavy, a tabloid legend, wages a crusade to defend the indefensible.

4103

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

I keep getting old posts at the top of my Discover feed which is kind of annoying

000

Francis X. Rocca @fxrocca.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Taking advantage of the external media preferences function on this platform to post a movie I directed on the history of Vatican II. (Make sure to activate English subtitles.) youtube.com/watch?v=Xqh_...

youtube.com

YouTube

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

020