Death of legendary Latinist leaves the Church a grayer place
Father Reggie Foster was living proof that being indispensable is the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card.
ROME – When I first arrived in Rome to cover the Vatican in the 1990s, every time I’d meet an English-speaker around town, sooner or later they’d all ask the same question, inevitably with an amused twinkle in their eye: “Have you met Reggie Foster yet?”
They’d tell me he was the pope’s Latinist, which didn’t exactly seem to make meeting him the most riveting prospect. At first I thought maybe it was some kind of nerdy ex-pat form of hazing, to gaslight the new guy into meeting the biggest bore around just for kicks.
The Tablet December 9, 2020
By Msgr. Jonas C. Achacoso, JCD
When the news broke about Pope Francis’ comment on promoting the “civil union” of homosexual couples, many people were asking my opinion on the issue. I admit that, at that time, I was also caught by surprise. I simply shrugged, not being able to say anything.
Like everyone else, I needed to know more to substantiate any opinion I would be making. I had then an inkling that all the confusion and consternation must be caused by something lost in translation. Indeed, it was! Now the Vatican has issued a note to clarify the confusion caused by statements taken out of context and manipulation of the text.