Delia Gallagher, Vaticanologist

Sandro Magister wrote about the peculiar world of Vatican journalism and the journalists who cover it - aptly called Vaticanologists. Like most of Signor Magister's articles, this one is long, but 2.5 things stuck to mind: 1. The Vatican Press Office controls the outflow of information with an iron fist, and 2. The Vaticanologist profession is probably very frustrating, given #1. (Item 2.5 I'll discuss later...)

Item #1, while not surprising, is still discouraging because the curia has always maintained this air of secrecy around and within it. Even in the guise of openness, the chasm between Urbi et Orbi (the Latin term, not DG's publisher) is still palpable - just ask the thousands of clergy abuse victims and divorced and gay Catholics who feel completely abandoned by their Church. That there is a pecking order within the Vaticanologist profession is not entirely extraordinary either, just disappointing : "The actual journalists accredited to the Vatican see him [Joaquin Navarro-Valls] very rarely. His office is inaccessible. He’s practically impossible to get on the telephone. He sees only a very limited circle of privileged professionals: the correspondents of the world’s main news agencies, and the important American media channels, Mexican and Spanish TV, the news agency ANSA and the newspaper “Corriere della Sera” from Italy, and hardly anyone else."

Item #2 wouldn't be if the Vatican Press Office was a bit more forthcoming. But as it is, the Vaticanologist, aside from having all the obvious qualifications - higher education, foreign language proficiency, ability to string 2 words together without choking on a pretzel - is burdened with the extra virtue of having the patience of Job. Just ask the White House Press Corps - except that Jeff Gannon guy - I heard he no longer works there. Really, a Vaticanologist exists to bridge that chasm inherent in Item #1 - which sets them in a world entirely of their own. They are not really a part of the Vatican, but not completely a part of the rest of the world either. And sometimes, being in Middle Earth is not exactly a very comforting place to be (unless of course if you're a hobbit)... But I digress again...

And my last point, Item #2.5, ruminates on Her Hotness herself and how she - although handicapped with gender and young age - has navigated this cesspool and tolerated all the bullshit and still managed to look as gorgeous as she always does. That Dr. Navarro Valls knows her by her first name is not remarkable - we saw and blogged about that little repartee - but that he has taken a vow of celibacy (i.e., inspite of being in the same city with such a marvelous creature as Delia) is rather... mortifying! Okay, I was kidding about that one... of course Her Hotness has more between her ears than just those baby blue eyes... Sigh...

Delia Gallagher is a Vaticanologist so we do not have to be... and we love her for it (amongst other things)...

(I thought I'd picspam my own blog...)