Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
An American in Rome | Amb. Brian Burch & Dr. Ryan T. Anderson | 2026 Napa Institute Summer Conference
On the Fourth of July, Pope Leo XIV walked into the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See for dinner, something no one can remember a pope doing before. Brian Burch tells that story, and much else, in this conversation with Dr. Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, at the 2026 Napa Institute Summer Conference.
Burch makes the case that behind every foreign policy question sits a moral one, which is why the relationship matters far more than its small portfolio suggests.
The conversation covers the civilizational question now shaping American foreign policy, namely what the West is actually fighting for; Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, and the American response to a technology race with China that is also a debate about what it means to be human; and the public disagreement between the president and the Holy Father over the use of force in Iran, where Burch turns to the Church's own teaching that the evaluation of just war criteria belongs to those charged with the common good.
Whatever the headlines say about tension between Washington and Rome, Burch offers this conversation as his answer.
About the Napa Institute: The Napa Institute is a lay apostolate whose mission is to empower Catholic leaders to renew the Church and transform the culture. Our conferences, pilgrimages, and events gather clergy, religious, and lay leaders for high-end experiences rooted in liturgy, community, and faith formation.
đź”— Learn more about the Napa Institute: napa-institute.org
🗓️ Attend an upcoming event: napa-institute.org/events
âś… Subscribe for more talks from our 2026 Summer Conference
đź’˛ Support our mission: secure.givelively.org/donate/napa-institute
#NapaInstitute #Catholic #HolySee #Vatican #ForeignPolicy #America250
An American in Rome | Amb. Brian Burch & Dr. Ryan T. Anderson | 2026 Napa Institute Summer Conference
On the Fourth of July, Pope Leo XIV walked into the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See for dinner, something no one can remember a pope doing before. Brian Burch tells that story, and much else, in this conversation with Dr. Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, at the 2026 Napa Institute Summer Conference.
Burch makes the case that behind every foreign policy question sits a moral one, which is why the relationship matters far more than its small portfolio suggests.
The conversation covers the civilizational question now shaping American foreign policy, namely what the West is actually fighting for; Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, and the American response to a technology race with China that is also a debate about what it means to be human; and the public disagreement between the president and the Holy Father over the use of force in Iran, where Burch turns to the Church's own teaching that the evaluation of just war criteria belongs to those charged with the common good.
Whatever the headlines say about tension between Washington and Rome, Burch offers this conversation as his answer.
About the Napa Institute: The Napa Institute is a lay apostolate whose mission is to empower Catholic leaders to renew the Church and transform the culture. Our conferences, pilgrimages, and events gather clergy, religious, and lay leaders for high-end experiences rooted in liturgy, community, and faith formation.
đź”— Learn more about the Napa Institute: napa-institute.org
🗓️ Attend an upcoming event: napa-institute.org/events
âś… Subscribe for more talks from our 2026 Summer Conference
đź’˛ Support our mission: secure.givelively.org/donate/napa-institute
#NapaInstitute #Catholic #HolySee #Vatican #ForeignPolicy #America250
