Ercolaneo Clottovecchio is the Apostolic Delegate to the United States who had recently put the American laity under a ban of dulcissimus and, later, as a periti, spoke at the second session of Vatican III on his concept of the Church Dormant (Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies, 89).
Inspiration[]
Ercole is the Italian form of Hercules[1]. Clottovecchio is probably Italian for “old clot” (clot + vecchio)[2].
In countries with whom the Holy See does not have diplomatic ties, an Apostolic Delegate may be sent to act as a liaison with the Roman Catholic Church in that country, though not accredited to its government[3]. From 1867 to 1984, the United States did not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See[4], and why President Lyndon B. Johnson met Paul VI at a New York apartment rather than the White House. Bellairs assumes that by his fictional Vatican III in 1985 that there are still no diplomatic relations.
References[]
- ↑ Wiktionary: Ercole
- ↑ Wiktionary: vecchio
- ↑ Wikipedia: Papal diplomacy
- ↑ Wikipedia: Holy See–United States relations
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Nepomuk Prynne • Third Vatican Council • Pope |
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