So, for the first time in years, I signed a petition. This one supports Pope Benedict, and decries the censorship from La Sapienza. I’m not the only Jewish intellectual on the list, either: there’s Giorgio Israel, a professor of mathematics, who in his spare time has done some of the best historical work on antisemitism during the fascist and post-war periods. He understands the basic principle: once you let the censors silence anyone, it’s only a matter of time before they come and censor you.

Michael Ledeen, not a practicing Catholic