Dolan can’t speak Italian? He spent a number of years as rector of the Pontifical North American Academy in Rome. I can’t believe he didn’t learn Italian.
But no, he’s not remotely papabile, agreed.
College, not Academy or something like that.
RE: Does Cardinal Dolan Speak Italian?
He speaks Italian but isn’t COMFORTABLE with it ( which is to say, he isn’t as fluent as he’d like to be ).
See here (NEW YORK POST):
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/get_grappa_on_yourself_5aQ29E6bo6uPQ1V6SyA06H
EXCERPT:
Although Dolan lived in Italy for seven years during the 1990s, when he was rector of the Pontifical North American College, the down-to-earth holy man admitted that the Italian he’s comfortable speaking isn’t appropriate for official Vatican functions.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan joked he may need a shot of the Italian liqueur grappa before addressing the pope in Italian.
“Some of the street language I learned there would be inappropriate,” he joked during a brief meeting with reporters at the archdiocese’s Midtown headquarters.
But Dolan said he does know all the important Italian phrases — especially when it comes to ordering a meal.
“Per favore, c’e ancora pasta?” Dolan said before translating the phrase into English for reporters: “Is there more pasta, please?”
Dolan said he’s currently working on the speech he will deliver to the pope and cardinals on the topic of new evangelization — a subject high on Pope Benedict XVI’s priority list — in an effort to ensure that people living in European countries steeped in Catholic tradition remain faithful.