Riccardo Cristiano, a journalist since the 1980s, has focused his career on the Middle East, interreligious dialogue, and the Vatican. He has authored several books, including Between the Shah and Khomeini: Ali Shariati, a Suppressed Utopia (Jouvence), Beirut, Lebanon: Among Killers, Missionaries, and Grands Cafés (Utet), and Bergoglio: Global Challenge (Castelvecchi). He serves as president of the “Journalists Friends of Father Dall’Oglio” association, dedicated to the Jesuit priest who was kidnapped in Syria in 2013.