Vatican City: In a deeply moving encounter, Diane Foley, mother of slain journalist James Foley, met Pope Leo XIV this week, carrying with her not only the memory of her son but also the extraordinary story of how she found the strength to forgive one of his killers.
James “Jim” Foley, a courageous American journalist, was kidnapped in northern Syria in 2012 and brutally executed by ISIS two years later. His death shocked the world and left his family facing an unimaginable grief. Yet, in October 2021, Diane Foley took a step few could comprehend she met Alexanda Kotey, one of the men responsible for Jim’s murder. Rather than confront him with anger, she chose to tell him about Jim: a teacher, mentor, and man of peace who gave voice to the suffering of Syrians.
That extraordinary act of mercy lies at the heart of Foley’s book, American Mother, co-authored with Irish writer Colum McCann. In it, she recounts not only Jim’s story but her own spiritual journey one marked by grief, faith, and an unyielding commitment to compassion.
Meeting Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, Foley described as “an incredible gift” for her family and for Jim’s legacy. “As an American, I feel honored and grateful for his leadership,” she said, stressing her belief that the Pope’s voice is needed today to inspire peace and hope across a fractured world.
Her path of forgiveness, she explained, was never about excusing violence but about humanizing her son in the eyes of those who saw only enemies. “Jim was not a fighter; he was a journalist, a teacher, a non-combatant,” she told Kotey in their meeting. “In another life, they might even have been friends.”
For Foley, compassion is not weakness but courage. She calls it “radical compassion”—a force that allows dialogue where only hatred once stood. “When I spoke to Kotey, he really listened to me, and I prayed for the grace to listen to him. It was painful, but it was a blessing.”
Faith, she said, sustained her throughout the darkest years. Pope Francis, she recalled, was among the first to reach out after Jim’s murder, offering personal words of consolation before her own government did. That call, she said, was a “profound gift.”
Her grief was also transformed into action. Within weeks of Jim’s death, she founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, advocating for the safe return of American hostages and promoting journalist safety. Since then, the foundation has helped secure the release of over 170 U.S. citizens from captivity abroad.
Reflecting on forgiveness, Foley insists it is inseparable from mercy. “Justice is necessary, but forgiveness must come with God’s mercy. We are all flawed, all in need of forgiveness,” she said.
Her presence before Pope Leo XIV symbolized more than a mother’s loss; it represented a witness to the power of mercy in the face of terror. It was, in her own words, “a story of mercy” that continues to speak to a world torn by violence yet longing for peace.