Posted on 01/27/2009 3:15:55 PM PST by NYer
.- Pepperdine University law professor Doug Kmiec, a pro-life advocate of President Barack Obama’s election, has stated that he thinks he will be considered as a choice for U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
Kmiec and his wife attended a private worship service with President Obama the morning of the presidential inauguration and also attended the Illinois inaugural ball that evening, Pepperdine’s student newspaper The Graphic reports.
"The President is nowhere close to determining such things because of the order of events … everyone's first order of business is economic recovery," Kmiec said, according to The Graphic. "At the appropriate time, when diplomatic relations through the State Department need to be addressed, I think my name would be part of the discussion."
Kmiec, who served as legal counsel for the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, has recently been criticized for his contention that a pro-life Catholic could vote for Obama in good conscience.
The U.S. Ambassador under George W. Bush, Mary Ann Glendon submitted her resignation to the White House prior to President Obama's Inauguration, as is customary for all ambassadors when a new President is elected, reports Inside the Vatican.
In a Catholic News Service Story updated on January 26, after the first Vatican negative reaction to the Obama administration, John Thavis wrote: "the Vatican is closely watching for Obama's choice of a new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. An early appointment would be viewed at the Vatican as a sign of the president's interest and attention to the Holy See."
The choice of ambassador is, of course, up to the president. One informed Vatican official dismissed an earlier report that the Vatican, in a nod toward conservative Catholics, might veto the appointment of a high-profile Catholic supporter of Obama. Rejecting an ambassador for those kinds of political motives is not in the tradition of Vatican diplomacy and would, in fact, be very dangerous, the official said."
President Obama’s reversal of the Mexico City Policy, which had prohibited federal funding of international groups that promote or perform abortions, prompted Vatican officials’ first critical response of his presidency.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, has criticized "Among the many good things that he could have done, Barack Obama instead has chosen the worst," he said.
"I do not believe that those who voted for him (Obama) took into consideration ethical themes, which were astutely left aside during the election debate. The majority of the American population does not take the same position as the president and his team."
In November, a Vatican official with the Secretary of State denied that Prof. Kmiec has a chance of becoming a U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, telling CNA under condition of anonymity "This will never happen."
CNA recently consulted the same official, who said:
"Obviously the Holy See will not openly veto Kmiec's appointment. But the process is not that simple. There are always back channel consultations with the (Vatican) Secretary of State, and there is no chance that he (Kmiec) will pass that test.
"There are many ways to tell the Obama administration way in advance that such an appointment would not be a good idea. There are many other candidates, Catholic or not, that would not spark the kind of antagonism and division that Professor Kmiec has sparked, as he himself has recently admitted," the official told CNA.
Ping!
Selling his soul for a mass of pottage.
I am glad I was not eating or drinking a glass of wine while reading this...I am afraid my MacBook Pro would have taken a bath.
Well, this is a marginally interesting version of Pay for Play, isn’t it?
He is a legend in his own mind.
Kmiec a pro-life advocate?must be a misprint?
the EGO at work here.....amazing. hardly the words of a humble, God fearing man.
I hope the Vatican would send him back postage due.
We see that for which the minion of Satan sold his soul.
If he gets it, one hopes he enjoys it, as he will likely pay dearly and eternally for it.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
Candidate for burning at the stake.
Pride, the root of all evil.
I sent the vatican and CDF all of his writings, including his recent bashing of pro-life Catholics in print.
I also explained the struggles I had with priests, the faithful due to his support and obstinate will to misrepresent Obama’s stance to get the Catholic vote.
That along with the America mag column his friend wrote were horrible. Oh, and the lying cache of Obama’s prolife and Catholics for Obama sites.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
—Mark 8:36
Excuse me while I yak!
If Kmiec is appointed by Obama and confirmed by the Senate, I hope Pope Benedict excommunicates him and sends him home when he shows up.
I wonder if the Holy See has ever PNGed an ambassador on arrival.
The Judas Goat as Ambassador to the Vatican? Great humor and irony there.
PNG?
Persona non grata
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