A final interview with Vatican Ambassador James Nicholson

National Catholic Reporter ^ | 1/14/2005 | John L. Allen

[sinkspur]

Speaking of American diplomacy, James Nicholson's term as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See draws to a close this month. President George Bush has nominated Nicholson to run the Veterans' Administration, and assuming he's confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he could be in the job as early as February.

Nicholson represented the United States during a dramatic stretch of time. He presented his credentials just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, bombings in New York, and had to make the case for the U.S.-led war in Iraq over strong Vatican opposition. Nicholson's term also overlapped with the American sexual abuse crisis, not to mention a hard-fought 2004 presidential election in which the Catholic vote played a decisive role.

I sat down with Nicholson Jan. 11 for a farewell interview.

What are the one or two most important things you've discovered about the relationship between the United States and the Holy See?

I think there is an underlying reliance on the United States, on the part of the Holy See. Overall, they believe we will be there when we're needed. We're a very generous people. They haven't been disappointed by that. I think in some cases they sort of take it for granted that the United States, both in the sense of the government and also the people of the American church, will be there to help other people. My hope, and one of my goals with the Holy See, has been to try to develop more appreciation for this enormous generosity of the American people.

What is the most surprising thing you've learned about the Holy See, seeing it up close and personal?

That the Holy See is a place of many voices. I'm not plagiarizing your book, this is an independent conclusion … [there are] many and disparate voices. It makes it difficult for a diplomat representing a country to them. You want to know, and you're entitled to know, if this person, because they are part of the government, if they speak for the government. Your government is very curious, as are the people who read the press reports. Today, 'a senior Vatican official said,' and tomorrow on the second-day cycle, it's 'the Vatican says.' That surprised me. I thought it was far more hierarchical.

Do you see that as a liability or a strength?

From my point of view as a diplomat, representing a country very interested in close collaboration with the Vatican because of our commonality of values, I find that to be a detriment. You're asking the American people to cough up $15 billion for global AIDS, or 60 percent of the World Food Program, or collections for Catholic Relief Services, and they do that because they're generous and humanitarian, and then those same people hear these curious remarks from that 'senior Vatican official,' or from 'the Vatican'… it sends a confusing message, and it can be discouraging.

Is there something the Vatican still struggles to understand about the United States?

We could do better in trying to foster more understanding and more appreciation for our system of business, our free market, highly competitive, highly capitalistic society. There are still too many really wonderful people [in the Vatican] who are totally faithful to the magisterium of the church and all that means, a love of humanity and a desire to help, who have a jaundiced view about American capitalism. They see it as being exploitive, especially of people in the Third World. That's one of our challenges.

The full text of my interview with Nicholson can be found in the Special Documents section of NCRonline.org: Interview with Ambassador James Nicholson.

[Ken522]

.... so it should come as no suprise that there are a lot of vocal socialists in the Vatican ... move on, folks, keep moving ...

[sinkspur]

bump.

[California Patriot]

Very interesting. Translation into plain English: We have a lot of enemies in the Vatican.

[BlueAngel]

Insightful interview. Thanks.