Obama picks Cuban Liberation theologian as US Ambassador to the Holy See

cna ^ | May 28, 2009

[NYer]

Professor Miguel H. Diaz, PhD

Washington D.C., May 28, 2009 / 01:35 am (CNA).- In a surprising move, President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday evening that Miguel H. Diaz, Ph.D., a 45 year old lay Liberation theologian born in Havana (Cuba) is his pick to become the United States Ambassador to the Holy See.

An associate professor of theology at St. John's University and the College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota, Diaz, a strong Obama supporter and father of four, earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla., and his master’s and doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame at Notre Dame, Ind.

He taught previously at Barry University, Miami Shores, Fla.; St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, Fla.; University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio; and the University of Notre Dame. He also served as the academic dean at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary and is fluent in Italian, Spanish and French.

Diaz serves on the board of the Catholic Theological Society of America, is past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States, and is a past member of the steering committee of the Karl Rahner Society.

He is also a theological consultant to the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics and was appointed to the task force overseeing the review and revisions of the accrediting standards for the Association of Theological Schools.

Diaz is author of the book  "On Being Human: U.S. Hispanic and Rahnerian Perspectives" (Orbis Books, 2001); Co-Editor of "From the Heart of Our People: Explorations in Catholic Systematic Theology" (Orbis Books, 1999;) and author of numerous articles and book chapters inspired in the Latino and Black liberation theology, such as the forthcoming “The Life-Giving Reality of God from Black, Latin-American, and U.S. Hispanic Theological Perspectives,”  “Otherness in Black Catholic and Latino/a Catholic Theologies and the Otherness of God,” and “Outside the Survival of Community there is no Salvation,” in Building Bridges, Doing Justice: Constructing a Latino/a Ecumenical Theology (Orbis Press, 2009.)

Diaz is currently working on two future books: "Cuban-American Catholics" (Paulist Press) and “Migrating Across Theological Borders: The Essentials of Theology from U.S. Hispanic Theological Perspectives" (Orbis Books.)

His body of work, which includes some controvesial positions related to how to understand “inclusiveness,” has gained him significant apprisal from the Catholic left, and his nomination was immediately hailed by pro-Obama Catholics such as “Catholics United” and “Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good,”  as well as from Prof. Douglas Kmiec.

His election seems to be the first pay back of the Obama administration to Catholics who have been unconditionally supporting his policies and appointments. Diaz, in fact, is listed as a member of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, although he explains his relationship with the pro-Obama group founded by Democratic militant Alexia Kelley as “a response to an invitation to become a theological advisor.”

In a brief statement, Diaz said that  “I wish to be a diplomatic bridge between our nation and the Holy See, and if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, I will continue the work of my predecessors and build on 25 years of excellent relations with the Holy See.”

Miguel Diaz served in 2008 on the Obama campaign’s Catholic advisory board. Also in 2008, he donated $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund.

Although he claims to be a “defender of life in all of it stages,” Diaz  was among 26 Catholic leaders and scholars who signed a statement supporting  the nomination of staunch pro abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services Secretary.

“The College of Saint Benedict is enormously proud that Miguel has been nominated by President Obama for this important post,” said MaryAnn Baenninger, president of the College of Saint Benedict. “Miguel is a highly-respected theologian and scholar, and an excellent teacher. Most importantly, he has a deep commitment to Catholic social justice and to inclusiveness in the Catholic Church. He truly lives a life of faith. He is the ideal candidate for this post.”He and his wife, Dr. Marian K. Diaz, are the founders of "Companions on a Journey" at the College of Saint Benedict, an organization aimed at promoting the involvement of young Catholics in public life and social justice activities.

[NYer]

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[Dahoser]

In a surprising move, President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday evening that Miguel H. Diaz, Ph.D., a 45 year old lay Liberation theologian born in Havana (Cuba) is his pick to become the United States Ambassador to the Holy See.

Surprising that Milhouse picked a hard leftist? Wake the bleep up!

[silverleaf]

zerO is playing the race card against the Vatican ...

He HAS to find a away to get a pro-abortion catholic into the Vatican

[Buckeye McFrog]

not a surprise, as the cadre within the Vatican that favors Liberation Theology appears to be in the ascendancy.

[NYer]

Analysis from Fr. Z at WDTPRS blog:

---

Pres. Obama chooses Vatican Ambassador

CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULA — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 9:43 pm

After Ambassador Glendon comes … this AP story from a Minneapolis TV channel:

My emphases and comments.

Hispanic theologian from MN college chosen for Vatican ambassador

A Hispanic Roman Catholic theologian who was an adviser to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign will be nominated to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, the White House announced Wednesday.  [If Pres. Obama was unsure about the Latino vote, he soon won’t be.]

Miguel H. Diaz, 45, an associate professor of theology at St. John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict [Not in recent years known for their strong adherence to the Magisterium, though we all hope this fellow is sound.] in Minnesota, would be the first Hispanic to serve as ambassador to the Vatican since the United States and the Holy See established full diplomatic ties in 1984. Diaz was born in Havana.   

The announcement comes in the same week Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools, to the Supreme Court. She would be the high court’s first Hispanic justice.

The selection of a Vatican ambassador rarely attracts scrutiny. But Diaz’s nomination comes as tensions run high in the U.S. church over Catholics’ voice in the public square [NB: Voice in the public square!  We will be seeing this phrase more and more.  I have been hammering at this for a long time.  We have to get the discussion going.] and the politics of abortion.

Obama’s recent commencement speech and acceptance of an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame—Diaz’s alma mater [So… he went to Notre Dame….] and the nation’s flagship Catholic university—provoked controversy and criticism from dozens of Catholic bishops because Obama’s abortion stance clashes with a core church teaching.

The previous ambassador to the Vatican was Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard University professor and conservative Catholic scholar with longtime Vatican ties. Glendon turned down Notre Dame’s top honor, the Laetere Medal, because of the school’s decision to honor Obama.

In an interview with Catholic News Service at Obama’s inauguration, Diaz said he was looking forward [get this…] "to moving beyond the politics of fear to the politics of hope." [Oh brother.] He said Obama was "committed to working" with people who defend "life in the womb" and deeply respects people who hold positions he does not agree with.  [So this fellow has essentially consumed the kool-aid.]

"Wherever we can, we should advance life at all stages," Diaz said.

Reached at his home Wednesday, Diaz read a brief statement [Sooo… he is being very careful about releasing words to the public for scrutiny.] expressing gratitude for the opportunity and saying, "I wish to be a diplomatic bridge between our nation and the Holy See, and if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, I will continue the work of my predecessors and build on 25 years of excellent relations with the Holy See."

He declined to answer questions about his positions on issues, saying it would be inappropriate before his confirmation hearing.

One potential point of conflict is Diaz’s support for the nomination of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic whose abortion rights record angered conservative Catholics. [Let’s put this in another way: she is pro-abortion but she says she is Catholic.] Diaz was among 26 Catholic leaders and scholars who signed a statement hailing Sebelius as "a woman of deep faith" [I will put the list of signers at the bottom of this entry.] and citing her a record on immigration, education, health care and reducing abortion rates in Kansas.

The son of a waiter and a data-entry operator, Diaz was the first person in his family to attend college. He taught religious studies and theology at Barry University, the University of Dayton and Notre Dame. From 2001 to 2003, he was academic dean at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla.

Diaz is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian. He is past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States, and a father of four.

According to public records, Diaz donated $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint committee of Obama and the Democratic National Committee. He served on the Obama campaign’s Catholic advisory board.

Diaz was far from the most visible—or controversial—Catholic to campaign for Obama. Douglas Kmiec, [Note how the press associates Diaz with Kmiec.] a Catholic law professor and former Reagan administration lawyer, was targeted by conservative Catholics and denied Communion by one priest for his support for Obama. [I think this over simplifies the issue: As a very public Catholic Kmiec supported an aggressively pro-abortion candidate.]

Kmiec, who was mentioned as a possible Vatican envoy, applauded the choice of Diaz on Wednesday, calling him "a gifted theologian and a natural teacher. And his love for the faith is unquestioned."

Cathleen Kaveny, a Notre Dame law and theology professor who also served on the Obama campaign’s Catholic advisory committee, said it was significant Obama chose a theologian and a representative of one of the fastest growing demographics in the U.S. church, Hispanics.

"He is not a big donor, he’s not a big professor," she said. "He’s someone very knowledgeable about the Catholic tradition and Catholic theology. What you see is President Obama taking seriously not just Catholicism as a political force but as an intellectual force."  [Is that what we see Pres. Obama is doing?  That is what he is doing?]

The advocacy groups Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good issued statements Wednesday night praising the choice of Diaz.  [Not a good sign.]

Obama is scheduled to travel to Italy in July, and the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican would likely play a role in arranging a possible meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Other shared interests between the U.S. and the Vatican include Middle East peace and relations with the Muslim world.

I found on the site of the Cardinal Newman Society that…

Half of the 26 Catholic activists, scholars and theologians who signed a statement publicly supporting President Barack Obama’s selection of pro-abortion Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services are professors employed by Catholic universities, The Cardinal Newman Society revealed today.

Lisa Sowle Cahill – Boston College
Nicholas Cafardi – Duquesne University
William D’Antonio – The Catholic University of America
Miguel H. Diaz – College of St. Benedict / St. John’s University (Minnesota)
Julia Dowd – University of San Francisco
Joseph Fahey – Manhattan College
Fr. David Hollenbach – Boston College
Delores Leckey – Georgetown University (Woodstock Theological Center fellow)
Fr. Thomas Massaro – Boston College
Vincent Miller – Georgetown University
David O’Brien – College of the Holy Cross
Fr. Thomas Reese – Georgetown University (Woodstock Theological Center fellow)
Stephen Schneck – The Catholic University of America

 

Are you wondering, as I am, how L’Osservatore Romano – with their Westpolitik – will report this?

[jessduntno]

“When I began teaching in Atlanta, Georgia, I opened my first lecture by telling my students that there was a time when Havana – not Savannah, Georgia, but Havana, Cuba – was the capital of Georgia. And then I went on to say, “Welcome, y’all furriners.”

This was intended only as a joke, but it may also serve to point out a fact often forgotten: As far as time is concerned, it is not the Hispanic-American but the Anglo-American who is the newcomer to this country. Nineteen years before the British founded their first colony in the land that Sir Walter Raleigh called Virginia, the Spanish based in Cuba founded a city that still exists in Saint Augustine, Florida. And twelve years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, the Spanish founded the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

[Melchior]

It is not clear what the journalist means by “Liberation theologian.” If he is implying that Diaz is of the Puebla-Medellin school of thought, and is interested in the creation of “comunidades de base” (base communities), Obama has just spit in the Vatican’s face.

[keats5]

Figures he’d pick a Notre Dame man.

[NYer]

Thank you for the reminder of our country’s Hispanic history.

[popdonnelly]

Leftist thought requires subsidies from the taxpayers. We will now have cadres of leftists employed by the Obama Administration.

[CORedneck]

An interesting thing.

The H.S. I went to had their religion department but the teachers, one whom is now a professor at Humboldt State University in Political Sci/Womens Studies. The teachers were big into the liberation theology including feminism, anti-military, anti-Reagan (early 1980's). A lot of students thought they were full of it.

[miele man]

I thought the Vatican had the right to accept or refuse the president’s appointment. Am I incorrect?

[denydenydeny]

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good

A name right out of an Ayn Rand novel.

[pgkdan]

His election seems to be the first pay back of the Obama administration to lapsed and heretical Catholics who have been unconditionally supporting his policies and appointments.

Bold copy is my own. Didn't seem accurate as written. Do the rest of you sense that obama is waging war on the Church and is trying to divide the people from the Orthodox Heirarchy? He came to Notre Shame against the clearly expressed wishes of the bishops of this country and let Catholic make a choice. Obama or their bishops...in many ways obama won that one.

[Maine Mariner]

You are correct.

[jessduntno]

“Thank you for the reminder of our country’s Hispanic history.”

You are quite welcome.

[Ax]

You are correct. The US (or any other country) offers up a candidate to represent the US to that country. That country can either accept or deny that candidate.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

More heretical fallout from Notre Dame, as Obama seeks to divide Catholics and the Church. This is inappropriate - a U.S. president taking sides on internal doctrinal disputes within the Church.

[Carley]

The Vatican can say NO. It has already rejected some of O’s nominees.