Posted on 05/19/2005 10:40:18 PM PDT by sinkspur
Although the nomination is not official until announced by the White House and confirmed by the United States Senate, sources in Rome have confirmed to NCR that Francis Rooney, 51, will be the next U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
Under the terms of diplomatic protocol, the Holy See has already given its agreement to the appointment, those sources said. At the moment, the White House is examining Rooney’s financial disclosure forms, with a formal announcement of the appointment expected sometime in late May or early June, and Senate hearings shortly thereafter.
Barring a surprise, confirmation is expected to come swiftly.
Rooney, a Catholic, is an Oklahoma native and a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. A businessman, he owns Manhattan Construction and Hope Lumber in Tulsa, Okla., and is also CEO of the Florida-based investment firm Rooney Brothers Inc., as well as Rooney Holdings.
Assuming he’s confirmed, the posting to the Vatican would be Rooney’s first diplomatic assignment. He is not expected to move into the Villa Richardson, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, until late summer or early fall.
Rooney has been an ardent supporter of U.S. President George W. Bush. Rooney Holdings donated more than $500,000 to the president’s reelection campaign in 2004. Data released by the Federal Election Commission on Feb. 7, listed Rooney and his wife, Kathleen, in fifth place on the list of largest individual donors to political campaigns in the 2004 elections, having distributed $341,396 to various candidates. According to the FEC data, 99 percent of that money went to Republicans.
In 2004, Rooney Holdings contributed $100,000 to “Progress for America,” a group promoting the president’s Social Security proposals. In turn, Bush named Rooney to be part of a small delegation led by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the August 2004 inauguration of Panamanian President Martin Torres. Rooney’s construction company does business in Central America, and since 2003 he has served on the advisory board for the Panama Canal.
Rooney’s commercial activities have intersected with conservative political causes over the years. Manhattan Construction, for example, built the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas as well as the $6 million headquarters of the Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank with libertarian leanings.
The ambassador’s position has been vacant since James Nicholson returned to Washington in early 2005 to take up new duties as the Secretary of the Veteran’s Affairs. The U.S. embassy to the Holy See has been administered during this time by chargé d’affaires Brent Hardt, who was called upon to organize the American delegations both for the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the installation of Pope Benedict XVI.
Hardt himself is scheduled for reassignment over the summer.
Well, at least the Hormel faction isn't going to Vatican City.
DOH- beat me to this comment!!!
Merely on the basis of the information provided by John Allen here, there is little that should gladden the hearts of US Catholics by this appointment. He seems to have absolutely no diplomatic experience, and his only qualifications for any diplomatic post is his hefty contributions to GOP causes. I know that is how the game is played frequently for appointments to some posts, but to the Holy See? The 3 US ambassadors I recall are Lindy Boggs, the former mayor of Boston (can't recall his name right now) and Nicholson. All 3 had some varying degrees of life-long dedication and intellectual interest in the Catholic Church--but this guy Rooney? Maybe he knows something about Church architecture! JMHO
Good questions. LOL!
It appears that Rooney was one of Bush's "Rangers" who raised lots of money for his re-election, and Bush is looking to reward him.
Ray Flynn (still shows up on O'Reilly occasionally).
I was wondering the same thing as you. But -- as you note -- there's not really any information on the "Catholic" side of him.
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