Obama to close US Embassy to Vatican

[PJD1987]

irishcentral.com/news/Obama-administration-plans-to-close-Vatican-embassy-in-shock-move–233288751.html?mob-ua=Y

"ConservativeCatholicsin the U.S. oppose the move. James Nicholson, a former American ambassador to the Holy See from 2001 to 2005, told Vatican expert John Allen that the move was “a massive downgrade.”

Speaking to Allen for the*National Catholic Reporter,Nicholson said: “It’s turning this embassy into a stepchild of the embassy to Italy.”“The Holy See is a pivot point for international affairs and a major listening post for the United States,” he said, “and to shoehorn [the U.S. delegation] into an office annex inside another embassy is an insult to American Catholics and to the Vatican.”

Former Bush envoys Francis Rooney and Mary Ann Glendon as well as Raymond Flynn, the first Clinton ambassador, and Thomas Melady, who served the first President Bush, also object to the move."

 

[prodigalson2011]

How was that? Was my “surprised face” convincing? No? Didn’t think so.

 

[GPGT]

Pretty stupid of Obama to just close the 30 year old office. I guess it shows quite clearly the direction of his administration.

 

[saggal]

Yeah, except if you read other articles on this you find that even those who object concede that the move is about security rather than anything else.
But let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.

 

[LovedMyAlydar]

Security, like that in Benghazi? Yeah, they will keep embassies open in Muslim countries but close one in a Catholic country. How many security threats were made there and what was done…NOTHING. Just another way to stick it to the Catholics of the US who were stupid enough to vote this evil man back into office.

They can say whatever they want, I don’t believe anything that the current administration says. They are nothing but a bunch of liars.

I am not alone in my thoughts:

breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/11/25/Obama-Administration-s-Vatican-Embassy-Move-Has-Former-Envoys-Seeing-Red

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Surely the title of this thread is misleading. The embassy is being moved, not closed. Reasonable people can debate the significance and wisdom of that, but the fact remains that diplomatic relations with the Vatican are not being severed, which the title would lead one to believe.

 

[Tigg]

**An unmistakable slap in the face **

Moving our Ambassador to the Vatican inside of our Italian Embassy sends a clear message: the diplomatic post doesn’t matter much to the United States.

This afternoon I spoke with former Vatican Ambassador James Nicholson. He wanted me to tell CV readers:

"It’s another manifestation of the antipathy of this administration both to Catholics and to the Vatican – and to Christians in the Middle East. This is a key post for intermediation in so many sovereignties but particularly in the Middle East. This is anything but a good time to diminish the stature of this post. To diminish the stature of this post is to diminish its influence.

“The State Department has for a long time wanted to do this. It came up when I was an ambassador. I explained the folly of this and it went away. But now they seem determined to do this. The perception is [with this action] that the United States is showing a lack of appreciation for the relevance of its diplomatic partner in the Vatican.”

Diplomatic relations between the United States and the Holy See suffered for generations because of rampant anti-Catholicism in our country. It took until 1984, twenty-four years after the election of a Catholic president, for President Ronald Reagan to officially create the first United States Ambassador to the Holy See.

President Reagan would quickly see the importance of the Holy See in international affairs. Reagan and Blessed Pope John Paul II formed a partnership that would lead to the downfall of Communism in Eastern Europe.

And let’s not forget that the Pope regularly communicates with bishops from every country on the planet, and as a result is said to have the greatest foreign intelligence of any world leader. If anything, the United States should be working to grow its relationship with the Vatican – not insult us!

Why the snub?

Simple: anti-family groups hate the Vatican. On the international stage, the Vatican is a fierce proponent of religious freedom, the dignity of all human life, and the traditional family. And the Holy See has vigorously opposed the pro-abortion imperialism pushed by Planned Parenthood and others for decades.

These radical pro-abortion groups have responded by launching a campaign called “See Change” calling for the removal of the Holy See as a member of the United Nations. It’s no secret they want the Vatican’s role in the world diminished, discredited, and ultimately disregarded.

But sadly it seems the Obama administration is now doing their bidding, albeit quietly and carefully under the guise of a ‘security review.’

Our Ambassador to the Vatican will remain in Rome for now. But he will be moved to what amounts to an annex of our Italian embassy.

(e-mail received from) Catholic vote.org

 

[agnes_therese]

Surely the title of this thread is misleading. The embassy is being moved, not closed. Reasonable people can debate the significance and wisdom of that, but the fact remains that diplomatic relations with the Vatican are not being severed, which the title would lead one to believe.

Don’t let the facts get in the way of an attention-getting title, either.

 

[LegoGE1947]

Surely the title of this thread is misleading. The embassy is being moved, not closed. Reasonable people can debate the significance and wisdom of that, but the fact remains that diplomatic relations with the Vatican are not being severed, which the title would lead one to believe.

We should really be concerned about the recently appointed ambassador to the Vatican, who is from what I can see a dissident Catholic!

 

[YoungTradCath]

Well, that’s sad I guess, but one positive is that we can stop pretending that we have any sort of shared interests! Clear the field.

EDIT: Never mind, misleading article title. -_-

 

[TARRAT]

Yeah, except if you read other articles on this you find that even those who object concede that the move is about security rather than anything else.
But let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Yes. Security was great in Benghazi.

 

[Glomung]

At least Obama is consistent.
In every situation he does the most stupid thing possible.