Page 5, 3rd October 2008

3rd October 2008

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Page 5, 3rd October 2008 — Could a Kennedy be posted to Rome?
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Could a Kennedy be posted to Rome?

ome diplomats are speculating that Caroline Kennedy could become the next United States Ambassador to the Vatican if Barack Obama were to win the US elections on November 4. A prominent diplomatic position has been on the cards for the daughter of John F Kennedy, America's first and only Catholic president, ever since she very publicly supported Senator Obama's candidacy in the New York Times. After °barna won the primaries, she helped choose Senator Joe Biden as his running mate.
Although diplomats in Rome dismissed the rumour as idle speculation, one believed Kennedy would be well suited" to the role in view of her background, contacts and the fact that she.is a practising Catholic, "States have a tradition of appointing high profile and well-connected candidates to the Holy See." the diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "A posting here is more high-profile than say Moscow or Tokyo where the ambassadors are not household names." She also has the advantage of coming from a Catholic dynasty, the official said. Also running in her favour is the fact that she is not divorced or remarried an automatic bar to diplomats appointed to the Holy See and she has taken an active role on social justice issues, in particular working to improve New York City schools.
But although Kennedy is no stranger to diplomatic life (her grandfather, Joseph Kennedy, was Ambassador to the Court of St James during the Second World War), she herself has no diplomatic or government experience. She also prefers to shun the limelight and, as a mother of three teenage children, may not be willing to make the move overseas.
The Vatican, meanwhile. is cautious about any diplomatic appointees whose views on abortion, euthanasia or other non-negotiable issues are at odds with Church teaching. Kennedy's position on these issues are unclear (she omitted to mention her Catholic faith in her New York Times piece; neither did she allude to any of Senator Obama's radical abortionist policy positions). The suspicion is that, even if Kennedy agrees with Church teaching. she probably takes the same line as many other Catholic Democrats: that politicians should not "impose" their faith on the American public. especially, it seems, if it involves standing up for the protection of unborn life. Ironically, the person often blamed for this approach is Kennedy's father, who made a point of separating his faith from his politics in order to placate American Protestants. President Kennedy even went so far as to oppose bettering relations with the Vatican: he ruled out any formal links with the Holy See despite a willingness among Vatican officials to establish diplomatic relations something that did not occur until 1984 under President Reagan.
Kennedy's appointment could be moderately useful for the Democrats in securing the Catholic swing vote. A spokesman for Senator Obama's campaign, however, was unavailable for comment.
As the Synod of Bishops on Bible gets underway in Rome one Vatican official taking a keen interest in the proceedings will be Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi. The president of the Pontifical Council for Culture is highly regarded in Italy when it comes to transmitting the Word of God, both to believers and non-believers. As a priest in Milan, his preaching and exegeses were so formidable that people would wait two years to obtain tickets for his conferences.
His overriding mission when it comes to Sacred Scripture is to help uncover the "real Jesus-. It's a theme he regularly raises in conversation, and is a response to recent theological trends to separate the Jesus of history (the revolutionary social worker, the Son of Man) from the Christ of faith (the true spirit of the Logos, the mystery of the true Christ).
But he also opposes certain fundamentalist interpretations. "When reading and interpreting the Bible there are two paths we can take [allegorical and fundamentalist]: both have value. but if they become exclusive. they both become dangerous." he says. "Certain fundamentalists almost use the Bible as a kind of manual, a scientific text, and this is not the spirit of the Bible. The spirit of the Bible is something else. Even if it uses elements of 'science' from its time, it serves to show the meaning of existence, the mystery inside a human creature and the world."
Both of his concerns are likely to be debated at the October synod which, for the first time ever, will be attended by a rabbi.
Rome Correspondent: Edward Pentin E-mail: vaticannotebook@ yahoo .com




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