UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
1. President Obama, like all national US Democratic Party leaders since the early 1980’s, appears to calculate carefully his dealings with the Vatican. Given the Vatican’s influence over some US voters, this makes political sense. Nevertheless, his conflicts with the Vatican are likely to increase sharply sooner, rather than later.
2. Since at least 1984, the Vatican and its subordinate US bishops have worked closely politically with right wing US Republican leaders and their “low tax” wealthy donors. This political strategy appears to involve a “trade” of Vatican political support for protection by, and subsidies from, the US government, as well as substantial Church donations from high income Republican donors. This evident political alliance between conservative Catholic and fundamentalist Christian voters has been an essential part of the right wing’s electoral strategy since at least 1984. And it surely has contributed to the obscene and growing income disparity in the USA since 1984. The poor sheep seem easily fleeced, especially when episcopal shepherds work opportunistically with the ravenous high income wolves.
3. Consequently, Obama will take on the Vatican, it appears, only when larger segments of his voting base, especially women, gay folks and liberal Catholics would likely approve, as he did in 2012. He then successfully pushed his Obamacare contraception mandate and his public support for the “Nuns on the Bus” in their struggle with the Vatican. He had their leader, Sr. Simone Campbell, give a prime time speech at the 2012 Democratic national convention, which certainly had to have upset the Vatican.
4. So far, however, President Obama has been able mostly to avoid the “elephant in the room”, the priest child abuse scandal that has challenged other national leaders, for example in Australia, the UK and Ireland. Current events, including in Minneapolis relating to Obama’s Chief of Staff’s brother, Fr. Kevin McDonough, and the upcoming 2016 US presidential campaign, may compel Obama, however, finally to take a public stand soon on the greatest church scandal in US history. He recently in a well publicized meeting with the UK’s Prince William spoke up on the need to protect rhinoceros. Will Obama now speak up for children at high risk of being abused by clerics?
5. Pope Benedict had launched a disastrous Vatican investigation of American nuns. It had prompted protests from outraged US Catholics. It ended in Rome on Tuesday (12/16/14) with the release of generally appreciative Vatican findings; the report on the investigation stressed the achievements and efforts of the US nuns. A related Vatican investigation is still ongoing, though.
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