The Sotomayor-Diaz nominations
Has the administration astutely taken a detour around the Catholic culture wars in naming Sotomayor to the SC and Diaz to the Holy See?
Here’s John Allen’s take:
“Yet Diaz is described by colleagues as broadly pro-life, and in any event he has never been among the most prominent Catholic apologists for a “soft” position on abortion. In that sense, no one in the Vatican is likely to style the appointment as provocative. (Rome may have other concerns, chief among them the extent to which a fairly obscure theology professor from Minnesota is likely to carry serious political weight inside the Obama administration. That remains to be seen.)
“Some Catholics may also be alarmed by Diaz’s fondness for Latin American liberation theology, which became a bête noir of the Catholic right during the 1970s and ’80s due to its affinities with Marxism and class struggle. References to figures such as Gustavo Gutíerrez and Ignacio Ellacuría run through Diaz’s writings, and one news outlet referred to Diaz as a “Cuban liberation theologian” in its headline. For the record, that’s not really accurate. In his writings, Diaz distinguishes between the “preferential option for the poor” in Latin America and the “preferential option for culture” in Hispanic theology in the United States, focused on the survival of Latino/a identity.
Anyway, Diaz is nobody’s idea of a radical….”
Rest here:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/diaz-nomination-obama-passes-major-catholic-test
I wouldn’t be so sure. EWTN radio has already branded Sotomayor as an activist judge and is raising all kinds of hackles about her comment about how being a Latina gives her an advantage over white males. Of course, they’re taking a “wait-and-see” approach, but they seem ready to pounce.
Of course, EWTN is not The National Review, and Frank Pavone is not George Weigel. But they do have some influence.
Could be. But EWTN isn’t hitting on the Catholic war issues, just the conservative Republicans ones. Keep us posted.
I pulled this quote from the comment section of Amy Welborn’s blog entry about Diaz on Beliefnet: “Obama is the mortal enemy of the Church…” Of course this quote is not in its full context but it clearly indicates that the “culture war” idea is like a meme with certain Catholics.
It is deeply entrenched in the worldviews of certain folks and not just conservatives. Sotomayor’s nomination is beginning to raise concerns among prochoice folks.
Check-out this post on Christianity Today’s politics blog. It discusses a decision Sotomayor was part off concerning a protest at an abortion clinic by pro-life protesters in 1989. The decision sent the case back to trial which is what, one would think, the demonstrators would have wanted. But it still is used by prolifers to find fault with Sotoayor. http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2009/05/the_sotomayor_d_1.html
And Sotomayor told the group their lawyer was no good! For free! Don’t get their complaint.
Ms. Steinfels – was wondering the same thing. The choices seem to give flesh and blood to many of Obama’s ideas and reflections in his ND address.
BTW – I especially enjoy the fact that Diaz is a Rahnerian theologian – not a B16 Balthasar enthusiast. Rocco Palmo just posted that the nuncio at CUA this morning positively welcomed the appointment of Diaz and was looking forward to working with him after his senate confirmation.
Here is the link to WIL:
http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/
Note that the announcement came in the midst of a meeting at CUA celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of relations between the U.S. and the Holy See.
Thanks, Ms. Steinfels. Also, here is a link on an article posted on Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. It seems related to your question about avoiding the culture wars and actually appointing folks, programs, directions that will impact the common good as usually defined in Catholic social justice.
http://www.catholicsinalliance.org/node/20689
And back to you: Catholics in Alliance on the appointment itself:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/catholics-alliance-praises-obamas-diaz-pick
John Allen at NCR weighs in: http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/diaz-nomination-obama-passes-major-catholic-test
Excerpt: “By extending an olive branch to pro-lifers during his commencement address at Notre Dame, President Barack Obama seemed to pass his first major Catholic test. This week, by naming an envoy to the Vatican who doesn’t have a public track record of challenging the bishops on abortion, he’s in effect passed his second.
For extra credit, he demonstrated a good grasp of the changing demographics of American Catholicism by appointing a Hispanic. Measured against what one might have expected from a pro-choice Democrat and a non-Catholic, Obama’s Catholic report card so far appears to look pretty good.”
About the conservative pov, I saw this about Diaz at Insight Scoop ….
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. Diaz was among 26 Catholic leaders and scholars who signed a statement hailing Sebelius as “a woman of deep faith” and citing her a record on immigration, education, health care and reducing abortion rates in Kansas.
I’m happy to see a liberation theology guy piscked :)
the positive that jumped out at me about Diaz’s resume was ‘father of four’ . to paraphrase Sotomayor.. ‘a latino with children may come to better opinions than white celibates’ (:
“BTW – I especially enjoy the fact that Diaz is a Rahnerian theologian – not a B16 Balthasar enthusiast. ”
I wager there are not many political blogs that have noted this! :-)
Now, Jim, have patience with us, old, white, “dead” theologians who like the German masters of the past.
Two other reasons:
a) former student of mine, now President of the Mexican American College (was the Mexican American Cultural Center founded by Virgilio Elizondo); friend of his and a member of Obama’s Faith based committee – I also respect the theological thinking and writings of Fr. Elizondo, now a professor at ND. I may not agree but he makes you think and blends indigenous and “American” theology into his scripture study, the study of indigenous pieties and liturgical practices, etc. He is not liberation theology but does reflect the catholic social teaching – “predilection for the poor, hurting, lowly” – hope to see some support in this area;
b) former student of mine and friend who is now a leader in the catholic church in Cuba – he is probably one of the few US citizens who have been allowed into Cuba as a catholic missionary. He works in the far western tip of Cuba – interestingly, in parishes where his maternal grandparents and greatgrandparents came from. Would like to see some support and joint US/Vatican efforts in opening up Cuba and improving the social conditions of these people.