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April 23, 2009
There's Treasure Everywhere
I like realizing that there are still surprises to be found.
A professor from the University of California, San Diego, who was researching Benjamin Franklin at the British Library made an unexpected discovery on the last day of his trip to Britain: copies of 47 letters by, to and about Franklin that were written in the spring and summer of 1755 and not seen since.
Libraries are awesome!
Posted by Drew at 07:04 PM
April 22, 2009
As Catholic as the Pope
If you, like me, erratically keep up with the Catholic political blogosphere, you might have seen that over at America, Michael Sean Winters is taking issue with a post Father Reese (Hoya Saxa) wrote on the WaPo's "On Faith" blog. The argument is over whether or not Obama can appoint a pro-choice ambassador to the Vatican. As you might suspect, I have an opinion about this: he can, and he should.
If the Vatican doesn't want to have diplomatic relations with the United States--or if they don't want to have diplomatic relationships when Democrats are in power--they have that right. Close the embassies and call it a day.
But if the Vatican wants to be treated like nation-state, it needs to start acting like one. Someone like Caroline Kennedy is, to her supporters at least, as American as apple pie and a fairly high caliber barometer of where the political leadership of the country is on any given day. Rejecting her because of her views on what remains a domestic political matter is wholly inappropriate and willfully shortsighted. It's not as if appointing an anti-choice ambassador to the Vatican is going to change the president's mind on the issue. But a pro-choice ambassador would accurately and honestly represent the policy of the United States--which is, after all, her job. To specifically demand an ambassador who disagrees with the President on an important and relevant issue is insulting. Imagine what the reaction would be if President Obama were to demand a pro-choice ambassador from Rome.
The Vatican needs to realize that beyond its borders there are many people who are pro-choice, divorced, and gay. Many of those people are valued members of their native political establishments and deserve to be treated as authentic representatives of their respective governments.
If the Vatican would rather have a representative who demurely repeats every aspect of Catholic orthodoxy, I suggest that it save everyone a lot of trouble and invest in a parrot.
Posted by Drew at 01:39 PM