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. PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JANUARY 13, 1984
PAGE 9
Why the action now? The Reagan Administration believes that the important
world role now played by Pope John Paul II demands the move. Also, for the
State Department, the advantage of formal diplomatic relations is clear:
the Vatican is a font of highly prized information on what is happening
around the world, as church officials from every nation where there is a
Catholic Church are constantly in and out of the tiny city-state.
As far as advantage to the Vatican is concerned, church officials say the
Vatican will find its campaign for peace and justice throughout the world
"significantly strengthened" with a formal diplomatic mission in Washing
ton.
Official U.S. recognition adds luster to the Vatican's diplomatic
prestige and moral authority. "I can see that the Vatican would welcome
this type of recognition because its own world recognition is enhanced,"
said a high-ranking American churchman� the Vatican. The Vatican daily
newspaper, L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO, said in an editorial Tuesday: "No one can
fail to see the importance of today's development."
Some believe Mr. Reagan may hope to gain greater Catholic voter support in
the next election. However, there is no evidence of great Roman Catholic
enthusiasm for the move.
In fact, the rather independent-minded U.S.
Catholic Church generally feels that a full-fledged Vatican representative
could attempt to influence Rome's attitude toward internal church matters.
The Editor-in-Chief of the respected Catholic weekly AMERICA said, "There
will be divisions in Catholic opinion. The move will be applauded by many
American Catholics, but others will be more restrained. The Conference of
Bishops are beginning to have a greater sense of their� identity and to
upgrade the presence of the Vatican could conceivabl � inhibit the further
development of the national identity of U.S. bishops.
There may be substantial Protestant. condemnation of the action. Opponents
of the action regard it as a blatant violation of the constitutional
principle of the separation of church and state and already are planning
efforts to scuttle the move.
(White House spokesman John Hughes argues
that the new arrangement does not violate the constitutional separation of
church and state because "for a long time we recognized the Holy See as
having an international personality distinct from the Roman Catholic
Church."
The Holy See is responsible for the Vatican, which Hughes
described as "a sovereign city-state." Pope John Paul II heads the Holy See
as well as the Roman Catholic Church.
The U.S. is the 108th nation to be represented at the Vatican by ambassa
dors. The only major powers unrepresented are the People's Republic of
China and the Soviet Union. Britain established relations at the ambassa
dorial level in 1982 for the first time since King Henry VIII broke with the
Roman Catholic Church in 1529 in order to marry Anne Boleyn. The step was
taken just before the Pope's visit to Britain in late May 1982. Another
Protestant country, Sweden, also established ties to the Holy See in 1982,
ending a 456-year break brought on by the founding of the Lutheran Church in
Sweden.
Worry Over a Rebellious Church
The establishment of diplomatic ties with the United States doesn't mean
the Vatican is pleased with conditions inside the American branch of the