*NOTE: I voted for Trump, given the choices on the ballot, which weren't good. So this post isn't meant as a "Trump Bashing" post, but rather, from what Catholic Leadership is saying, could become a possibility...
Pay close attention to how the Vatican views "soft power" & "hard power" in their article below..
Given the role the United States plays on the global stage, actors all over the world right now are
scrambling to figure out what Trump’s victory means about the direction America is taking, and how best to react.
One of those actors, of course, will be the Vatican.
To use the categories made famous by Joseph Nye, the Vatican is the world’s most important “soft power,” the only major world religion which has at its core a sovereign state with its own diplomatic corps; the United States, with military expenditures exceeding all other nations combined, is the planet’s most important “hard power.”
Inevitably, therefore, the relationship between these two players is important, and this morning, personnel in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, which has primary responsibility for foreign policy,
are undoubtedly trying like mad to get a read on where things stand.
To be honest, at first blush the stars don’t seem aligned for an auspicious relationship between the current administration in Rome and the incoming one in Washington.
Never before in American history, for instance, has a President-elect been directly criticized by a sitting pontiff during the primary campaign. Back in February, of course, as Pope Francis was returning from his trip to Mexico, featuring a stop at the US/Mexico border, he was asked by a reporter aboard the papal plane what he made of a politician who wanted to build a wall along that border.
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is
not Christian,” Francis said. “This is not the gospel.”
Granted, Francis nuanced his response by saying he was taking the reporter’s description of Trump’s position at face value. Granted, too, Trump’s initially irascible response quickly softened as he insisted the pope had been taken out of context.
Still, the new President-elect could be forgiven for not assuming Pope Francis is a natural ally.
The likely flash points between a Trump White House and a Francis Vatican are easy to anticipate: immigration, climate change, anti-poverty efforts, multilateralism in foreign policy, crime and
punishment, and on and on.
On the other hand, Trump pledged in his victory speech to pursue “great relationships” with other nations, and presumably that includes the Holy See. The more interesting question, therefore, is where the current pope and the new president might be able to do business.
For the Trump team, it will be important to choose an envoy to the Vatican perceived as a serious figure, able to move the ball, and in general to acknowledge the role the Vatican plays in global affairs. One way to accomplish that might be to tap Vice President-elect Mike Pence to take the lead, given his comfort level with religious language and belief.
For the Vatican, it will be important to send signals of openness and a desire for dialogue, and to avoid perceptions right out of the gate of girding for battle with the new American administration.
A face-value reading of the obvious contrasts between Donald Trump and Pope Francis would suggest a tense, complicated relationship. On the other hand, given that shocks to the system are now simply par for the political course all over the world, perhaps a partnership between these two figures could emerge as one of the biggest surprises of all." CRUX
Pay close attention to how the Vatican views "soft power" & "hard power" in their article below..
And he ["Hard Power"] exerciseth all the power
of the first beast ["Soft Power"] before him,
of the first beast ["Soft Power"] before him,
and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,
Revelation 13:12
"Defying every last scrap of conventional political wisdom, Donald Trump stunned the world Tuesday night by capturing the American presidency.Given the role the United States plays on the global stage, actors all over the world right now are
One of those actors, of course, will be the Vatican.
To use the categories made famous by Joseph Nye, the Vatican is the world’s most important “soft power,” the only major world religion which has at its core a sovereign state with its own diplomatic corps; the United States, with military expenditures exceeding all other nations combined, is the planet’s most important “hard power.”
Inevitably, therefore, the relationship between these two players is important, and this morning, personnel in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, which has primary responsibility for foreign policy,
To be honest, at first blush the stars don’t seem aligned for an auspicious relationship between the current administration in Rome and the incoming one in Washington.
Never before in American history, for instance, has a President-elect been directly criticized by a sitting pontiff during the primary campaign. Back in February, of course, as Pope Francis was returning from his trip to Mexico, featuring a stop at the US/Mexico border, he was asked by a reporter aboard the papal plane what he made of a politician who wanted to build a wall along that border.
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is
Granted, Francis nuanced his response by saying he was taking the reporter’s description of Trump’s position at face value. Granted, too, Trump’s initially irascible response quickly softened as he insisted the pope had been taken out of context.
Still, the new President-elect could be forgiven for not assuming Pope Francis is a natural ally.
The likely flash points between a Trump White House and a Francis Vatican are easy to anticipate: immigration, climate change, anti-poverty efforts, multilateralism in foreign policy, crime and
On the other hand, Trump pledged in his victory speech to pursue “great relationships” with other nations, and presumably that includes the Holy See. The more interesting question, therefore, is where the current pope and the new president might be able to do business.
For the Trump team, it will be important to choose an envoy to the Vatican perceived as a serious figure, able to move the ball, and in general to acknowledge the role the Vatican plays in global affairs. One way to accomplish that might be to tap Vice President-elect Mike Pence to take the lead, given his comfort level with religious language and belief.
A face-value reading of the obvious contrasts between Donald Trump and Pope Francis would suggest a tense, complicated relationship. On the other hand, given that shocks to the system are now simply par for the political course all over the world, perhaps a partnership between these two figures could emerge as one of the biggest surprises of all." CRUX
