Page 2 of 2 <

Forging a New Relationship

Discussion Policy

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

Another potential irritant in U.S.-Vatican relations emerged in late November when a federal appeals court ruled that a lawsuit over alleged sex abuse by Catholic priests could proceed against the Holy See, despite its sovereign-state status.

In spite of such problems, the Vatican will seek to work closely with the new administration in a number of areas, Franco said. Foremost on its agenda is the fate of Christian minorities in the Middle East -- particularly in Iraq, where their status has grown increasingly precarious during the Bush administration.

Christians in Muslim lands are of strategic interest to the United States as social and cultural intermediaries and "buffers," reducing geopolitical tensions in the region, Franco said.

The new president's priorities for relations with the Vatican are not clear, but Cafardi is sure that he will value the relationship.

As a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s, Obama worked closely with Catholic parishes, Cafardi said, and thus "he knows how important the Catholic Church is to the achievement of social justice."

A U.S. president who supports abortion rights working productively with an anti-abortion Catholic leadership in areas of common interest is something Raymond L. Flynn knows from experience. As President Bill Clinton's envoy to the Vatican from 1993 to 1997, he coordinated joint U.S.-Vatican humanitarian efforts in India, Rwanda, Burundi and the Balkans.

"The Vatican can be an enormous help to U.S. foreign policy because of the respect it has throughout the world," Flynn said. "It's not interested in oil, land, military or economic strength. It wants stability and peace."

< 2