The United States and the Holy See

During his visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI will meet with President George W. Bush at the White House.

While the Holy See and the United States now enjoy full diplomatic relations, this was not always the case. From 1870 until 1984, there United States and the Holy See did not have diplomatic relations, though the Holy See did have an apostolic delegate in the United States and many U.S. Presidents sent personal envoys to the Holy See.

Diplomatic relations were established between the United States and the Holy See in early 1984. William A. Wilson, then the president’s envoy to the Holy See, became the first ambassador to the Holy See. Since 1984, there have been eight U.S. ambassadors. The current Ambassador, The Honorable Mary Ann Glendon, was sworn in on February 14, 2008.

Relations between the United States and the Holy See focus on issues of importance to both partners, including religious freedom, human dignity, and peace.

Source: U.S. Department of State

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The Pope through the Eyes of a Twenty-something

As a twenty-something Catholic, I am regularly referred to as a “JPII Catholic.” To be sure, the papacy of John Paul the Great lasted longer than my life thus far.  However, my faith has also been shaped by then-Cardinal Ratzinger and his current papacy.  Three ways that he has affected the outlook of many young American Catholics are his vast writings, his over twenty-five stateside elevations of priests to bishops, and his example of a man who remains a priest first.

I cannot downplay the influence of his writings in my own theological study.  As the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, his moral direction shaped John Paul II’s writings, which my classmates and I read with abandon.  He also published several theological books on a variety of topics and meditations in his own right.  Reading his book-length interview Salt of the Earth with German reporter Peter Seewald provided an expansive look at how Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the man, the theologian, and the priest saw the state of the current Church.  Few men who went on to become pope have left such an honest public record of how they perceive the Church. Such honesty led many to believe they knew what his papacy would hold.  Almost three years later, it has been shown that no amount of research can show how exactly the Holy Spirit will guide the spiritual leader of almost a billion people. He has reached out to both the “left” and the “right,” greening the Vatican city-state and steadfastly opposing the situation in Iraq while granting wider use of the 1962 Roman Missal with his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum.  His life has been one which emphasizes the universal nature of the Church’s mission.

Hyphenated priests (priest-lawyers, priest-doctors, priest-counselors) seem to be on a rise, but in Benedict XVI we have a man who remains a priest first.   He serves as an example par excellence for young men discerning the priesthood but who are cautious of the ever-mounting responsibilities associated with the vocation.  In the many roles assigned to him, his priesthood stays central.  This must be the case for an ever changing papacy and world.  Despite the many roles Catholics take on in daily life, they are Catholics first, baptized and missioned in the kingly, priestly, and prophetic offices of Christ.

Many young Catholics view Benedict XVI as a great priest, something the world could use a lot more of. 

Daniel Napolitano is an employee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and a 2006 graduate of Marquette University.

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