US to shutdown Embassy to the Holy See

[BjBarnett]

Slap in the face? Or not? Discuss

Obama’s call to close Vatican embassy is 'slap in the face' to Roman Catholics - Washington Times

 

[AMDG]

Slap in the face? Or not? Discuss

Obama’s call to close Vatican embassy is 'slap in the face' to Roman Catholics - Washington Times

Slap in the face. (We have a discussion about this in the Catholic politics subsection.)

Well, Obama has been continuing to "slap Catholics in the face" for some time. The Bishops said that the years of his administration have been a Gethsemane. Guess this is just one more incident of him trying to make us irrelevant.

 

[BjBarnett]

Oh my bad! Did not see the discussion in the Politics sub-forum. I'm still getting used to things again.. Did not think a politics sub-forum existed when I used to post here in 2005 LOL!

 

[eastcoast_bsc]

I would say a calculated slap in the face,

 

[Michie]

I would say a calculated slap in the face,

The first thing I thought when I saw this was Catholics giving Obama headache after headache. With all the cutting needed across the board he chooses this.

 

[Edial]

Sorry ... moving to politics.

 

[freezerman2000]

I hope it will not be permanent..we need all the friends we can afford!

 

[Rhamiel]

the idea it is for "security" is a joke

Obama was incompetent in how the Benghazi embassy was manned

Libya was a country that just went through a civil war and had a large number of Islamic militants in it, to treat it like it was a stable Western European Embassy was the height of hubris

now to use "security" as the excuse for shutting down the US embassy in the Vatican?
this is also after that it was revealed that the US was spying on many of our allies, including the Vatican!
no remorse, no shame,

and yet.... Catholics still vote for him and support him in his endeavors
what will it take for Catholics to abandon Obama? will he have to actually use a guillotine on a bishop?!?!?!

 

[Michie]

The United States is scaling back its diplomatic mission at the Vatican-making plans to close its Vatican Embassy headquarters, and instead conduct its operations in a smaller building within the walls of the U.S. Embassy to Italy. The Obama Administration cites security concerns following the attack in Benghazi...

Here's why you should be concerned about the U.S. plan to downgrade its Vatican embassy...

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[BjBarnett]

Here's why you should be concerned about the U.S. plan to downgrade its Vatican embassy...

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Maybe I am reading into this to much but does that read to anyway else like they think the Catholics are going to attack the embassy? I mean I cannot imagine the embassy at the Vatican would have more security concerns than say the embassy in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait.

 

[Luther073082]

Although the security thing is a pretty dumb reason I don't see it as that insulting either.

It's not like the Vadican is that important of a nation that you have to have a embassy in their tiny territory.

 

[mark46]

My guess is that this is acceptable to the pope. Considering the Vatican as a secular country in need of a full embassy is an anachronism. The Church has been trying to do much to help others understand that it no longer wants to be considered a secular political power. This pope will continue the effort.

The US should not have official state embassies at the centers of the world religions. Of this used to be appropriate when the Vatican was a secular power as well as spiritual power.

 

[Rhamiel]

the Vatican does humanitarian work all over the globe

Obama downsizing the embassy shows that he cares more about appearances and childishly lashing out at those who speak up then he does about helping those who are most in need

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

the Vatican does humanitarian work all over the globe

Obama downsizing the embassy shows that he cares more about appearances and childishly lashing out at those who speak up then he does about helping those who are most in need

Could you connect the dots on that logic for me because I don't understand how you got from


The Vatican does humanitarian work

to

Obama not wanting to help those in need.

 

[Picky Picky]

Have I missed something? Where does the "downgrading" and "downsizing" come from? Isn't the embassy just moving buildings?

 

[S.ilvio]

Have I missed something? Where does the "downgrading" and "downsizing" come from? Isn't the embassy just moving buildings?

No.

They are copying the Irish decision to close their Vatican Embassy and using the Embassy to Italy that is also situated in the city of Rome.

Originally there were two separate embassies and now one.

The Irish excuse was due to financial constraints. Whereas in reality is was a move by the Irish ,atheist, Labour Party to gain political kudos among their political supporters.

The American excuse regarding security is insulting to peoples' intelligence...

 

[Rhamiel]

Could you connect the dots on that logic for me because I don't understand how you got from


The Vatican does humanitarian work

to

Obama not wanting to help those in need.

sorry, I was a bit vague about this

when you have a good diplomatic relationship, it is easier to work together

downsizing the Vatican embassy does not help diplomatic relations, in fact it can be seen to hurt that relationship

this makes it more difficult for collaboration on humanitarian projects when you have a strained relationship

of course Obama, a man of no substance whatsoever, he does not care about real people being hurt, he views the suffering of the masses as just another statistic
as we can see in his cold "only 5%" quote about Obamacare

 

[JGG]

This is just a thought, but is it a cost cutting measure? An embassy can be expensive to operate and most employees are assigned to seeing to the needs of expat citizens in the area. Seeing as there's an embassy a 20 minute trolley ride awayin Rome, and it seems to me that most dealings with the Catholic church is done through bishops and cardnals, and we complain endlessly about government waste, isn't this a good idea? What real benefit is there to an embassy in the vatican that would justify the cost?

 

[Michie]

Obama orders closure of Vatican Embassy

It's very hard to deny that the Obama administration isn't fighting a war on Catholics. In his latest move, Obama has ...

Obama orders closure of Vatican Embassy - Politics & Policy - Catholic Online

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

sorry, I was a bit vague about this

when you have a good diplomatic relationship, it is easier to work together

downsizing the Vatican embassy does not help diplomatic relations, in fact it can be seen to hurt that relationship

I'm sorry

Could you explain what you mean by "downsizing". As I understand the Vatican embassy will have the same budget and number of people offering the same services as before the move.

It's just moving 3.5 miles into another building.

How does this constitute "downsizing" ?