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ROONEY-INTERVIEW Nov-15-2005 (1,000 words) With photo posted Nov. 14. xxxi
New U.S. ambassador bullish on U.S.-Vatican relations
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- Vatican Ambassador Francis Rooney is bullish on U.S.-Vatican relations.
After presenting his credentials to Pope Benedict XVI Nov. 12, the new U.S. representative said he was convinced that the United States and the Vatican are natural allies on a host of modern issues.
On questions like terrorism and human trafficking, on foreign assistance and AIDS treatment, the Vatican and the U.S. government are on the same page, Rooney told Catholic News Service in an interview Nov. 14.
Even the war in Iraq, which was strongly opposed by the Vatican, has moved into the category of shared objectives, the ambassador said.
"We're in a new day here, with the Vatican and the United States supporting each other as we work together to support the people of Iraq," he said.
When it comes to nation-building in Iraq, he said, "the Holy See is there to lend its voice of support, in developing a free, particularly religiously free, country that is based upon freedom and democratic principles."
For those reasons, Rooney said he does not expect Iraq to be a problem area in future U.S.-Vatican relations. On the contrary, he said, Iraq represents an opportunity.
"It's a great opportunity for the world to try to find a new model for the Middle East and to ensure that freedom and democratic principles and tolerance can flourish in an environment or location where some people say it can't happen," he said.
Rooney said he understands the concerns of the Vatican about the wording of the new Iraqi Constitution, which says Iraqi law is based on Islamic law, and its implications for the Christian minority there. What's really important, he said, is how that language is applied, in the framework of an "evolution of true religious freedom and democratic principles" in Iraq.
"I think the United States and the Vatican are allied in trying to see that the spirit of tolerance and freedom grows under the new constitution," he said.
Rooney, a 51-year-old native of Tulsa, Okla., spoke in his embassy office that overlooks the Circus Maximus, the ancient Roman racetrack where many early Christians were martyred.
A few minutes later he was speeding in a motorcade across the Tiber River for a meeting with Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's foreign minister -- Rooney's third major encounter inside the Vatican walls since arriving at his new post.
It's all a novel experience for a man who a few months ago was a successful Florida businessman dealing in construction. Being a lifelong Catholic adds a special dimension to the job, he said.
"Seeing the pope was the experience of a lifetime for me and my family," said Rooney, who was accompanied by his wife and three children at the papal audience.
"I felt I was truly in the presence of a wonderful person, an extremely gentle, good and very learned person," he said.
He said his assignment in Rome is bringing him face to face with church leaders he had only read about in his Catholic newspaper.
"To have a chance to be here, speak with them and hopefully work together with them and do some good things, that's incredible," he said.
In his speech to the pope, Rooney repeatedly described the United States and the Vatican as "partners" in efforts to spread peace, encourage democracy and defeat terrorism.
He elaborated on that in the interview, saying he thought opportunities for U.S.-Vatican collaboration were greater because "we have a president who has made values and principles a cornerstone of his policy."
He pointed to the Bush administration's commitment of $15 billion over a five-year period to fight AIDS, saying it was a wonderful match with the efforts of the Catholic Church, which cares for one-fourth of AIDS/HIV patients worldwide.
The United States and the Vatican have also worked together to fight the trafficking of human beings who are coerced into domestic servitude, sexual exploitation or forced labor. The U.S. Embassy to the Vatican has launched a program to help train women religious in anti-trafficking skills, an effort Rooney intends to build on.
Rooney said that with the Vatican's moral voice and the human and material resources of the United States there is a chance to stop human trafficking.
The ambassador said he was studying Pope Benedict's short speech to him and would continue to do so. One point the pope made was that in its efforts to promote freedom and self-determination around the world the United States should engage in consensus-building and seek a unified international response.
Rooney said the United States has a "strong commitment to multilateralism," which he said was evidenced in the way the Bush administration sought to work through the United Nations on the Iraqi question.
"Sometimes international organizations don't respond in the manner that, by their own proclamations, they have indicated they should respond, and we had to take some action," he said.
In his address to the pope, Rooney said the Vatican has consistently condemned terrorism and preached against the "intolerance and hatred" that fuel terrorist acts.
Was the ambassador disappointed that the pope didn't mention terrorism in his speech?
"No. I don't think anybody should doubt that the pope understands the horrors of terrorism. And I think we're going to find a partner in the Vatican, continuing to build upon what the pope said in Cologne," he said.
Pope Benedict told a group of Muslim leaders in Cologne, Germany, in August that terrorism is "a perverse and cruel decision which shows contempt for the sacred right to life" and which undermines "every attempt to build a peaceful, fair and serene life together."
"We want to go in the pope's direction there," Rooney said.
"Certainly, it is in keeping with the feeling in our country that we're fighting a war on terror through the war of ideas, and the war of values, and (promoting) principles of tolerance and freedom and democracy is the way to fight them," he said.
END
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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