Vatican welcomes Obama election

Roman reaction to election positive, U.S. Catholics divided

By Catholic News Service
Vatican City

The Vatican newspaper greeted the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States as "a choice that unites."

But while the newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, saw the election as unifying, Catholic reaction in the U.S. was divided.

L'Osservatore published an opinion piece Nov. 5 by Giuseppe Fiorentino welcoming Obama's election and stating that the U.S. is a country "able to overcome fractures and divisions that not long ago seemed impossible to heal."

"As the president-elect underlined in his victory speech in Chicago, America really is the country where anything can happen," said the article.

"In the end, change occurred. The slogan that accompanied Barack Obama's whole electoral campaign found its expression" in the results of the Nov. 4 election.

But, the article said, Obama was the "more convincing" candidate for "an electorate needing new hope, especially for a quick economic recovery."

Obama must unite the nation, a process L'Osservatore said will be helped by the concession speech of Sen. John McCain, who referred to Obama as "my president."

Historic day

Vatican Radio called the election of Obama a "historic day" for the United States and underlined the overwhelmingly positive reaction around the world.

A commentary on the election for Asianews, a Rome-based missionary news agency, ran under the headline: "I'm happy for the victory of Barack Obama."

Written by Father Piero Gheddo, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, the commentary listed three reasons for satisfaction at the result:

• Obama will give a positive impression of the United States at a time when "America is seen in a bad light and even hated throughout the world."
• The election of the first black U.S. president offers a lesson on racial equality, especially for Europe. It is an extraordinarily encouraging sign for black people around the world, who have often faced humiliation, it said.
• Obama's victory speech ended with the words, "God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America," something that would not be possible in Catholic Italy and which demonstrates that religion remains at the foundations of public life in the United States.

Message from pope

Pope Benedict sent a personal message to Obama Nov. 5, congratulating him and offering his prayers for Obama and for all the people of the United States.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said that because the message was addressed personally to Obama the Vatican did not plan to publish it.

However, he said, the papal message opened by referring to the "historic occasion" of the election, marking the first time a black man has been elected president of the United States.

Asked if the pope mentioned any specific issues he was concerned about, Lombardi responded, "peace, solidarity and justice."

Lombardi said it is likely a formal message also will be sent on the occasion of Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration. In past years, the Vatican custom has been that the pope congratulates a new U.S. president only when he formally takes office.

In the U.S., Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the U.S. bishops, congratulated Obama on his "historic election" as the first African-American to win the White House.

"The people of our country have entrusted you with a great responsibility," the cardinal said in a letter to Obama on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

But he also said, "We stand ready to work with you in defence and support of the life and dignity of every human person."

In Nov. 5 statements and other comments, some Catholic leaders praised Obama for his history-making victory. But others, including Catholic bishops, said they hoped the new administration would make decisions that show a "commitment to the sanctity and dignity of all human life."

Still other Catholics, including pro-life leaders, expressed profound disappointment that a candidate who supports abortion rights was elected.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said in a statement the electorate made "a grave mistake."

Pavone pointed to a comment Obama made during the campaign that the priest paraphrased by saying that "he does not know when a human being starts to have human rights."

Others noted that the election of Joseph Biden as vice-president is the first time in almost 50 years that a Catholic has been elected on a national ticket.

In a column in the Chicago Sun-Times daily newspaper, priest-sociologist Father Andrew Greeley said it appears more than half of U.S. Catholics voted for Obama.

"How could they do that when their bishops ordered them to vote for John McCain?" Greeley asked. "In fact, no such order was issued, though some bishops came pretty close to it."

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