The vatican and the white house

Abstract

While George W. Bush was president, Washington and the Vatican were in agreement on most 'culture of life' issues and at odds over the war in Iraq. With the 2008 election of Barack Obama, the set of agreements and disagreements has been reversed. There is now substantial common ground on foreign policy, immigration and fighting poverty, but none on gay rights, stem-cell research or abortion. But the Vatican sees Obama as the most secular president in many years. In the Holy See's unofficial view, Obama lacks a religious vision and might prove to be a cultural adversary. But this picture of the new president as ideologically suspect or supportive of moral relativism is false and misleading. To Obama, relativism means putting back together a fragmented American society, and promoting unity in diversity. Being a relativist is not a handicap but an opportunity: a necessary tool for exercising leadership. This has required a revolutionary rethinking of the Vatican's approach to the White House. The relationship has been transformed from an ideological alliance into a pragmatic one.