Appointment of Ken Hackett, former president of Catholic Relief Services, as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican

Excerpt of October 25 article by John Allen, John Allen blog, the beginning of which gives background information about Hackett

Allen: What was your experience of presenting your credentials to Pope Francis?

Hackett: It was magnificent and inspiring. I'd been told by other ambassadors that the Holy Father generates a personal connection with you, and they were right. We had a translator because my Italian isn't quite there yet. He spoke mostly in Spanish and me in English, though he understood most of the English. I gave him a little bit of my background, though he had already been briefed.

As it happens, I had been in the previous day to the government of the Vatican City State to see Cardinal [Giuseppe] Bertello, whom I had visited on a number of occasions when he was the nuncio in Rwanda. When the genocide broke out, he had to leave, and I told him about visiting his residence afterward and seeing gaping holes in the ceiling above his living room and his bedroom where mortar shells had hit. The conversation resurrected some images for him that he had left behind. [Bertello] suggested that I should talk to the Holy Father about the genocide because he probably didn't know much about it. I did, and the Holy Father was very interested, given his deep compassion for the poor and the marginalized. It was a moving experience because I had a colleague with me, a former vice president at CRS, who's married to a Rwandan who lost 58 members of her family in the genocide. Understandably, she was in tears.

Beyond that, we talked about some of the major challenges facing the world: Syria, peace in the Holy Land, Iran and the hope for progress regarding their nuclear program, migration issues, and so on. We didn't go into any great depth, but he was enormously receptive. At the end, he said, "I'm praying for you, I'm praying for your president, and I'm praying for peace."

How do you see the role of the U.S. embassy to the Holy See?

My role is to represent the president and our government to members of the Roman Curia and to the Holy See generally on issues that are a priority for us, recognizing that the Holy See is truly global in its reach and often has access to information and insight about situations around the world that other diplomatic channels do not.

There are many, many issues where the U.S. government finds not just common cause with the Vatican, but a real convergence of priorities. The list includes trafficking in persons, international humanitarian development, [and] refugee matters, not to mention the situation of Christian minorities around the world. That's something the Holy See is deeply concerned about, as are many of the religious communities based here in Rome.

Do you have any personal goals as ambassador?

What I'd like to do is to tap into the network of contacts I developed over the years at CRS, all the people I've met around the world, and be a listening ear for them and a source of encouragement. For one thing, lots of these folks offered me a meal and a bed at various times, so I'd like to offer them the same hospitality here. Beyond that, I'd like to help make sure their voices are heard because many of them come from places to which we often don't pay much attention.

I recently had the bishop from Djibouti here, and some religious sisters from Algeria, and a bishop from Haiti, and one from Nigeria. These are all people I know who have a wealth of experience and wisdom, and I hope I can open up new connections with them both for our government and for the Holy See.

Secretary of State [John] Kerry has made the engagement of religious leaders a priority, recognizing that they often supply vision and inspire action that makes a real difference, whatever their faith may be. I'd like to contribute to that effort by being a convening agent, bringing people together.

How do you think the election of Francis has affected the Vatican's diplomatic profile?

From my one month now of closely watching what's happening here, I think we're seeing a new force for good [in Francis] that's only going to grow in intensity. He has already become a rallying point for hope across globe among people of all faiths.

Last night, I was with some people from the Simon Wiesenthal foundation, who naturally are Jewish, along with some Muslims they invited. Their concern is religious tolerance, and they all told me how overwhelmed they've been by the actions Francis has taken and the words he's offered. They see him as a powerful encouragement and inspiration.

At the general audience yesterday, [Archbishop Georg] Gänswein told me there were 92,000 people registered that day, with maybe 50,000 more people in the street. They've never had numbers at audiences like that before. Francis has the power to inspire people and to provide leadership on important issues that flow out of his faith in a way that's capturing everyone.

Diplomatically, I can say that every ambassador I talk to here says their governments now are investing more energy in inquiring about what's going on in the Vatican. They want to know what Francis' priorities are going to be and what he might have to say about major world issues.

The Obama administration has had a mixed relationship with the U.S. bishops. Does that have any impact on your ability to engage the Vatican?

I don't feel negatively affected by it at all. I believe there are far more issues where our government agrees with the Holy See as opposed to the relatively few areas of disagreement, and that's where I'll put my emphasis. I'd say the same for the church in the United States. There are actually many more issues where the church and the bishops are in sync with the administration, although the ones that get attention tend to be where there's disagreement.

[The remainder of the interview and of John Allen's article has to do with matters inside the Vatican. ]