By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

An article appearing in the semi-official Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, calls the decision to award President Obama with a Nobel Peace Prize “premature” and questions the award because of his stance on abortion.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the article notes that “the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama has taken everyone somewhat by surprise, first and foremost the U.S. president himself.”
 
It also points out that during the last 90 years the prize has never been awarded to a sitting U.S. president. When former Pres. Jimmy Carter received the award in 2002 he had been out of office for some time, but was still involved in politics and able to influence the process for world peace.

However, Obama’s case is much different, which is why “Analysts have almost unanimously interpreted his selection as a way of pressuring Obama to make pacifist choices as his administration continues forward,” the paper surmised.

The article also noted the administration’s waffling and indecisiveness regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which makes the president’s global reputation questionable. The paper called this fence straddling into question, as well as his back-and-forth on bioethical issues such as abortion and health care provider conscience issues.

The Vatican newspaper brought up the subject of Mother Teresa’s Peace Prize. “Obama ought to recall that in 1979 he was preceded by Mother Teresa, who had the courage to state in her acceptance speech that the harshest war with the greatest number of ‘fallen’ is the practice of abortion, legalized and facilitated as well by the international structures.” 
 
The article also pointed out that Pope John Paul II was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for years but was never chosen for the award in spite of the fact that he is largely credited for the fall of the Berlin Wall.
 
“Pope Wojtyla was considered by the members of the committee as too ‘conservative’ in other areas, and they feared that awarding it to him would be seen as favoring the Catholic Church over other religions. Their fears were evidently overcome in the much more controversial case of the selection of Obama,” the paper said, noting that the selection process has become mired in political correctness.
 
However, the article concluded, “at the same time, as the director of the Holy See’s Press Office has stated, we cannot help but rejoice at the recognition of President Obama’s efforts at nuclear disarmament and his personal disposition towards a policy that seeks peace more than the affirmation of U.S. power in the world.”

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