By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
In another attempt to nominate a suitable Ambassador to the Holy See after several of his choices have been turned down, President Barack Obama has named a 45 year old Liberation theologian to become the United State’s Ambassador to the Holy See.
According to a report by the Catholic News Agency (CNA), the White House announced the nomination late yesterday of Miguel H. Diaz, Ph.D., a Cuban born theologian and strong Obama supporter.
An associate professor of theology at St. John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota, Diaz earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla., and his master’s and doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame at Notre Dame, Indiana
He has taught at Barry University, Miami Shores, Fla.; St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, Fla.; University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio; and the University of Notre Dame. He also served as the academic dean at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary and is fluent in Italian, Spanish and French.
His body of work, which includes some controversial positions on “inclusivity,” has gained him significant praise from the Catholic left, and his nomination was immediately hailed by pro-Obama dissident Catholic groups such as “Catholics United” and “Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good,” as well as Prof. Douglas Kmiec.
Diaz is listed as a member of “Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good,” but claims his relationship with the group is “a response to an invitation to become a theological advisor.”
Miguel Diaz served in 2008 on the Obama campaign’s Catholic advisory board and donated $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund last year.
Although he claims to be a “defender of life in all of it stages,” Diaz, who is the father of four, was among 26 Catholic leaders and scholars who signed a statement supporting the nomination of staunch pro abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services Secretary.
In a brief statement, Diaz said that “I wish to be a diplomatic bridge between our nation and the Holy See, and if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, I will continue the work of my predecessors and build on 25 years of excellent relations with the Holy See.”
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