Much has been made of Bernie Sander’s visit to the Vatican
to speak at a conference of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Members
of both sides of the political spectrum fretted over the question of exactly
from where the invitation originated.
Those on the left reveled in the speculation that perhaps Pope
Francis approves of Sanders’ candidacy for president, and perhaps the
invitation originated with him. Conservatives, especially pro-lifers, refused
to believe that the Holy Father would extend an invitation to the radically pro-abortion
Sanders.
Where did the invitation come from? Margaret Archer, president of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences, denied that the
invitation had originated with the Academy. She told Bloomberg News that, “Sanders made the first move
for obvious reasons.” She even
said specifically that Sanders “made the first move two or three days
ago.” And that “she did not know
whom he or his representatives contacted.” She considered the invitation a
“breach of protocol.”
Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences, replied, “This is not true and she
knows it. I invited him with her consensus.” Sorondo later added that the
invitation, “…does not signify any support of the campaign.”
When asked who initiated the contact, Monsignor Sorondo
repeatedly declined to answer. This is the key question. Sanders definitely
received an invitation and he is not being dishonest in saying so. But did
someone in his campaign contact the Pontifical Academy first? Why would
Monsignor Sorondo not answer that question directly when asked more than once? Adding to the confusion, the Daily Beast
reported that Sorondo volunteered “…Perhaps the others [candidates] would
have been interested but they did not request to come.”
Bloomberg.com said of the controversy, “The office of the
Pope moved to distance the pontiff from the visit. Father Frederico Lombardi,
the Pope’s spokesman, said Sanders had been invited ‘not by the pope but by the
Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences.’”
Did the Sanders campaign ask for an invitation? That would explain why Monsignor Sorondo declined to answer the question of who initiated the contact. Is this a conflict between Margaret Archer, the president of the Pontifical Academy, and the chancellor, Monsignor Sorondo? Perhaps Monsignor Sorondo chose to invite him without consulting Margaret Archer and does not want to admit it?
We will probably never know, although Monsignor’s comment
that the other candidates “did not request to come, “ raises some questions.
We do know that the invitation did not come from Pope
Francis.
Contrary to earlier reports, Senator Sanders was able to
meet the Pope. The New York Times reported that a personal secretary of the Holy Father told Sanders that if he
were in the foyer of the Casa Santa Marta, where the pope resides and where
Senator Sanders was staying, at 6:00 AM, when the pope would be heading to the
airport, he could speak briefly with him.
The Holy Father said of the meeting, “This morning when I
was leaving, Senator Sanders was there…He knew I was leaving at that time, and
he had the courtesy to greet me.”
No photos were permitted at the meeting.
The Times reported that the Holy Father said, “I shook his hand and nothing more. If someone thinks that greeting someone means getting involved in politics,” (laughing), “I recommend that he find a psychiatrist.”
The Times reported that the Holy Father said, “I shook his hand and nothing more. If someone thinks that greeting someone means getting involved in politics,” (laughing), “I recommend that he find a psychiatrist.”
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