Time To Fire Giovanni Maria Vian As Editor Of L'Osservatore Romano

Or else drop L'Osservatore Romano as an official Vatican publication.

Giovanni Maria Vian has been a shameless Obama apologist from day one, and has prided himself on hiring a "religiously diverse" staff to write for a newspaper whose entire (and increasingly less fulfilled) purpose is to comment on Catholic matters and on world events from a Catholic perspective. There has been a great deal of other theologically questionable material printed in the pages of L'Osservatore Romano under Maria Vian's watch.

Deal Hudson has written a great piece, linked to by LifeNews.com, describing the out and out lies perpretated by Maria Vian, which includes a specific denial that Obama is pro-abortion. As Hudson so eloquently explains it:

"For President Obama's Catholic outreach effort, this is a dream come true. Obama's Catholic advisers have received a virtual Vatican imprimatur on his abortion reduction message to Catholics. The Obama campaign, the Democratic National Committee, Catholics United, and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good will trumpet this message loudly and in unison.

It doesn't matter that not everything published in L'Osservatore Romano represents the official position of the Vatican. That is a distinction that 99.9 percent of Catholic voters will neither know nor grasp.

All that will matter on the ground is that the Vatican newspaper and its editor have confirmed what Obama's Catholic supporters have claimed all along: Obama seeks a "common ground on abortion," avoids harsh polemics, prudently seeks to "reduce abortions," and cannot therefore be called "pro-abortion."

The subliminal suggestion will be: The Vatican believes this, so why not you? This is how smart political campaigns use the media -- especially media with an authoritative and respected voice. And what's more authoritative and trustworthy to Catholics than the Vatican newspaper?"


Go back and read that again. Not everything published in L'Osservatore Romano represents the official position of the Vatican.

When James Salt of Catholics United tried to personally silence my criticisms of Obama, he cited an obscure L'Osservatore Romano article praising Obama's alleged rise above divisive partisan politics to try to show that the Vatican approved of Obama. He did not, of course, cite the full article, nor would he name the actual source of the quote he cited. Instead, he made the blatantly dishonest claim that the source had to be either Benedict XVI or his Secretary of State, given the newspaper's official status. I knew that could not be the case, and stated as much, and pressed him for both the name of the source of the quote and the context in which it was written, at which point he did what he and his friends at Catholics United/Catholics in Alliance always do when giving a straight answer to a question would undermine their argument: he changed the subject. At the time, I was relatively ignorant of just how scandalous the actions of L'Osservatore Romano had become. Now I know, and will do my best to make sure that those who know me or read this blog know as well.

Don't let fraudulent "Catholic" groups like Catholics United/Catholics in Alliance and other Obama cheerleaders use L'Osservatore Romano as a weapon to "legitimize" Obama's fiercely anti-Catholic stances. I'll repeat the statement for the third time, as it is crucial that people understand this: not everything published in L'Osservatore Romano represents the official position of the Vatican. If you read the newspaper, trust nothing as an official position of the Vatican unless it is directly attributable to an official Vatican source, because it could well be Giovanni Maria Vian and his subordinates looking to undermine the Church's moral authority in defense of a partisan political agenda. I pray that the Vatican will soon put an end to this practice by either ridding themselves of Maria Vian's subversive influence or severing its ties with the paper altogether. Please read the linked article for more information. God bless!


In Jesus and Mary,
Gerald