Kmiec Comes Home: Ambassador Resigns Position in the Obama Administration

4/19/2011

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in every procured abortion, human persons are killed. It is clear, Doug was wrong in his analysis and his error was a tragedy.

It is immoral to vote in a manner that fails to include all of the poor, including children in the first home of the whole human race (their mother's womb) within the obligation we owe to one another in solidarity. Doug and his candidate, now President Obama, were right during the campaign to emphasize that we are our brother's (and sister's) keeper, but wrong to then exclude an entire class of brothers and sisters, the unborn, from the protections of the positive law.

Doug contended that the choice he promoted in that little book, to support the candidacy of Barack Obama, was morally acceptable. I insisted then that he was absolutely wrong and time has borne out the consequences of his wrong choice. I understood his frustration with the same old/same old offering of the other Party, the Republicans. In fact, I shared it. However, I knew that the man whose soaring rhetoric seduced Doug was going to let him down. I was right.

Doug and I share a deep admiration of Blessed Mother Teresa. She said it all so clearly in 1994 in words which Doug and I discussed on several occasions: "America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts - a child - as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience.

"It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign."

To this day, I am flabbergasted by Doug's position during the last presidential campaign and his decision to support now President Barack Obama. However, I still consider Doug to be a friend. Friends can make wrong decisions. If we care about them at all, we pray for their conversion. So, I have followed with great interest Doug's service to the Obama administration on the beautiful Catholic island nation of Malta.

I have regularly heard reports of his dedicated public service, the affection of the Maltese people toward him and his writing and defense of religious freedom. I was not surprised. He is a good man. I have also prayed for him continually. When I read of his awful traffic accident last year, I prayed intensely. I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sister Mary Campbell and subsequent death of, Monsignor John Sheridan later that same year. I am sure it was devastating for Doug. I tried to contact him, but to no avail.

Recently, I followed with great interest the brouhaha over Doug emanating from some circles of this administration. It all seemed to center on his continued writings in defense of religious liberty, the arena to which Doug had dedicated his commendable legal career. I have, as they say, "been around" politics long enough to see that the writing was on the wall.

When a State Department report criticized Ambassador Kmiec for the very writings which I was happy he was continuing to devote himself to, I sensed something was afoot and that Doug's service to this administration was to come to an end. In fact, it appears to this observer that there was an effort to force Doug Kmiec from his post by underlings unhappy with his dedication to furthering religious freedom. Frankly, the administration in office had derived all they could from him and it was time to let him go.

Through two letters, the first addressed to President Obama on April 13, 2011 which can be read here: and the second to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Saturday April 16, 2011 which can be read here , Ambassador Doug Kmiec submitted his resignation from his position as Ambassador to Malta this weekend.

The date of his departure from his ambassadorship is August 15, 2011. He made a point in his letter to President Obama of noting that the date is the Feast of the Assumption. He told CNN news, "With my reputation impugned by the recent ... report, I can no longer be certain that I am in a position with my government to have your needs and perspectives heard in the best possible light."

Doug Kmiec will be coming home this summer. I welcome his return. I miss him as a friend. He is a great legal scholar. He is the former dean of the Catholic University of America's Law School. He has been on leave as the Professor of Constitutional Law and Caruso Family Chair in Constitutional Law. He will certainly have no difficulty securing a position and continuing his career.

However, I hope that, upon reflection, this relatively young man will reconsider some of the positions he took in that little book he wrote and rededicate himself to the fundamental human rights movement, the effort to secure the Right to Life taken from an entire class of persons, our youngest neighbors.

After all, mistakes are meant to become tutors for men and women of faith. I believe that Doug Kmiec is a man of faith. I know that many of my other friends will object to my characterization of him. However, when all is said and done, I know that Doug Kmiec loves the Lord and the Catholic Church.

In the spirit of this Holy Week, I invite our readers to pray for Doug and his family. These are historic times for the Church and the world into which she is sent to carry on the redemptive mission of Jesus. Pray for Doug Kmiec to acknowledge his mistake in the last Presidential campaign. More importantly, pray for him to become a part of our vital work to elect a truly Pro-Life President in the coming election cycle.

After all, if being deceived by a Presidential candidate is Doug's major fault, we have all made the same mistake. I sure know I have, too many times! It is time to reject sophistry and to nominate someone who truly understands that the Pro-Life position is not about a single issue but about the very future of western civilization. Welcome home Doug, give me a call.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Doug Kmiec, Obama, Ambassador to Malta, Pro-Life, Pro-Choice, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 10 of 31 Comments

Rob
2 years ago
To the extent you forgive, you will be forgiven. Christ came to heal the sick. And I also seem to recall "forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" as something we say daily. We would do well to keep that in mind as we vainly decide whether Mr. Kemic should be let back into the Catholic club. His sin is great, but it didn't eliminate people's free will or their ability to seek out the truth. Mr. Kemic is not the pope, a bishop or a priest. Those who chose to follow him did so of their own free will. Nothing he did or the government does eliminates free will. And as we all know, not even God the Father will take this away from us. He will let us choose death if that is what we want.
Bill
2 years ago
Mr Kmiec, in my estimation, made a tragic error in writing a book justifying why he felt, not believed, that he could vote for a virulently antilife president. By committing his rationale for his feelings, as opposed to his beliefs, to writing he betrayed the Author of Life every bit as much as Judas. Moreover, he led other less informed catholics, who were looking to justify their feelings as opposed to their beliefs, to vote for an unapologetic pro abortion candidate. For this he does not have to answer to anyone on this earth and I have no burning desire to hear Mr Kmiec apologize. He will, however, have to justify his actions at his final judgment. To this end, his book will be of little assistance!
Theresa
2 years ago
First, I must say that I often find many of the Comments as excellent as the Articles. I am also of the mind that "the Party" should not be the focus of our vote; rather the Principles of the people running for Office is what we should be weighing. Our nation's "Fundamental Principles" are ranked in order of importance. First comes: LIFE, next comes LIBERTY (includes our right to express our Religion in public as well as in private, without interference from government--as long as our religion does not violate the LIFE Principle) and then "the Pursuit of Happiness" (that leads all the way to being "Happy with [God] forever in Heaven--what we learned in First Grade Religion Class!) as long as it doesn't violate the first 2 Principles. Needless to say, these three Principles accord perfectly with the Catholic/Christian Faith. This is why both Pope JP II and Pope Benedict so highly praised our Founding Principles. Considering the impact our President has on the implementation of these Principles, we do well to weigh well where candidates stand on these Principles. If we did that, I would venture to say, we wouldn't be in all the trouble we've seen (in many areas of government/national interest) since Roe v Wade. Needless to say, we need to pray at all times for our President--that he lead from a position of integrity and truth. I am very concerned re. where we are going and being taken these days....One last thing: re. meeting the needs of the poor, the homeless, etc., I agree that "the people" do a better job than the government; it is "the people" who give out of their love--not the government. An awful lot of tax dollars is wasted, and also spent on administrative costs. (I think we would be surprised at just how much of our tax dollars go into these two pots--that doesn't get to the people who are in need!) We need to re-examine and re-engineer the operations in "Washington" (and in our States) --from head to toe! The financial crises we are in could be a real start--IF the LIFE and LIBERTY-related matters are also brought back on track in the process....
Rob
2 years ago
Vance, you missed my point. Actually, with the exception of the early stages of Afghanistan, I think Libya and Iraq are terrible mistakes. I think our continued conflict in Afghanistan is also a mistake. My point wasn't to say that Libya was a just war at all, I am merely saying if we are going to justify military intervention for the loss of life occurring in Libya, why are we content to wait on politicians to stop abortions by trying to use our broken political process? I would hope that our decisions to wage war would be made without a D or R label.
roman
2 years ago
Austine

You say we should vote for the least bad candidate because no candidate has the complete Christian credentials? That all the candidates are flawed? That is exactly the rational that lead me to vote for Obama in the first place! I naievely thought that since republicans will not really end abortion but are just pandering to the pro life constituancy maybe voting democrat would improve other areas.
But you are right about the democrats enabling more abortions. At the time I did not think more enabling could be done. Live and learn I guess. I will never vote democrat again.
But I will not vote republican again either. Well meaning as they may be, their policies will only benifit the rich and well to do and leave the poor and vulnerable by the wayside, which will lead to more poverty, misery, despair and, because of that, more abortions!I do not believe that "getting the government of our backs" and letting the "free market"(aka rich people with money) fix things will work. For the most part the corporatocracy care only about "efficiency" and maximizing profits. They willl continue to outsource jobs and lay people off at the first sign of trouble. If the corporatocracy has its way and achieved the absolute freedom from"government interference" that republicans would give them things will get much worse, wages and benifits lowered, higher unemployment, etc, all the while calling any opposition to such absolute freedon "communism" or "Marxism" The corporatocracy cares nothing for the common good, only its own interests.
Hence the need, I believe, for us to stop settling for the "least bad candidate" and for people like Jamie and myself to demand an end to a situation where we have to sacrifice some principles in order to uphold others. The Obama candidacy has clearly shown this need.
vance
2 years ago
Rob, Lybia is a just war? Now, I am confused. The USA is evil for nation building in Iraq and Afganistan but it is a Saint for getting rid of Gadaffi. The USA is a Saint for wagging war in the Balkans. OH, Now I get it!!! If a Republican President wages war, it is evil BUT when a Marxist Democrat President wages war it is JUST. Man-o-man am I slow.
Rob
2 years ago
I was thinking about some of the commentary I've heard about Libya. Some of the criticisms of Obama have centered around the thought that he waited to long to intervene and many innocents lost their lives. With the premise of preserving life, we destroy life. Perhaps this would fall into the category of a "just war." I agree that none of our military coflicts rise to the level of the loss of life in abortion. But why the tempered response on the loss of life in abortion and decisive military action on something like Libya? I dont' get the sense that the best way to have handled the holocuast during world war II was to hope our politicians get it right some day. Why are we so content to leave the mondern day holcaust of abortion in the hands of our politicians?
austine
2 years ago
Kmiec will not publically repent. It would be too humiliating.
Jamie and others, please vote for the least bad candidate instead of the candidate with all the Christian credentials. We are not in heaven; all the candidates are flawed. Democratic politicians always find ways to allow more abortions; more public funding, positive advertisement, less restrictions, etc.
Jamie
2 years ago
@troisnyx Are you saying the government should not help the poor because if it does then individuals won't help the poor? I fear that I do not have nearly enough faith in the people of this country to fill the void that government would leave. Also spending cuts/tax breaks tend to mostly benefit the very wealthy who have not shown much interest in helping the poor these days.

@Jennifer I am not trying to equate the two other than to say a life is a life is a life. Either you believe that every life is precious and should not be ended unnaturally as per the teachings of the church, or you believe that only the unborn are important and those that have been born are irrelevant and may be bombed, starved, executed.

I agree with roman. There should be a third party that really speaks to our fundamental beliefs and we should find candidates that will uphold all of Christ's teachings and not just those that are politically convenient the way George W. Bush did.

Finally, we need to deal with these perpetual scandals within the Church such as the recent case in Philadelphia if we want the possibility of a Catholic-minded political party. Too many people associate Catholics with child-molestation and we need to change that.
techwreck
2 years ago
I can't agree with the Deacon. Kmiec is responsible for giving scandal to Catholics who are confused about the Church's teaching on the evil of abortion, and he was derelict in his duty in his position of Ambassador for his country. Those are two major mistakes that he made and he is responsible for the damage that they caused.

Having said that, Kmiec should be forgiven for his actions if he shows appropriate remorse, because all of us have acted in ways that injured others or had the potential to injure others. None of us are perfect, but we are all responsible for the harm we do.

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