Najib & The Archbishop "Controversy"

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To a leader of the Pope's intellectual mettle, it would be an embarrassment
for Pakiam to play the role of equerry on behalf of one who needs
to do some serious thinking about universal values,
the promotion of which is the aim of Benedict's push
for dialogue between Muslims and Christians.
-Terence Netto, Bishop's place in Najib's team to Vatican unseemly,
Malaysiakini
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Aside from the Holy See’s independent standing, nuncios enjoy other advantages over their secular counterparts. As talent scouts, looking for new bishops in the countries they serve, they are close to the Church in their locality and consequently ‘nearer to the ground’ than members of other diplomatic corps. They also tend to occupy a generally privileged place within a nation’s political establishment, given their direct links with Catholics from the grassroots to the highest levels of religion and politics. Yet many outsiders make the mistake of confusing the Holy See with Vatican City State, viewing it as merely 0.2 square miles of land in Rome.
~ Vatican Diplomacy, Diplomat magazine

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Allow me to begin by saying that The Vatican is the smallest state in the world, of which the Pope is the Head of State- just as he is the spiritual "CEO" of the Catholic Church.
In the modern Church, not all bishops occupy pastoral positions as the heads of dioceses and several dioceses are so large as to require more than one bishop rather than divide the diocese into smaller dioceses. Many Bishops are Papal Diplomats, and many Dioceses have one or more "Auxiliary Bishops" assisting the Bishop.

As such- the Vatican sends out political emissaries/envoys / diplomats/ "ambassadors" to states with which it has ties- the vital roles played by them in International diplomacy cannot be underestimated. They have played major roles in political developments from peace in Lebanon to the fall of the Soviet Empire. In states that do not have diplomatic ties- "Apostolic Delegates" are appointed to oversee the faithful of the catholic Church.
You may google up "Apostolic Nuncio" or "Vatican Diplomacy" to find out more ..... or even look up Wikipedia if you must.

Let's come back to Bolehland .... where "sensitive BolehBrains bay for blood" in their vocal bravado, over nonsensical sensitivities ..... especially after 308 - and now after "BERSIH 2.0".

Malaysia has the "distinction" of being one of the basket (case) of nations without any diplomatic relations to the Holy See (aka "Vatican City").
Wikipedia states that "There are sixteen internationally recognized states with which the Holy See does not have diplomatic relations.
They are: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Comoros, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, North Korea, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tuvalu, Vietnam, and the People's Republic of China."

Recently word has come out that Najib intends to seek the audience of the Pope "in his personal capacity" with a view to establish diplomatic ties.
So, Malaysia is one of the few nations in the world which do not have formal ties with the Vatican- as such, we do not have a Papal envoy/ ambassador (aka Apostolic Nuncio).

Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli (58)
(2011.01.13 – ...) Titular Archbishop of Capri
Apostolic Nuncio of Timor-Leste
Apostolic Nuncio of Singapore
Apostolic Delegate of Brunei
Apostolic Delegate of Malaysia
Pontifical Representative of Vietnam
Apostolic Nuncio of ASEAN

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That being the case, although Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli (above) may be the Apostolic Delegate (who isn't politically recognized by the Malaysian Govt since he's an unilateral appointee)- I'd presume that the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur/Selangor (Archbishop Murphy Pakiam) would by default become the official chief representative of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in Malaysia- according to the hierarchy.

Now- When the CEO of Malaysia requests an audience with the Pope, I'd presume that he would have made such a request through the Archbishop.

News has come out that His Grace would be accompanying Najib on his trip- and Mr. "Bombastic" Terence Netto has led the pack of ignoramuses in "reprimanding" His Grace for agreeing to accompany najib.

(FYI, I hear from reliable sources that His Grace hasn't actually "officially" agreed to accompany Najib on the entourage- and that he may appoint another representative to do so to please these baying ignoramuses, who mistake the trees for the forest).

Anyway, had it been diplomatic protocol for His Grace to introduce Najib to the Holy Father- I really don't see anything wrong with him accompanying Najib as an intermediary, even if they were "at each other's throats" politically or personally.
As far as I know in diplomatic circles (or any religion for that matter), any intermediary in resolving disputes should be welcome- even if one party were a terrorist.

I really don't understand what this intellectual-midget of a Mr.Bombastic (and his ilk) hopes to achieve by encouraging His Grace to show hostility towards Najib. I really do not see what ill would come out of His grace representing Malaysian Catholics (and Christians, if you wish) with a view towards establishing ties with the Holy See.

Did he say something about "impressions" created?
I suppose he'd be pleased if we gave an impression hostility ... maybe he hopes that a snub from the Catholic Church would make the Malaysian Govt even more enthusiastic in establishing diplomatic ties with the Holy See. Maybe he thinks that would help the Church and Malaysians in general.
Maybe he'd like His Grace to come out with some kind of fatwa to demonize Umno ... maybe even call for Najib's head on a silver platter to solve all problems?

Does this Terence Netto not see the benefits of establishing cordial ties with the Vatican on a conciliatory note?
Who is he anyway to dictate terms to His Grace, who has courageously stood up for the Constitutional rights of all Christians (regardless of denominational affiliations) when people like him were still silent as church mice?

God help me ........ how I hate all these unthinking, vocal & bombastic newbies who bay like heroes today, but were conveniently silent (or "politically correct") during the blatant harassment & persecution by the authorities back then when we first started out to create a political awakening in Malaysian society ...
They just disgust me- I can only imagine what Raja Petra thinks of these "heroes" today ......