Today's Wednesday outrageous watch features none other than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. CNA reports that Mrs. Clinton visited Mexico on March 27, 2009 to accept the Margaret Sanger award from Planned Parenthood. (Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was a eugenicist who believed that the handicapped, the poor and African Americans were "human waste" whose "stocks" needed to be "eliminated" and that charitable programs "tend(s) to render them to a menacing degree dominant".) In what could be interpreted as a planned stop to quiet Catholics made uncomfortable by the raison d'etre of her Mexico visit, Clinton stopped by the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and left a bouquet of white flowers "on behalf of the American people" in front of the image of the Mother of Jesus that Catholics believe was created miraculously during an apparition of Mary to St. Juan Diego in 1531.
Mrs. Clinton turned to Msgr. Diego Monroy, the rector of the Basilica, and asked, "Who painted it?" Wisely, Msgr. Monroy replied, "God!"
The Secretary of State's question revealed a couple of possible things. It could have shown her lack of belief in the miraculous nature of the image. That's fine. She has every right not to believe. Even Catholics are not required to believe in apparitions--even Church approved ones, like this one is.
It also, however, could have shown her lack of knowledge about the story behind the Mexican apparition. This shows a deficit on the part of her staff. Apparently she wasn't briefed ahead of time on the background of the image in the Basilica and its importance to the Mexican people.
This puzzling deficiency in researching the background of a planned stop during a trip abroad for a sitting Secretary of State leads one to ponder the reason. Perhaps her staff is incompetent. That's hard to believe for someone who has been in circles of power for as long as Hillary Clinton has. If it is just a staff oversight, and I were her, heads would roll.
The other possibility could be that the long held beliefs of a predominantly Catholic country were just so unimportant as to be off the radar screen of Mrs. Clinton and her staff entirely. This is mind boggling given the fact that Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State of the United States--a position that requires diplomacy towards various cultures other than our own. The fact that Mrs. Clinton is, in all possibility a non-believer in Catholic apparitions, is, therefore, no excuse for her insensitive remarks given the fact that part of her job is to show respect for the cultures, traditions and beliefs of the countries she visits. Imagine making a similar statement to a member of the clergy of another religion (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim...) in light of that religion's similar belief!
Even without my vehement disagreement on almost all positions taken by Hillary Clinton, this latest gaff leaves me concerned as to her personal qualifications to represent the United States abroad.
2 comments:
IMHO, if she was going to place flowers in such a sacred place she either needed information or to keep quiet and at least pretend to be dignified and respectful about it.
Exactly. Respect another person's belief system--that's a big part of the job description of anyone who would be having a great deal of contact with other cultures and belief systems.
To me, it shows arrogance. A complete inability to put one's self in another's shoes, so to speak.
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