I see that an old friend of the Philippines is up to his "old tricks" again ---- and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Archbishop Antonio Franco, now the papal nuncio to Israel (and Cyprus), has figured in another religious/political controversy.
John Allen writes:
Archbishop Antonio Franco, the Vatican’s nuncio in Israel, has announced that he will attend the annual Holocaust Memorial day event at Yad Vashem, Israel’s main Holocaust museum, after the museum indicated it is willing to reconsider a caption of Pope Pius XII that Franco found offensive. Avner Shalev, President of Yad Vashem, sent a letter to Franco late in the week stating that the museum will “reconsider the way in which Pius XII is presented.” In response, Franco indicated that he will be present for the events Sunday evening.Apparently, Franco did not only find the caption offensive; he backed it up with one of the more potent weapons in diplomacy's limited armory: he threatened to stage a boycott. Filipinos may remember Franco, who served in the Philippines for over six years, as the man who allegedly gave the Philippine bishops a tongue-lashing in July 2005 ---- a warning against politicized action that allegedly led to the bishops' tempered statement on the Garcillano crisis. As I have previously written, I do not believe that there was in fact a cause-and-effect relation between the papal nuncio's traditional address and the CBCP's measured position. (Here is a link to the first lengthy piece I wrote, which in turn references the Newsbreak and International Herald Tribune stories I objected to.) But Franco was also the Pope's ambassador who received the news about the repeal of the death penalty law last year right in Congress ---- his presence was welcomed by Speaker Joe de Venecia and his leaders, but I couldn't have been the only one to feel a vague unease over his visit. It seems clear, however, that Archbishop Franco "gets things done." How does he do it? His reaction upon hearing from the Holocaust museum (as reported in Allen's story) gives us a clue:
“Because my action was not intended to disassociate myself from the celebrations, but to call attention to the way in which the pope was presented … my goal has been reached,” Franco said. “I don’t have any reason to keep this tension open” and therefore “I will take part in the ceremonies.”Practical (and clearly stated) expectations; a willingness to risk "tension" and a firm stance; a readiness to please and be pleased. Diplomacy, you might say, in the style of Roncalli, not Pacelli.
