O'Brien's opportunity with the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

This is an intriguing idea, especially since the knights of this order, historically at least, have not all been Catholics. Lord knows that the Christians of the Middle East could use a champion. Possibly, maybe, potentially, (I'm very tentative here) the Order of the Holy Sepulchre could fill that role, since it is an 'uninterested third party'.
On the other hand, the baggage which this order carries is its close association with the Crusades (where its origins lie). This is not so much a barrier for many of the non-Roman Christian communities as it is for the Islamic majorities in the countries involved. It would be all too easy to raise the spectre of a New Crusade, leading to yet more pressure and persecution of the Christian minorities and perhaps other unwanted effects as well.
Still, with careful and sensitive work, it could be that this notion might have some beneficial effects. If Archbishop O'Brien is open to the many subtleties involved, and exercises respect toward all parties, there could be some successes for all.

Actually,before 2007 the job was usually given to someone who was already a cardinal rather than in anticipation of his becoming one.

Is this a promotion or just a way to remove AB O'Brien as bishop of Baltimore. As bishop of Baltimore, he is shepherd to millions of Catholics in that diocese, but how many Catholics are living in Jerusalem? If I were AB O'Brien, I would rather be bishop of Baltimore instead of Grand Master. I wonder if his stand on the Legionaries of Christ got the Vatican (via LC friends) to remove O'Brien from the Baltimore See.

Dear John,

There is either a Latin or Italian phrase which, in English, translates to "To move him out, you move him up." To move him out of Boston, Cardinal Law was "promoted" to Archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome. In the 1950's, Chicago's Cardinal Samuel Stritch, who had encountered some financial problems, was "promoted" to a Roman Curial office. I've heard talk that Raymond Burke was moved out of St. Louis to Rome because of his sometimes over the top outspokenness against giving Eucharist to pro-choice candidates.

With those examples in mind, I can't help but wonder if there's something to Archbishop O'Brien's "promotion to Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Certainly, O'Brien's move is intended to be meaningful, and is not just a "party favor". If the intent was simply to "reward" him for being a loyal lap dog, O'Brien surely would have been given his red hat in Baltimore, the Premier See of the US, where there have been cardinals previously (including his immediate predecessor, Keeler, who is now over 80 and no longer eligible to vote in a conclave, thus avoiding having two electors from the same see). Furthermore, O'Brien is the first sitting archbishop of Baltimore to not end his career in that post.
Indeed, as O'Brien himself said, in addressing the announcement, the move is a clear sign of the priority that the Holy Father has for the Holy Land. Clearly, more than a move for a red hat.

Archbishop O'Brien's first episcopal appointment was as Archbishop of the Military Services, USA. Earlier he had been an Army chaplain in Vietnam. CNS reports: "From 1971 to 1972, he served a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and then 1st Cavalry Brigade. From a base of operations in the middle of a jungle, he and a Protestant minister flew by helicopter to defensive outposts where they would provide for the spiritual needs of soldiers."
Sounds like he has ecumenical experience for this job. Let's pray for his success.

Surely, O'Brien's move is intended to be more meaningful than to simply serve as an excuse for a "party favor" red hat. If that had been the case, he certainly would have been made a cardinal as Archbishop of Baltimore, the Premier See of the US, which has a history of cardinal archbishops (including O'Brien's immediate predecessor, Keeler, who is now over 80 and ineligible to vote in a conclave, thus avoiding having two electors from the same diocese). As O'Brien himself commented, on the announcement of his new post, the move clearly signals the pope's priority for the Church in the Holy Land.
No, the move is more than an opportunity to get a red hat for being a loyal lap dog; O'Brien would have been rewarded with that as Archbishop of Baltimore, had that been the only intent.

"Equestrian Order?" Is this some sort of horse cavalry outfit? This organization sounds like something out of a museum. How many members does it have? Archbishop O'Brien is a good man and had a real Archdiocese to run. Perhaps he will get a red hat out of the position, but I wonder how valid it really is?

Let's hope that this archbishop isn't being "kicked upstairs" to avoid being caught up in some new disaster.

This position is usually an honorable retirement position for someone who is being moved out of a power position or a spot to justify giving a red hat to a "good and faithful servant" who never really achieved power, so how sure is anyone that the popular read on this is accurate? This feeds into the narrative as a boost of the profile of the position, but what is this based on?

Not to feed into the default position typical of comboxes here where every hierarch is evil and every transfer a conspiracy, but this is just so out of the blue that it makes me wonder. Given the nature of how the position has been used, as an honorable retirement for a "faithful servant" like Foley, or as a planned post-retirement assignment for Justin Rigali, this has the feel of someone in a power position being "kicked upstairs" in order to be moved out of his current slot without loss of face.

Given that O'Brien has kept a relatively low profile since placing restrictions on the Legionaries early in his Baltimore tenure, there is no particular reason to interpret it as a kick upstairs and not as Mr. Allen interprets it, but a residential archbishop has never been moved out of his spot for this post prior to this. There was no need to promote him to make him a cardinal as Baltimore has had three already and is the "premiere see" in the U.S. The explanation here and elsewhere fits all the known facts and there is no specific reason to doubt it. How sure are we that all of the relevant facts are known?

Clearly, O'Brien's move is intended to be meaningful, and not only an excuse to provide the "party favor" of a red hat. If that had been the case, he would have been rewarded without the move, staying in Baltimore. The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Premier See of the US, has a history of having cardinal archbishops, including O'Brien's immediate predecessor (Keeler, who is now over 80, thus avoiding having two electors from the same see).
As O'Brien himself commented on the announcement of his appointment, the move clearly signals the pope's priority for the Church in the Holy Land. No, if the only reason for the move was to reward O'Brien as a loyal lap dog, he'd have been made cardinal as Archbishop of Baltimore.

Having made my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and meeting the Patriarch, I believe he and Archbishop O'Brien would make a very influential team do do just as you say.
In the US, we spend too much energy on the Israeli - Palestinian issues. As important as they are, we almost never include the Christians. Yet, it is the Christians who suffer at the hands of both Israel and those who would create a Muslim-dominated state in Palestine.

Wow! John Allen Jr, in addition to being an outstanding journalist, is also a very persistent one. This is the fourth article in just over a month the centers on this topic.

I have already replied to the first 3, so I'll give it one more try, hopefully more succinct and clear than in the past.

Here is the key problem, one that is very hard for some non-Christians (e.g. Jews such as me) to understand, and apparently even harder for many Christians to understand.

Christians, in virtually every continent, are the world's most persecuted and defamed religion. In North America, it takes the form of excluding religion from the public square, relegating it to an exclusive (and thereby ineffectual) private sphere, and replacing it in public with what Pope Benedict XVI so aptly calls "the dictatorship of relativism". An intellectual persecution and discrimination rather than a physical one, but real none the less.

In South America, in Venezuela and its allies, the persecution can turn physical as well.

In Asia, India and Pakistan may be bitter rivals with each other, but both feature significant physical persecution of Christians. The same is true of China, Vietnam, and North Korea.

In Australia and Western Europe, a more intense version of North America holds sway.

In Africa, Nigeria, and the Sudan (among others) regularly feature murder and massacres against Christians.

And in the Islamic/Arab Middle East (which includes Turkey and Iran in the "Islamic" component) murder, mayhem, legal discrimination, and mob attacks against Christians are a commonplace.

Guess what: no major state, and I believe, no major non-state organization or religious body, has made protection of Christians (or in North America/Western Europe/Australia protection of living a Christian life in the public square) an important goal.

It gets worse. Let's take the Islamic/Arab Middle East, which is the principal focus of Mr. Allen's article. As he himself points out, the source of the major attacks on established Christian communities (Egypt, Iraq) is Islamic fundamentalism. The same is true for countries that he does not mention (Turkey, Lebanon, Iran). And, of course, in Saudi Arabia (the "other" Middle Eastern Holy Land) Christians may be present as a servant underclass, but they are prohibited from any public expression of their religious identity and practice.

So now let's look at "Israel and the Palestinian Territories". As Mr. Allen has pointed out in previous articles, the "Israeli" Christian population has grown substantially, principally through the combination of immigration (largely from the former Soviet Union) and guest workers (especially from the Phillipines).

(See the "other NCR", the National Catholic Register at http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/christians-moving-back-to-the-holy-... the actual increase in Christian population in Israel, including East Jerusalem, and Judea/Samaria-but not Gaza.)

Similarly, the Christian shrines in Israel and Jerusalem (including East Jerusalem) function openly and have been protected by Israeli authorities. On the other hand, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was invaded and seized by Islamic terrorist thugs without even any verbal condemnation by the Palestinian Authority or any Palestinian Christian bodies.

Ultimately, of course, the Israelis arranged for a non-violent solution which protected the integrity of the Shrine and the physical safety of the Christians who lived there.

The real problem, at least in the Islamic/Arab Middle East, is that no one is willing to tell the straightforward truth about the fact that Islamic/Arab extremism and violence are the principal source of the problems for Christians. Perhaps this is because of "Political Correctness", and perhaps this is because of fear for physical safety. Perhaps, even, this is because of a general world wide tolerance of anti-Christian (especially anti Catholic) activities.

For a look at how "alternate reality" triumphs over clear truth, see http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=231998

Until leaders, countries, and important organizations can face the truth directly and articulate it clearly, nothing significant will happen. And no matter what Archbishop O'Brien's courage or political skills, his work will be futile without that kind of support-which is nowhere in sight.

The first thing O'Brien should do is to lead an effort to get rid of the "crusader" entity he will head and its "knights." It is an embarassment after 1,000 years and extremely detrimental to dialogue with the world's one billion Muslims. The job is primarily about raising money from wealthy Catholics to fund the various sites in the Holy Land. People who give a lot are deemed "knights" as with the Knights of Malta and the other similar orders. The "Society to Support the Holy Land" or similar new titles would be more honest and less provocative.

That, as head of this group, O'Brien should automatically become a cardinal elector of the next pope (per a 1949 decree of Pius XII) is ridiculous in today's global context. Raising money to support historical religious sites hardly merits such power. But, of course, as with Burke and Chaput, B16 is trying to establish a new regime of hard-right American cardinals to match those from Italy, Spain and Latin America. At Vatican II Americans were among the progressives. B16 wants to assure that doesn't happen again.

Clearly, O'Brien's move is intended to be substantive, and not merely an excuse/opportunity to provide him with the "party favor" of a red hat. If that had been the case, O'Brien would have been rewarded with his hat as the Archbishop of Baltimore. The archdiocese, the Premier See of the US, has a history of cardinal archbishops, including O'Brien's immediate predecessor, Cardinal Keeler (who is now over 80 and ineligible to vote in a conclave, thus avoiding having two electors from the same see).
As O'Brien commented upon the announcement of his appointment as Pro-Grand Master, the move clearly conveys the pope's priority for the Church in the Holy Land. No, if simply rewarding O'Brien for being a loyal lap dog had been the only intent, he would have been made a cardinal as the Archbishop of Baltimore.

O'Brien may be labeled by some as one who 'rarely pulls his punches', as the article avers, but the odds are much in favor of his doing just that when it comes to addressing the reality of Israel's predatory behavior being the primary cause of the extensive exodus of Palestinian Christians from the Holy Land. It's reasonable to assume that he got the Baltimore position on the basis of being a good little right-winger, which in the U.S. Catholic Church has proved to be a sub-group highly sympathetic to Israel's rape of Palestine.

PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACE IN IRAQ & EGYPT

Egypt is in an absolute mess. The country is drowning in lawlessness. The borders between israel and egypt must be monitored and protected from terrorists. Egypt is a Blessed Land as much as Israel is. No more Hate or Fighting between eachother. The whole Middle East is in Flames...Enough Bloodshed! We are all fellow Human Beings. We all need to Unite in Peace & Harmony. God is Love, who seeks Mercy and not Sacrifice. Haven't the Egyptian Authorities yet learnt from the recent bombing of All Saints Church in Alexandria...which left 21 innocent christian cvilians murdered and over 100 injured! Guess what!!!Police investigation on this case has been closed and no one has been found GUILTY???....The Egyptian People are blaming Egypt's Former Interior Minister - Habib Al Adly. Where is Justice & Equality for Egypt's Native Copts???? Egypts Muslim Brotherhood certainly threaten's democratic reform, justice and equality for the Egyptian People. The Military Council are corrupted by Salafi Extremists. All these on-going media claims of mubarak and ministers of the ex regime being sentenced by the military supreme council are all false. The chaos in egypt is due to the release of dangerous criminals from prisons all over the country, by Mubarak’s regime. Does the world know that there are thousands of criminals on the rampage throughout the county??? It's not the US or Israel's fault. Corruption and religious extremism by the regime is the main cause. Lawlessness is at its peak, since the revolution. Christian copts are targeted by armed gangs. Daily, coptic women and children are abducted, drugged and raped by armed gangs. The victims are sexually exploited & forced to convert to islam. Religion is not by force. Saudi arabia is funding the islamization of coptic christians. Up to 50,000 egyptian pounds are paid to armed gangs for the forced isIamization of coptic girls in egypt. Over 350 Coptic girls and women have been abducted to date.......In every attack on Copts, criminals are protected by the authorities and never punished by the law. It’s the coptic victims that are arrested and imprisoned by the authorities. This is just injustice!!! Churches and Christian businesses and villages continue to be attacked by salafi extremists. When will this ever stop??? Egypt will not get better until law & order is restored, by imprisonment of over 10,000 dangerous criminals and a new democratic government, supported by the U.N. The world is asleep at the wheel, believing “everything is getting better” in Egypt, since this years revolution. Egypt is drowning, day after day. Sadly, the country is in a mess…….Everyone is now suffering in this atmosphere of corruption, inequality and injustice………We love Egypt and it's people, but denounce oppression by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi Extremists who want to convert the country to a Religious State with Sharia Law, which is in neither interest to muslim, christian or other.