Ambassador Diaz's remarks to Pope Benedict
John Allen reported earlier this morning that President Barack Obama's ambassador to the Holy See Miguel Diaz presented his credentials to Pope Benedict XVI today.
The U.S. Embasssy to the Holy See posted Diaz's remarks to its Web site. Here it is:
Remarks
Vatican City
Your Holiness,
It is a distinct honor to present to you my credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Holy See and to bring to you warm greetings from President Barack Obama and the American people. I am very grateful to President Obama for the opportunity to represent him and my country to the Holy See. My wife and children, who have accompanied me to Rome, have also welcomed our President’s invitation to serve our country. They join me in offering our familial, cultural, and educational experiences at the service of diplomacy.
One of the benefits of living next door to small children is that they have taken an interest in the toys we packed away long ago as our own son outgrew them. He is out of college now, so we are talking about ancient bins of plastic Legos and sets of Playmobile people who once inhabited little houses made of foamboard and lots of glue -- "projects" that threatened to take over whole rooms in our house. That first round of playing with him was a rediscovery of my own childhood, and now I get to do it again.
