Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 24, 2020 / 09:30 am (CNA).- President-elect Joe Biden announced several foreign policy appointments to his cabinet on Monday, including a nominee for Secretary of State. If confirmed, nominees will shape U.S. foreign policy on a range of subjects, especially religious freedom.
Biden will nominate Antony Blinken, former Deputy Secretary of State under President Obama, to be the next Secretary of State. Binken also served as assistant and a national security advisor to Obama, and worked on the National Security Council in the Clinton administration.
The appointment of a former Obama official to lead the State Department could signal a shift in U.S. policy on international LGBTQ issues and on promoting religious freedom abroad.
Under the Obama administration, the U.S. invested tens of millions of dollars to promote LGBTQ concerns while being criticized by some religious freedom advocates for deemphasizing or taking a softer approach to promoting international religious freedom.
Some advocates pointed out lengthy gaps in time under the Obama administration where a key position at the State Department, the Ambassador at-Large for International Religious Freedom, remained vacant. The administration, meanwhile, established and appointed the first-ever Special Envoy for LGBTQ issues at the department in 2015.
Dr. Tom Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute, told CNA that through the special envoy, the U.S. could go further than simply trying to end violence against persons with same-sex attraction; the State Department could actively influence public opinion on the LGBT agenda in developing countries including by pressuring non-governmental organizations to change their beliefs on marriage.
In promoting international religious freedom, the State Department produces an annual report on the matter and lists certain countries in a tier rating system depending upon how poorly they protect religious freedom.
The Trump administration took a strong approach in presenting the report, condemning religious persecution and calling out bad actors by name. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned China’s abuses of largely-Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang more than two dozen times in less than a year.
The U.S. also formed the International Religious Freedom Alliance, and hosted the first-ever ministerial on religious freedom with religious and civic leaders attending from more than 100 countries.
Blinken, if confirmed, would also have to navigate these and other pressing humanitarian concerns, such as violence in Nigeria that has displaced millions of Muslims and Christians, and a dwindling Christian population in the Middle East.
The Biden administration could take a softer approach to dealing with bad actors, as some advocates, such as former USCIRF commissioner James Zogby, have called for a shift in the strategy of “naming-and-shaming” violators of religious freedom.
When he introduced the State Department’s 2015 religious freedom report, Blinken emphasized that “[t]he purpose of this annual report is not to lecture,” but rather “is to inform, to encourage, and ultimately to persuade.”
In Obama’s State Department, Blinken was part of an administration that pursued the nuclear deal with Iran and U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Accord—agreements that were supported by the U.S. bishops’ conference and the Holy See.
While the Trump administration withdrew from both agreements and ratcheted up “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran, Blinken may work to revive U.S. relations with Iran and participation in international climate agreements.
Also on Monday, Biden named Linda Thomas-Greenfield as his pick for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Greenfield served in the Obama administration as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and before that as Ambassador to Liberia. Among other issues, she fought laws that she said discriminated against the LGBT community, including criminalization of same-sex relations in countries like Uganda and Nigeria.
The Obama administration promoted LGBT concerns in Africa, but backlash in African countries reportedly led to some stricter laws against persons with same-sex attraction and violence against them.
At an April, 2014 congressional hearing, Greenfield spoke out against proposed “anti-LGBT legislation” in Africa that was leading to “renewed violence against the LGBT community.” Uganda had just enacted a law criminalizing homosexuality.
“We’re in the process of reviewing that relationship and our funding to see where changes can be made and in particular changes that will take funding away from those organizations and entities that discriminate against the LGBT community,” Greenfield said.
In 2015, around a visit of the Nigerian president to the U.S., she reportedly said that “As a policy, we will continue to press the government of Nigeria as well as other governments who have provided legislation that discriminate against the LGBT community.”
After President Obama promoted “the rights of gays and lesbians” during a 2015 trip to Kenya, Nigerian Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja responded that “our Church has always said homosexuality is unnatural and marriage is between a man and a woman.”
During the Trump administration, the U.S. also spoke out against abortion as an international human right at the United Nations General Assembly. As Biden has pledged to support legal abortion and overturn a ban on funding of foreign abortion promoters and providers, his administration might also promote legal abortion as part of diplomacy.
When senior advisor to the president Ivanka Trump tweeted that she was “unapologetically pro-life” on Oct. 30, Greenfield replied “Good! Pro life means supporting the lives of children taken from their parents at the border, poor children and people with Covid…”.
Biden has also tapped former Secretary of State John Kerry to serve in his cabinet, as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
Kerry in 2015 praised Pope Francis’ ecology encyclical Laudato Si’ as “powerful,” telling TIME magazine that the pope “thoughtfully applied” the value of environmental stewardship “to the very real threat our planet is facing today.”
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I hold Pope Francis partially to blame for this witch hunt of traditionalist Catholics. I am NOT saying that he was party to this political persecution of Catholics in the USA. But I AM stating categorically that his repeated and public singling out traditional Catholics for criticism and ridicule only serves to encourage persecution of Catholics by rogue elements in our Federal government. He should hang his head in shame.
Amen, Deacon.
My only possible disagreement is that it is “rogue elements.” I am beginning to believe it is standard operating procedures of the government these days.
I don’t think it’s any business of the FBI what form of the liturgy Catholics attend or whether they’re in full agreement with VII but it did appear from the documents that it was SSPX communities who were singled out, not so much those who attend the TLM outside the SSPX.
Again, the FBIs job is not to sort out Catholic disputes over liturgy or infiltrate churches. Ive had SSPX friends and have never heard anything extremist or violent from them. My hope has always been that the SSPX and Rome would reconcile.
they just shot a pastor out west, I wonder why they didn’t arrest him out in public
Do you really believe that they act upon what the Pope says?
If the Pope publicly denigrates traditional Catholics by calling them rigid and radical, don’t you think that is encouragement enough for the Catholic-haters in the Biden administration?
This is the same FBI that Catholic Joe uses against his political enemies, Christians and now Catholics.
The war on Christians and Christianity, especially the Catholic Church, began 2000 years ago in Jerusalem.
To identify as Catholic does not preclude being a domestic terrorist. Unfortunately! If you listen to many “Trad” podcasts you will soon realize that there ARE far right Catholics who could possibly be a threat to our present form of government. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn’t mean that if possibly suspect they shouldn’t be investigated. If you don’t do anything wrong you shouldn’t be worried.
I fear traditional Catholics far less than the rogue administration now running the Federal government and people who think it’s the purview of government to interfere in the religious practices of Catholics.
There is no such thing as “Far-right” Catholics, only CINO Catholics, who do not follow the doctrines of the Church. To them, it may seem like we are “far-right”, but that is because the CINOs are “far-wrong”!
Dee. How far-right are CINOs? I continue to remain cautious when I see a broad-brush indictment of any group. I try to refrain from usig “all” and “none”. God bless.
Do you have examples of traditional Catholics who pose a threat James? I don’t doubt it’s possible but I’m not aware of any.
Seriously? This is the very thing that a govt should NOT do. Investigate any random group hoping to find a crime or grounds for prosecution. Like checking all the figures in your tax return hoping to find a mistake and calling it criminal activity. In our country that is supposed to be illegal. Police are supposed to investigate AFTER a crime has been committed, or when/if they come into possession of evidence a crime is about to be committed. PLANTING undercover “moles” into catholic churches , or worse yet, trying to “turn” church employees and clergy is McCarthyism at its worst. Doubtless conservative people are often not only conservative in their religious practices but in their politics as well. But there is a gross difference between being conservative and being radical enemies of one’s govt. Funny that today, I read that the former DEM-led J6 Committee has destroyed a great deal of security video tapes and evidence which was supposed to be turned over to the GOP. Every time I see subversive actions trying to distort our country and our rule of law, the partisan and illegal actions are ALWAYS coming from the left. Since that crowd has no moral compass or patriotism or loyalty to the US, it’s no shock to observe this. Just disgusting. Catholic democrat voters, wake up before this gulag machine comes for you too.
“If you don’t do anything wrong, you shouldn’t be worried.” Seriously? Have you not been paying attention? The current administration and its DOJ have been going after a lot of people that have done nothing wrong. Parents, pro-life fathers, etc.
Perhaps you’re on this Catholic page to try to distract?
After Mark Houck I don’t see how you can do nonchalantly give this administration the benefit of the doubt in these regards.
I am truly concerned by the comments I have read here. They make me wonder if the conservative traditionalist schismatics are in league with radical national supremest groups.
The FBI, a bastion of Catholicism, is being attacked by radicals around the world. Now it is being attacked by our Mother Church?
The implication the President Biden, a life long faithful son of the church, hates the Church would be laughable in a sick comedy. It is tragic our Church has been infected by those who have the cognitive dissonance to believe such things.
Faithful son of the Church who supports abortion and performed a gay marriage. If that’s faithful, what does a faithless son of the Church look like?
More social credits for you Comrade Scott!
🙂
Joey has no issue with terminating an unborn life so he is NOT following the faith. Did he finally admit his son had a daughter?
He also became rich off foreign involvement, directly or indirectly – better open your eyes
I’ll assume this is satire.
Rubbish! Prove it! I assume you are a satirist. You can do better.
The troubling issue is the FBI is identifying Catholics as potential terrorist. Who would have thought this even a few years ago. This is a product of many rapid pro abortion American organizations that are out to destroy anyone and any organization, religious and others, that is pro life. The FBI is means they use to implement their anti life agenda.
If you don’t think that it is the puppet master Obama pulling all the strings on Joe the Stooge; think again. This administration has been Obama’s play toy since long before Trump “lost” re-election. This country made the mistake of placing in office a Muslim-leaning, homosexual communist as the first president to take over control of the country following 9/11. That mistake cost us dearly and continues to grind away at the very fabric and foundation of our country. If something doesn’t change and change dramatically and quickly, I think it prudent to discuss a “post-American” world and how to prepare oneself for a “post-American” America.
More and more information will emerge regarding how Obama has been behind all this corruption in government. Look to see how he militarized the FBI and the CIA to go after and destroy his political enemies. I have a standard that I apply when judging people’s trustworthiness: the broader the smile, the less you can trust the actor.
Dear Deacon. Without getting too political… I was no fan of PRESIDENT Obama, however you indicict him with “ALL corruption in government” without any details. WOW! You seem to have missed our recent history.
God bless.
Should we believe this? AG Garland said. “It does not do investigations based on religion. I saw the document you have. It’s appalling. It’s appalling. I’m in complete agreement with you.”
It has been revealed that there are rogue FBI members that have infiltrated the DOJ and other government agencies and the military. Because of it’s mission of protecting US citizens, I withold judgement until Jordan finishes his investigation the investigaters.
God save the union.
While Portland, Oregon has lost an estimated one billion dollars, owing to crime-related homelessness that exists on the sidewalks in front of businesses there, the F.B.I. in Portland is concerned about conservative Catholics? This belongs in the comics section of “The Oregonian.”
Sadly, Mark T you are not far from the mark.