Obama's Catholic difficulties

Justin Webb|20:51 UK time, Friday, 17 April 2009

Before turning to the Catholic Church, a brief word about me. Or actually you. This is a validation of your decision to come here!

It is a testament to the quality of discussion, and we should all bathe in the glory of what an American organisation calls an honor (everyone shall have prizes!) but we Brits would probably refer to as a "long list". Anyway, I take the American view...

As for the Catholic Church: the row over whether or not the US ambassador to the Holy See ought to be Caroline Kennedy seems to me to be dwarfed in political significance by the 17 May appearance of President Obama at Notre Dame University, the most Catholic of Catholic institutions in the US.

Protests are growing and a compromise is desperately required for both sides.

This is one suggestion and it may well be attractive to all concerned (if you have been to Columbia and Harvard you do not really need the extra degree), but I put my money on a big Obama moment in the speech - a chance to speak to the nation about tolerance and bigotry again as he did after the Rev Wright controversy.

Protests could actually be helpful - Nixon and friends used to love speaking at university campuses in order to look reasonable and cool in the face of impolite crowds...