Month: January 2014

I didn’t want to discuss the continued threats and whining of Edward Snowden. He clearly seeks to influence a perceived debate in this country on whether he is a whistleblower or a criminal traitor subject to prosecution. So far the government has stood firm.  He is charged as a criminal who will be prosecuted when in custody.

Snowden upped the ante a few weeks ago when he announced he stored a “doomsday-cache” of the stolen NSA data, which he encrypted, on the internet. It will be released “if anything happens to him.” Snowden asserts this material is even more damaging than any released by him so far. A former Director of the NSA and other top officials in the intelligence community state they believe Snowden’s threat is credible and he probably has such information.

It was disappointing to hear one high ranking intelligence official suggest we might have to consider a deal with Snowden to avoid further destruction to our intelligence program. At the same time Snowden complains publicly he cannot get a “fair trial” in the US. Many around the world have more confidence in our criminal justice system than does Snowden. Snowden appeals to those in fear of his threats by demanding he be treated as a whistleblower.

As a country we decided early on we cannot negotiate with terrorists. No matter how hard this is to accept in practice, it is a most difficult but necessary course of action.

I submit Snowden is acting like a terrorist with his latest threats while suggesting he wants to return to the US if only he could get that “fair trial.” Therefore, we should treat him like a terrorist. A physical attack upon the NSA by real terrorists would have done less damage than what Snowden has done to date and offers to do in the future.

Snowden’s real damage has already been done. He can embarrass us more but most of our adversaries now have a good idea of what to change, what to avoid, and where to plant false intelligence.  Whether true or not, most of the world now believes the US spies on everyone all the time without restriction. Other countries, friends or not, who are unable to do likewise only wish they could! If we kept secrets we should not have, or if we gathered intelligence improperly, I would rather have that come out and deal with the consequences than ever cut a deal with Snowden. You can never satisfy a bully, a blackmailer, or extortionist. You will never satisfy the demands of Edward Snowden. Don’t bother trying.

            Who is this man, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, whom we now call Pope Francis? How is it in less than a year he has developed a worldwide audience eagerly waiting to hear his words while trusting in the wisdom of what he has to say?

The 266^th Bishop of Rome is the first Jesuit Pope and the first non European Pope in over 1000 years. In Buenos Aires he is known as a parish priest who became a Bishop and later a Cardinal of the church. The picture emerges of a man who set his heart on serving the poor, the disenfranchised, and those who bear a greater share of life’s burdens. After his election to the Papacy on March 13, 2013 we are told Jorge next greeted his fellow Cardinals by walking among them and not by speaking from the customary Papal throne. That same night, he did not take the Papal limousine but chose to ride back to the conclave residence in the Cardinals’ bus. As in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis has chosen a new but simple residence inside the Vatican.

By his actions Pope Francis tells us he is and will remain a parish priest first and foremost. He appears, by example, to remind his colleagues of the underlying vocation they all share.

In his words to date, Pope Francis has already reached out to address Jews, Muslims, Orthodox Catholics, Protestants, other religious groups, even non believers, to discuss his positive view of personal salvation. These are not new conversations for him but a continuation on a larger stage of the same conversations he has had for years with these same groups in Argentina. He also asked these groups to pray for him. In 10 months, Pope Francis has convinced many he truly speaks as a worthy servant of God and not as a master.

I believe Pope Francis speaks the truth as he knows it, as best he can, to all people, especially the marginalized. He speaks to anyone and everyone who can hear him. He wants all of us to stand with him in front of a mirror and ask if we could perhaps do a little better. He does not use the nuanced dialogue of a Vatican diplomat or theologian. He has not given up his priesthood to become a Papal administrator. He is the real thing, a sorely needed fresh voice of truth in a world full of self absorbed interests and political leaders. I find the New Year promising because of his new voice.