There was no U.S. ambassador in the crowd at St. Peter’s Square during Tuesday’s installation of Pope Francis at the Vatican. That post has been vacant since November, when Miguel Diaz, a theologian, left the job to teach at the University of Dayton. Some Catholic critics of the Obama administration see that empty chair as a symbol for the lack of engagement between Washington and Vatican City. One of the candidates for ambassador, Nick Cafardi, former dean of the Duquesne University School of Law and co-chair of Catholics for Obama, disputed that characterization, listing numerous human rights campaigns in which the Vatican works with the State Department, such as battling human trafficking. In addition, while battling poverty is hardly a new focus for the Vatican, some speculate whether Pope Francis’s emphasis on the issue could become the basis for even more cooperation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-ambassador-to-vatican-remains-unfilled/2013/03/20/e6d3a8c6-90e3-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html