CV NEWS FEED // Brian Burch, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Vatican ambassador, responded to questions about religious persecution, USAID cuts, and the relationship between the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party during a Senate confirmation hearing on April 8.
President Trump’s pick for Ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, is a PATRIOT.
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Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, asked Burch how to encourage the Catholic Church to heighten its attention toward Christian persecution around the world. In his response, Burch emphasized that the US and the Vatican share common ground in their concern for persecuted religious minorities — particularly of Christians. He also noted that persecution of Christians is especially rampant in the Middle East, Nicaragua, and parts of Africa.
Burch said that if he is confirmed as ambassador, he looks forward to collaborating and working with the Vatican on this issue.
Another issue that he wants to work with the Holy See on relates to bishops’ appointments in China.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., asked Burch about the controversial 2018 secret deal between the Vatican and China, which Pope Francis recently renewed for another four years. Ricketts noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping has authorized the construction of “state-approved, state-controlled Catholic churches,” intensifying the Communist Chinese government’s persecution of religious minorities.
He noted that the first Trump administration urged the Vatican to end the agreement and asked Burch if he agreed that the deal represents “a dangerous level of cooperation” between the Catholic Church and communist China.
Burch emphasized that the Vatican-China relationship is incredibly important to the US and noted that the agreement primarily pertains to the appointment of bishops.
Burch added, “I think it’s important for the Holy See to maintain a posture of pressure, and of applying pressure to the Chinese government around their human rights abuses, particularly their persecution of religious minorities, including Catholics.”
Burch said that as US ambassador to the Holy See, he would encourage the Vatican “to resist the idea that a foreign government has any role whatsoever in choosing the leadership of a private religious institution.”
“I do not believe the Church should cede or surrender to any government, China or otherwise, the selection of their bishops,” he said.
According to Burch, the implications extend beyond a conflict between Church and state. The Vatican is the only European state that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, he pointed out. The relationship between the Vatican and Taiwan can help dissuade China from its interest and ambitions related to Taiwan, especially because the Vatican commands moral authority, respect, and global influence, Burch explained.
Sen. Jeane Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, pressed Burch with questions related to the Trump administration’s USAID cuts, which the secretary general of the Vatican’s global Catholic aid network denounced.
Burch emphasized that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the President are working to realign the allocation of taxpayer-funded international aid with American values.
“Mllions, if not billions, of our dollars have been going to places around the world that are not aligned with United States interests,” Burch said, “and the secretary has made clear when he took office that he was recharging and refocusing our foreign aid on places that would make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”
One instance in which taxpayer funds were misused was in the support of “transgender” experiments on mice, Burch later noted.
He also said he had spoken with leaders at various Catholic relief services groups and that some of the related grants were recently reauthorized or are pending review. Burch said that the reevaluation of the foreign aid grants is ongoing, and he looks forward to working on this issue as well.
In introducing Burch, Ricketts described the CatholicVote president and co-founder as a “champion of the poor, the vulnerable, and preborn babies” and “a man of great integrity with a passion for truth, justice, and patriotism.”
“He firmly believes in the tenets of the Catholic faith and, in particular, a concept that we have called the common good,” Ricketts added.
Ricketts said the far-reaching effects of the role of ambassador to the Holy See were proven during the Reagan administration, when the ambassador facilitated the relationship between President Ronald Reagan and Pope Saint John Paul II.
The famous friendship and collaboration between the President and the Pope “ultimately led to the downfall of the Soviet Union,” Ricketts said. “This relationship between the Holy See and the United States is no less important today.”
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