Author:
Publication: Zenit.org
Date: May 24, 2001
John Klink Nominated for Refugee
Bureau
The White House has overruled U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell on his choice to run a refugee bureau and
has insisted on a nominee who represents the Vatican's diplomatic mission
at the United Nations, the New York Times reported.
The White House decided that the
nominee would be John M. Klink, who holds dual Irish and American citizenship
and represents the Vatican at U.N. conferences on social issues, senior
administration officials said.
If confirmed by Congress, Klink
would head the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration
Bureau.
Klink, 51, represented the Vatican
on the executive board of UNICEF from 1988 to 1999 and worked for Catholic
Relief Services from 1976 to 1986, the Times said. His résumé
lists his current job as adviser to the Permanent Observer Mission of the
Holy See to the United Nations. It also says he is a member of the Republican
National Committee's Catholic Task Force.
His selection is seen as a setback
for General Powell who, unlike Klink, supports abortion. More broadly,
the nomination of Klink comes at a time when the White House is courting
Catholic voters.
Klink's nomination marks the second
time the White House has taken an anti-abortion stance in the area of foreign
policy and international population efforts. Shortly after his inauguration,
Bush issued an executive order banning American aid to international organizations
that use their own money to provide or promote abortions.
General Powell, after considering
a number of candidates to head the population, refugee and migration bureau,
had decided on Alan Kreczko, a career civil servant, who is the acting
assistant secretary at the bureau, administration officials said, according
to the Times.
Klink would oversee an annual budget
of more than $800 million that is chiefly distributed to international
agencies like the office of the United Nations high commissioner for refugees
and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
