Dr. Julianne Malveaux Says Obama Should Follow the Catholic Church’s Lead on Diversity
by Dr. Julianne Malveaux
The selection of Argentinian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the next leader of the Catholic Church was, in some ways, inevitable. Latin America is home to the largest Catholic population in the world, and it has been more than overtime for the tradition of selecting European popes to end. Hopefully, Cardinal Bergoglio, to be known as Pope Francis, will be able to stem the tide of s****l abuse in the Catholic Church as well as put the church on the path of more transparency and integrity. Proposals to allow women to be priests and to allow married priests into the clergy are, for Catholics, revolutionary ways to modernize the church. Pope Francis, who brings a reputation of frugality and humility to the church, may well be able to deal with these proposals.
With some competition for the papal position, I am not sure why the College of Cardinals settled on Pope Francis. A nod to diversity may or may not have played a role in the selection. Still, Catholic cardinals have been able to embrace diversity in ways that other world institutions have not been. When we look at world monetary institutions – the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, we find no such nods to the way that world demographics and realities have changed. While the United States and Europe are still seen as trend leaders in world economic matters, China is nipping at our heels, and both Latin America and the African continent, despite internal problems, are world players. These continents are excluded from G8 meetings where global economic leaders gather to talk policy.
The custom that the United States should nominate the head of the World Bank, and that Europe should nominate the head of the International Monetary Fund speaks to the hegemony that these two countries have assumed in world monetary matters. When Christine Lagarde was selected to lead the International Monetary Fund (succeeding the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Khan), France declared their “victory”. But, Lagarde faced unprecedented competition from countries out of the US/Europe monopoly. A Mexican finance minister threw his hat in the ring, and attracted attention, if not sufficient votes to outpoll Lagarde.
Similarly, the US nominee to lead the World Bank was former Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim. While Kim is Korean born, as President Obama’s nominee to lead the bank, he maintains the tradition of a US nominee to lead the bank. He has also been criticized for his lack of monetary experience. At the same time, the amazing Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, a Nigerian economist, was a strong contender for World Bank leadership. Apparently the selection of a woman of African descent was too far of a stretch for the bank.
Speaking of stretches, why has President Obama been so unable to find African Americans to sit on his cabinet? Only Attorney General Eric Holder and International Trade Representative Ron Kirk remain on the Cabinet, and Kirk is not a key cabinet member. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, has taken on the President in a stern letter that reflects the concern of many in the African American community. Why, when Obama garnered 97 percent of the African American vote, should the African American community be so underrepresented in the Obama cabinet? Is the Obama administration running behind the conservative Catholic Church in its commitment to diversity?
Either for diversity or for merit, the College of Cardinals stepped outside its history of European domination to select a Pope from Argentina. What might have happened if the World Bank had decided to step outside the tradition of US domination to select a candidate as qualified as Ngozi Iweala who, one might argue, is a far superior candidate to the US selection of Jim Yong Kim? What might have happened if France had not assumed that another French leader instead of someone outside the US/Europe sphere should replace its flawed leader of the International Monetary Fund?
If our country ever gets its economics straight (instead of continuing the crisis of the month club), it will continue to be a world leader, though not forever. World demographics are changing. Catholic cardinals acknowledged it. Why can’t the US and Europe?
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments
Here you go again President Obama should do it this way or he should do it another way, oh did I forget to say that there is another way he should do it…exhausting. I am totally exhausted with all these people that tell our President his to run the country while most of them are doing nothing but complaining. We need to try to do things in our own communities before we go to the US and try to dictate.
Support our Presidenr for once just try supporting him. It could help you just by doing that much
Keep your opnion to yourself,about who the President, should act like. He is the President of a country, not a radical lying church, that want to tell people how to run their lives. He must be
a the new (POPE), s*x abuser, must be a TEAPUBLICAN, AND IF NEED BE Dr.Julianne Malveaux, should go over and joing them. I am surprise that you are so small mined. Yes, the Catholic church
is changing as so is this Country, if not we would not have President, Obama, as the first African American, President. You
sound like the Republican, with all the lying reason they lost the election. Yes they want to lift people up. Yea THEY DON’T.
BURIED YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND DR.JULIANNE MALVEAUX.
Let the president do it his way and when you become president, you do it your way, if you can, there is no way this President or any President for that matter is going to satisfy everyone in the USA. As P. Kennedy said, “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” Everyone can start by being the man and woman that God intended you to be and stop expecting others to take care of your sorry butts everytime you make a mistake in your life.
I remember when Dr. Julianne Malveaux was sitting there with Cornel West criticizing President Obama on the eve of his first election. Seems to me that she had biases from the start. Some people have a much higher opinion of themselves than is deserved. Dr. Malveaux is one of those people.
She wants to be a respected pundit on political shows and knows that being critical of President Barack Obama will get her more invitations to pontificate on right wing media.
As I recall, although she is supposed to be a respected economist, Bennett College was placed on probation for “financial instability” during her reign as President there. So maybe she should think about focusing on perfecting her own skills before she starts advising others.
Even the President will reap what he sows. Use people and you will be used also. Gods got it. Its not Black People that give him h**l. I support him . If he choses to be used by white people and still think he is white more power to him. Keep your eye on the prize. Dont let that stop you. Pray and Vote and remember 2010 got us in this mess dont be caught letting you not keep your eye on the prize. While we complain they are busy redistricting. Get them out like we got President Obama in. Stop believing what they say about how many Black People live in america. If it was true they would have no reason to block the vote. Come On.
wHO OR WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS CULT? THESE PPL ARE TRULY SATANIC. I MEAN COME EATING A WAFER AND BELIEVING THEY ARE CHEWING JESUS CHRIST? THATS SCARY. AND THEN STATING TO ANOTHER EARTHLY HUMAN BEING – I”i HAVE SINNED?” I MEAN DO THEY REALLY THINK THE POPE IS GOING SHED BLOOD TO ERASE THIER SINS? I HATE THE CATHOLICKKKK RELGION AND I REALLY WISH PPL WOULD STOP BEING SO OBSESSED WITH IT PERIOD. I MEAN BETWEEN THE POPE LEAVING AND THE NEW ONE ENTERING TOOK UP A LOT OF MY REGULAR TV TIME THAT I COULD HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT MORE PERTINENT TOPICS. JESUS PREACHED AND TAUGHT TO TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS HERE THEY WERE JEWS AND GENTILES/ THATS IT. THEY ARE SATANIC CROOKS HERE ON EARTH. THERE IS A h**l CELL WAITING FOR ALL OF THEM AND THEY KNOW IT.