Jeremiah Smith: “I rise for the purpose of submitting a Senate concurrent resolution objecting to any efforts to expel or degrade the…”

“I rise for the purpose of submitting a Senate concurrent resolution objecting to any efforts to expel or degrade the Holy See's current status as a nonmember permanent observer to the United Nations. It is hard to believe there are people in the world--indeed, in our own country--who wish to take away that status. Throughout my tenure in the Senate and the House, I have worked to uphold the sovereignty of the United States, perhaps as much as anyone in the body. Recently, it has come to my attention that the sovereignty of the Holy See, the institution that represents the State of the Vatican City internationally, is being attacked by up to 400 nongovernmental organizations in a movement called ``See Change.'' That is S-e-e. See Change is comprised of extremist groups, pro-choice groups, some extreme environmental organizations, and antireligious, atheist groups who want to take away this permanent status of the Holy See. Specifically, the agenda of See Change is to pressure U.N. Secretary General Annan into revoking the Holy See's nonmember Permanent Observer status by attacking its status as the legal and diplomatic body that represents the sovereign country of the State of the Vatican City. What an outrage. See Change believes it can use the smokescreen of the Holy See's unique sovereignty to silence its undisputed legal rights as a sovereign entity to voice its views on the sanctity of human life at the U.N. That is what this is about.…”