Washington D.C., Jun 15, 2013 / 09:49 am
President Barack Obama has nominated Ken Hackett, the former head of Catholic Relief Services, as the next U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden of Baltimore, a former Catholic Relief Services board member, said the appointment was "great news." He said Hackett has many skills relevant to the diplomatic position representing U.S. interests at the Vatican.
"He has traveled all over the world and worked with (Vatican representatives), bishops and general consuls in all those places, and he has dealt successfully with plenty of sticky situations," Bishop Madden told the Baltimore Sun.
Hackett, 66, was born in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Mass. and graduated from Boston College in 1968. He served with the Peace Corps in Ghana.