Nuncio and US Bishops

EJ Dionne reported a few weeks back that some US bishops had received a rap on the knuckles from the nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi. He told them in blunt terms that their “harsh attacks on Obama threaten to make the church look partisan”. This did not surprise me one bit, following the increased disconnect between the Vatican and the US episcopate, some of whom in recent days seemed to have inexplicably handed over the steering wheel to an extreme fringe. Still, I was not sure if Dionne’s claim was true – this would be a very significant intervention for a nuncio. I recently asked a very well-placed source, and one not at all favorable to Obama, about this claim. He told he that it was completely true. So there you have it.