DR: Cardinal sermonizes on U.S. paranoia

The Dominican Republic’s highest Catholic official, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, was not a happy person yesterday, as he made a series of statements to reporters from all of the nation’s newspapers. Over the weekend the cardinal was asked to remove his shoes, belt and jacket by security personnel at the Santo Domingo airport prior to boarding a flight to New Jersey. His carry-on luggage was also thoroughly searched by security staff. As a result, the prelate said that he would suspend further visits to the United States, a country that according to the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, contrary to Europe, was living a kind of “paranoia and security hysteria.”

The Listin Diario reports that the cardinal felt these intimidations and insults would only create more enemies for the United States.

“Apparently the Dominican Republic did not pass the test and this is why they (USA) sent these ruthless guardians to watch and check on the passengers,” said Lopez Rodriguez. The cardinal excused, however, the members of the airport’s regular security staff and Aerodom21, the airport’s operators, as well as the military personnel who were on duty at the time of his check-in.

Now, which is preferable? To have lots of friends and lots of dead citizens, or to have few friends and few dead citizens? What would the Cardinal have said had he wound up on a plane of which terrorists had seized control? Of course, he is free to live in a fantasyland and spout Euro-inanities about U.S. "paranoia and security hysteria"; he is also free to cease visiting the U.S. if the security measures offend him. Cardinal Rodriguez would do well to remember, though, that should the Islamics be victorious, a security check would be the least of the worries of him and other Euro-whiners.