According to timesofmalta.com, quoting The Washington Post, the new US ambassador-designate to Malta, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley had an unusual installation ceremony at the State Department on Wednesday.

While usual custom turns the swearing-in of an ambassador into a prim and proper (for this read: boring) function, this particular swearing-in held in the Benjamin Franklin Room on the State Department's eighth floor, was anything but. The event featured the Washington Performing Arts Society's Men and Women of the Gospel choir performed traditional gospel tunes that had even a few of the most buttoned-up guests tapping their toes.

Abercrombie-Winstanley, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is a member of the choir.

Singing traditional gospel songs is, by my reckoning at least, a faith-based activity. "Jesus here, Jesus there, Jesus Jesus everywhere" is the basic theme of most gospel tune.

This happens to be one of the ironic twists that history is full of. Just remember that Douglas Kmiec, the former US ambassador to Malta, was very ungraciously asked to leave his ambassadorial post after an inspector general's report considered him to be guilty of the most awesome crime: spending too much time on faith-based activities! You see it is not fitting for an ambassador of the country which prints "In God we trust" on its money to spend time on faith-based activities. Besides, Kmiec had been sent to Malta to advance inter-faith diplomacy and understanding.

To compensate, the State Department is commencing the stint of the new Ambassador over here with a faith-related activity!

Douglas Kmiec was both loved and very popular in Malta and I am sure that the Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley will similarly be loved and popular.

I never understood the relationship of Ambassador Kmiec with the embassy staff. When I wanted to interview him for Campus FM I got the distinct feeling that he was not the one who would definitively decide whether to accept or not. I did not get a similar feeling when, for example, I wanted to interview the British High Commission. In the case of Kmiec it seemed that the State Department would have the final word.

Kmiec himself, who is in Malta for the launch of his book Lift Up Your Hearts: A True Story of Loving One's Enemies; Tragically Killing One's Friends, & the Life That Remains, recounted an interesting anecdote that gives more light on this system of control. Together with President Abela he was going to write an op-piece to The Sunday Times. This had to get clearance from the State Department who wanted to edit out things written by President Abela!

I recommend the reading of Lift up your Heart. It is not only well written literally but it is even very uplifting humanly. This is a book that Kmiec felt he had to write following the dreadful accident when his life-long friends Mons John Sheridan and Sister Mary Campbell died in a canyon accident. Kmiec was the driver.

The book gives us the spiritual journey of Kmiec. This journey made him support Republicans at one state and Democrats at another stage. Though his Catholic credential are not in doubt he was refused communion for supporting Obama. Now he is publicly disagreeing with the US bishops who are accusing Obama of waging war against the Church. Mons Sheridan is all the time present during all this drama. What he used to tell Kmiec is recounted in detail. Sheridan's "Theology of Kindness" immensely influenced Kmiec who, as a result, opened his heart and mind to political views he previously found antagonistic.

A commentator wrote of the book:

"This modern-day Job-story is at some level one we all fear -- especially in these touchy economic

times. And what is that fear? Just this: that like Job, or Doug, we might discover at an unexpected moment that our fortunes reverse. The book captures our modern angst -- (loss of status; job; retirement savings; spouse) -- a fear that seems ever present and lurking right around the corner."

This is really and truly a book worth reading.

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