Hans Küng, pictured in a 1980 photo. (CNS photo/Hans Knapp, KNA); right: St. John Paul II in 1978 in Rome, days after his election. (CNS photo/Mal Langsdon, Reuters)
As a non-theologian, I do not feel competent to respond to the controversial theological views of the recently deceased Swiss-German dissident theologian Hans Küng, such as his rejection of the dogma of papal infallibility. But as a historian who specializes in the history of East-Central European, particularly Polish history, I am quite disgusted by Küng’s blatant lies about Polish history, which he used to attack St. John Paul II.
gives me more flexibility, do you understand that? i like acting. that s a lot of people in acting positions, not permanent roles. what s your take on all of that? do you see a benefit in having so many acting cabinet members? absolutely not. they don t have the authority of full-time cabinet members. they re not seen up on capitol hill. you re not going to invest a lot of time in experience or effort trying to work out a relationship with somebody who may be gone tomorrow and who is they are sitting there at the whim of the president. you know, we have hearings and we have confirmations for a reason and to be acting diminishes the authority. the government is not well run. there are all sorts of reasons to name the person they want to confirm or, you know, name the acting person, but don t leave it don t leave people in limbo. it just cuts their legs off. david gergen, good to see you
capacity. they brief him every now and then. it s mary mccord that would be hands on day-to-day in this. now that she s leaving, this administration has been very slow to nominate people for senior jobs who will now be in charge if that position goes unfilled? a new acting person will be elevated by jeff sessions? it s a great question. and it s an acid test for what happens right now. in a lot of the other jobs they have not appointed career people, the civil rights division position they ve political person there, not someone confirmed by the senate. in other divisions they have that. i think it would be hugely troubling if they put a political appointee who had not been nominated or confirmed by the senate into this job to investigate the president. it has to be a career person. eventually it has to be a special council, but short of that, it has to be an acting career person until someone can be confirmed by the president. by the senate. that last point you made is very imp