What has Rome said about the Notre Dame controversy over the Obama invitation? Nothing. And that’s the useful point that CNS’s Vatican buro chief, John Thavis, makes in this blog commentary.

There’s been no Vatican statement, and the Vatican newspaper and Vatican Radio have yet to mention the controversy. When Catholic News Service requested reaction from Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, head of the Congregation for Catholic Education (which, of course, deals with Catholic universities), we received a polite “no comment.”

Based on conversations with Roman Curia officials, I have no doubt that the Obama-Notre Dame question is on the minds of U.S. priests and bishops working at the Vatican. With statements pouring in on one side or another back home, how could it be otherwise?

But non-Americans at the Vatican tend to see the issue in a different light, I think.

For one thing, they seem more comfortable with the idea of accommodating dignitaries and civil authorities in a church setting, even when their political positions aren’t in line with the church’s teaching. I emphasize that these were casual conversations, not a comprehensive survey of opinions.

But two episodes in particular have been mentioned to me by Vatican officials over the last week. One was that French President Nicholas Sarkozy received the title of honorary canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran during his visit to Rome in 2007, a tradition that goes back centuries. Sarkozy, who also met Pope Benedict, supports legal abortion. The Vatican and the Diocese of Rome seemed to have no problem with honoring the twice-divorced Sarkozy, who says he is a Catholic.

In fact, the Lateran vespers service to bestow the title was “all pomp and circumstance,” as one Vatican official put it.

The other episode Vatican officials mentioned was the furor last year at Rome’s La Sapienza University that caused Benedict to cancel his appearance there. Vatican officials saw the protests as an example of intolerance toward the pope, and the implication is that they would not want the church to do the same to someone else.