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The article discusses reaction in the U.S. to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. government and the Vatican in 1984. It reviews opposition to such diplomatic efforts in the U.S. dating back to the mid-20th century administration of the late U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt from some elements in the U.S. Catholic Church and proponents of a separation between church and state. The article discusses the late U.S. president Ronald Reagan's appointment of William Wilson as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican in 1984 and subsequent opposition to that appointment during his confirmation hearings in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.