Jeff Strickler out at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that conservative opposition to Miguel Diaz, the Hispanic theologian nominated as the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, is pretty much deflated before it ever got started.

Diaz is a relative unknown and has spent much of his career in academia, addressing the Catholic Church’s multicultural strengths and weaknesses. Most observers are calling him a safe choice, and I don’t detect much surprise (it’s probably more relief) that Obama passed over the oft-mentioned names of Caroline Kennedy, Doug Kmiec or Nick Cafardi.

From Strickler’s story:

Conservative Catholics were not initially enthralled with the nomination, but they quickly realized that there wasn’t much they could do about it.

Diaz, 45, a Cuban-born theologian at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict in Collegeville, Minn., has focused his energies on strengthening the church’s multicultural foundations. In the process he has skirted many of its most-volatile issues.

UPDATE: National Catholic Reporter’s John Allen calls says Obama “passed his second Catholic test” with the Diaz nomination after the Notre Dame controversy. Makes it sound like catechism class, no?