by Tom Gallagher
Carol Glatz of the Catholic News Service does the U.S. church a great service by interviewing Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. I don't know anything about Cardinal Ravasi, but based on this interview alone, I like him a lot.
When one compares Cardinal Ravasi's approach to evangelization and engagement of the broader world and compare it to the nastiness coming out of the vocal Republican bishops and their Republican staff at the U.S bishops conference, the differences are severe and remarkable.
It begs the question: If the U.S. bishops took Cardinal Ravasi's approach to engaging the broader world, what would the bishops do with all the hammers? [Hint: Turn them into plowshares]
Here's a quote from the story:
"Oftentimes this fear (of dialogue) stems from the fact that the person doesn't feel capable of defending or justifying his own reasons, hence he doesn't want to listen to the other," he told Catholic News Service.
Here's another quote:
