This past Sunday Archbishop Timothy Dolan took another step towards cementing his position as one of the leading voices in the American church. In an interview conducted on “60 Minutes” the Archbishop tackled the subjects that are always at the forefront when anyone from the Church is put in front of the camera. Those being gay “marriage”, priestly celibacy, women’s ordination and the priest abuse scandal. What I saw in the interview was a leader who was unapologetically orthodox in his defense of the Church and Her teachings.
If you were so inclined to listen to the “60 Minutes Overtime”, the CBS show’s online exclusive content, you would have heard a young reporter asking Morely Safer why the Church is so unwilling to change in the face of the modern culture. His response was just as interesting, and he stated that the Church was unwilling to change and even dismissed all change. As much as the media wants to portray every Catholic as anti-orthodoxy and pro radical change, that’s just not the case. You can see this in the religious communities that are growing, and the parishes that are thriving. All are typically very traditional and faithful to the Pope, the magisterium and their local bishops.
So if I was a betting man, and luckily I am, I’d be putting my money on the “Holy Bulldozer” in Gotham and the 2000+ year old Church to outlast our current culture of relativism.
So I invite you to watch the video and then provide your own feedback in the comment box.
One thing that really struck me is the very end of the interview. Archbishop Dolan’s says “Instead of being hung up on these headline issues, let’s get back to where the church is at her best.” (meaning, among other things, the practice of the faith through the Mass)
The interviewer, not understanding what Dolan means, dismisses Dolan’s point saying, “But the headlines issues are where people are living their lives.” This is the unfortunate mis-understanding that many have of the church. If those of us who remain truthful and faithful to the Church were, in fact, living our lives solely on the headlines, then we would be poor followers of Christ in our Catholic faith. Yes, there are issues, but to base our faith in Christ and living out our Catholic faith in these issues alone would mean we have a strong misunderstanding of what the Church is, what her call is and what Christ calls us to be.
And so I think Dolan’s last response is great: “So I guess you have two different world views there.” Ain’t that the truth.
I agree I think that last exchange sums it up.
“Yeah, I guess, you got two different world views there,” Dolan replied.
“And you ain’t gonna change,” Safer remarked.
“I’m in one world. You’re in the other,” Dolan replied, laughing. “I’m glad you’re visitin’.”
I agree that what attracts [many] to the Catholic faith is a “sense of permanence and its sense of consistency and stability.” It is good to see such a prominent figure in the American Catholic Church who has the energy and passion for the beliefs and practices of the Church. Until seeing this interview, I have to admit that I saw a lot of the Church’s stance on certain things as old-fashioned. This interview reinforces that what beliefs were held in the past live on today, and should be carried on as tradition.