Saturday, March 26, 2011

Abp Dolan: fixing the Church's image problem

Tom Crowe, "Archbishop Dolan Wins 60 Minutes" (CatholicVote.org, March 21, 2011):
Morley Safer of CBS’ 60 Minutes spent some time talking with one of my favorite Catholics, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. Dolan is a gregarious Irishman with a smile that doesn’t quit, a magnetism that holds your attention, an eloquence that instructs without overburdening, and honesty and fidelity that inspire....

The main thrust of the interview was Dolan’s gift of the gab, his magnetic personality, openness, and, of course, his unwavering “conservatism.” The topics were typical: sex abuse scandal, women’s ordination, abortion and contraception, priestly celibacy, and how the Church in America reverses the trend of Catholics no longer simply calling themselves “bad Catholics,” but actually declaring that they are no longer part of the Church.
[Hat tip to J.M.]

3 comments:

Ralph Roister-Doister said...

I haven't seen the 60 Minutes interview, so perhaps I should hang fire. However, I did see Ab Dolan perform his Lucky Charms leprechaun act on Fr Benedict Groschel's show several few weeks ago. It was hard for me to imagine anyone being charmed, much less inspired, by his syrupy nostrums. Irritated, yes. But perhaps he was having a bad day.

I also read, in this blog, his hesitant, fumbling "condemnation" of unitarianism, which he apparently didn't recognize for what it was. Still, it's good to know he was against it. And again, maybe he was having a bad day.

Yes indeed . . . . the Church's "image problem" . . . .

Unknown said...

I had only seen short clips of Archbishop Dolan speaking and read mostly good things about him on the web.

Three things about the 60 Minutes interview left me unsettled. He seemed artificially jolly, perhaps he was rightly nervous given the "hit job" reputation of the show. Also, I could have done without the exercise bike shots. Fitness is not his forte and it seemed fake. Thirdly, here was the so called "American Pope", a former aux bishop of St Louis and Archbishop of Milwaukee at a reception and he's drinking beer out of a bottle like a regular guy, but it's a Stella Artois!

Tom Crowe said...

inhocsig--- I can assure you, Abp Dolan was not being artificially anything. 60 Minutes does not intimidate a man who has faced down the things he has faced down in St. Louis, Milwaukee, and in Rome. I think you are being overly critical of him. And I believe it was a Heineken.