![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/148\/2012\/08\/Al-Kresta.jpg\" "\\"Al")
<\/a>I invited Al Kresta, CEO of Ave Maria Radio and host of the nationally-syndicated \u201cKresta In The Afternoon,\u201d to comment regarding the controversy that\u2019s been swirling around Cardinal Dolan\u2019s invitation to President Obama to participate in the Al Smith Dinner.<\/p>\nI knew I could count on Al to deliver a\u00a0poignant response, well considered and well expressed.\u00a0 What follows is a first for me:\u00a0 A guest post by Al Kresta!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nMY WORKSHEET TO SORT OUT WHAT I THINK AND FEEL<\/strong>
\nABOUT CARDINAL DOLAN\u2019S DECISION<\/strong><\/p>\nDo me the kindness of reading this carefully. This is meant to help not hinder; it\u2019s meant to bring resolution, not revolution. Many comments here are easy to misunderstand. Many times I am speaking someone else\u2019s sentiments. Other times qualifications of even my comments may show up later in the worksheet.<\/p>\n
Here we go:<\/p>\n
Along with many people, I disagree with Cardinal Dolan\u2019s invitation to President Obama to speak and joke at the Al Smith dinner. I don\u2019t disagree that these kind of prudential decisions are his to make. I don\u2019t believe he is acting in bad faith.<\/p>\n
In sorting things out I thought others might benefit by seeing this little worksheet that I put together to help me organize my thoughts since I knew I would have to address this issue.<\/p>\n
What do I fear?<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- I fear that the Cardinal\u2019s attempt to model civility will be misinterpreted as an implicit endorsement of President Obama\u2019s presidential suitability. \u201cJust think of the photo op. Ughh. It\u2019s enough to cause Usain Bolt to stumble.\u201d<\/li>\n
- I fear that the lightheartedness of the night trivializes the Obama administration\u2019s heavy handed throttling of religious liberty. \u201cI thought we were being strangled and oppressed? Do all assault victims break bread with their perpetrators? Maybe you can slow the rapist down by talking slowly, like I did once during a mugging in an attempt to keep the criminal from dehumanizing me and my sons? Or was all the victim and combat language just rhetorical excess and political bombast?<\/li>\n
- I fear that the Cardinal wrongly believes his gregarious mayor persona can resolve all conflicts by an arm around the shoulder and down time with earnest, reasonable people in close proximity to beer and barbeque. \u201cHe\u2019s too good a man and just doesn\u2019t believe that President Obama is a real enemy of the gospel.\u201d Perhaps. Is the happy warrior leader wrong for such a time as this? Ask Michael Corleone: \u201cYou\u2019re not a wartime consigliere, Tom (Tim).\u201d At Munich, Chamberlain prized peace and trusted civility more than the pattern of Hitler\u2019s actual actions. Shouting, \u201cPeace, peace,\u201d when there is no peace, is dangerous. \u201cCivility in our time\u201d is not something one man can declare; \u201cIt takes two, baby.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Some people fear that Cardinal Dolan is selling out. They say, \u201cIt\u2019s just the proverbial softening of the Episcopal spine\u2026 or maybe worse.\u201d There is absolutely no evidence for this. All we know about this man is that he loves the gospel and the Church. He doesn\u2019t need the praise of men or the comfort of wealth or privilege. Why do I think he is more materialistic, wickedly ambitious, and willing to compromise than me? Is he really that much more corrupt than his accusers? Does he strike me as more interested in winning the praise of the elite than in earning the praise of God?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Those are the fears. Now pick your response. (You can pick more than one).<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Disgust<\/em>, followed by a slide into apathy and catatonic drooling or oozing bitterness.<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Betrayal<\/em>, followed by a determination to strike back at the Episcopal hypocrisy that urged us into battle while they sat down in a comedy club for dinner with the enemy. So does he deserve to be sabotaged as a coward, conniver, or dupe and, then, having weakened him, can I bully him to prove his manhood? If he boxes the president\u2019s ears, ambushes him at the party or treats him shabbily in public will that show his intelligence, manliness, and spirituality?<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Disappointment<\/em>, followed by challenging him to reconsider how badly he\u2019s hurt those who were looking to him for leadership.<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Bewilderment<\/em>, followed by trusting in Cardinal Dolan\u2019s past performance as an outstanding leader and one who has strengthened the spine of the American episcopacy and firmed up the unity of the faithful. He loves God. He prays. Maybe a miracle will happen.<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Intrigue<\/em>, followed by speculation about pulled rabbits and tall hats. With the press now listening, will he heighten awareness of the Obama administration\u2019s violations so that by mid October even the mainstream media will wonder how the Cardinal can be so magnanimous with the man who is out to destroy the Church? Will he hire Colbert\u2019s best writers and simply outperform the President with zingers.<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Enthusiasm<\/em>, followed by a vigorous defense of the Cardinal\u2019s integrity and hopeful scenarios in which the warm and happy host of the night turns into a brilliant prophet of the ages.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
My unashamed response. <\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Cardinal Dolan deserves the benefit of the doubt, not the presumption of disgust<\/em>.<\/li>\n
- Betrayal<\/em> requires that I take this personally and I don\u2019t.<\/li>\n
- Further, the thought of bullying the Cardinal by taunting him with namecalling- \u201ccoward, conniver, dupe\u201d- is itself comic. Character assassination presumes a degree of familiarity which most of us\u00a0don\u2019t possess. I can\u2019t sort out the complexities of my own motivation, never mind psychoanalyze him.<\/li>\n
- I am disappointed and bewildered<\/em>. What should I do? I did write to tell him that this self-inflicted wound is causing unanticipated trauma among hundreds of the lay faithful who have called or wrote to me. He deserves to know this. Love requires me to inform him. He has, however, heard from multiple thousands of people saying similar things. Nevertheless, he plans to go ahead. I\u2019m disappointed and bewildered, yes, undeniably.<\/li>\n
- Intrigue<\/em> is a luxury that escapes me at the time. I\u2019m too busy handling responsibilities I can\u2019t avoid to speculate about scenarios I can\u2019t control.<\/li>\n
- I\u2019ve worked in media for 25 years and can\u2019t honestly get enthusiastic<\/em> about the prospects of controlling the president or the press\u2019 coverage of the president. You can be certain that the president has a team already at work to exploit this event and to avoid any faux pas. He longs for this photo op. Is it possible to withhold that from him? I don\u2019t know how. Nevertheless, I do pray and I do believe in miracles. I just don\u2019t count on them! <\/em>If I did they wouldn\u2019t be \u2018miracles\u2019, would they?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
When all is said and done this is a prudential decision that should not require me to believe in a miraculous solution nor should it jeopardize faith and morals. Being a prudential decision doesn\u2019t make it unimportant. The electoral consequences could be catastrophic for pro-life advocates and the women and babies they represent.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Dolan could have played it safe and not issued the invitations like his predecessors had on at least two separate occasions. I suspect even the press would have recognized how awkward the night could have been and that it was in everybody\u2019s best interest to just avoid the mess. But the Cardinal chose not to play it safe. He has essentially said, \u201ctrust me. This is my call. I can achieve a greater good by inviting him than by disinviting or not inviting him.\u201d He\u2019s right, it is his call. So do I trust him?<\/p>\n
Civility is not an absolute; love is. St. Paul says \u201clove is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.\u201d What does love require of me in this situation?<\/p>\n
As Catholics we believe in hierarchy, not merely some chain of command. Hierarchy means we all have our place in a priestly universe, i.e., a universe that contains items that have an above and below quality to their relationships. Letting Cardinal Dolan know what this looks like from my vantage point in the \u201cbattle\u201d was the right thing to do. But what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
\n\t\n
- What does love require?<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Am I being asked to participate in evil?<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Am I confident that I know this situation better than he does?<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- Is there an area of jurisdiction that is mine through which I can bring about a better outcome?<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
- As a member of Christ\u2019s body what allegiance do I owe the successors of the apostles when they act in their proper sphere? Even in prudential matters? (This is a legitimate exercise of the Cardinal\u2019s governance.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Nobody can convince me that this was a wise decision. Depending on the outcome, the future might.<\/p>\n
Nobody can convince me that I can secure a better outcome by undermining Cardinal Dolan\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
Nobody can convince me that being passive\/aggressive or rebellious or apathetic is virtue.<\/p>\n
Nobody can convince me that all is lost or that this skirmish is decisive for the war.<\/p>\n
Nobody can convince me that everyone\u2019s opinion merits consideration.\u00a0 Some people are ignorant on the issues; others are just plain inexperienced about managing institutions. Others are simply uncharitable; others are spiritually immature and unable to live with spiritual ambiguity. Others are irrational. Naming names isn\u2019t yet necessary.<\/p>\n
I pondered these matters as we celebrated the feast of the Assumption (August 15th<\/sup>) where Jesus, in the generous overflow of the Resurrection, not only raised his body but raises the body of the one from whom he received his body. This is a remarkable mystery of love. The Son says to the Mother that \u201cI have come to receive you, mother inseparable in her inseparable Son.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I fall out of the web of these immediate strands of conflict and confusion and look at the grand moments of salvation history, the things of this world begin to assume their proper perspective. We believe in God, the Father Almighty and in his Son Jesus Christ born of the virgin, suffered, died, was buried and raised on the third day. He ascended into heaven and rules at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and dead and his Kingdom will have no end\u2026<\/p>\n
I am trying to see this world in light of story of salvation history. \u201cWhy are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God\u201d (Ps 42:11) If Israel was to believe that in captivity, certainly I am to believe it while I\u2019m still in the land of the free.<\/p>\n
Being disappointed and bewildered is no justification for sabotaging a man\u2019s reputation or undermining his legitimate authority. We\u2019ve all lived in families or worked in businesses where we suspected bad decisions were being made. In this case, we\u2019ve had a series of good decisions and now one that appears to be a real boner. Hope thou in God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n