Archbishop Dolan coverage

[didymus]

Here is Archbishop Dolan’s press conference via WCBS-TV. The same page has more coverage about him.

I’ve never heard him speak before – gotta say I like him! See how he handles the first question.

 

[Argh]

Took our bishop willya! Why I outta…

 

[Elzee]

I really like Archbishop Dolan so I hope someone can offer a perspective here…I think he handled the first question great and his friendly, open style is going to be a huge asset for him in New York. But, I have to say, I was disappointed in how he answered the question from Lauren Green from Fox News. She basically pointed out that many Catholics are leaving the church for Protestant churches and asked why, with so many orthodox evangelical/Protestant churches, *why should someone remain Catholic? *

I guess I expected the answer from Archbishop Dolan to include some reference to “because as Catholics we have the fullness of the faith”, and given his gift for communicating, felt he could have easily worked that truth into his answer. Instead, he focused almost solely on our heritage and passing the faith down from one generation to the next and how important that heritage is to Catholics. He did work in the example of Scott Hahn and the things strong evangelicals who convert to the faith admire (sacraments, the Pope. the Eucharist…), but he didn’t really point out the *main thing….what attracted them is the realization that the Church has the full truth. *

I think this question is toward the end. Could someone else offer a perspective on the answer. I hate being disappointed by this fine bishop and am hoping I just heard his answer in a skewed light for some reason.

 

[JReducation]

I think this question is toward the end. Could someone else offer a perspective on the answer. I hate being disappointed by this fine bishop and am hoping I just heard his answer in a skewed light for some reason.

I believe what he did was to outline, in bullet form, the contents of truth. In reality, it says more to the average person than to say “we have the fullness of truth.” That statement sounds arrogant, ambiguous and does not really tell the person who does not know Catholicism the essence of the fullness of truth.

By bulleting the sacraments, the papacy, the Blessed Mother and the saints, the scriptures, the liturgy, and the other details that he mentioned he explains what we have to the general population. We have to remember that some Church jargon is not understood by the person who is not Catholic and has never been Catholic. When we say the fullness of truth among Catholics, everyone knows what that means. When you say that to those who have never studied the meaning of the expression, they are clueless.

In closing I would also add that he’s talking about men and women who have come into the Church and how they descibe their journey. It would be inappropriate for him to put words in their mouths that they have not said, even though they believe it.

Hope this helps.

Fraternally,

JR

 

[Galnextdoor]

Archbishop Dolan was on EWTN on the World Over with Raymond Arroyo. For those of you in the Midwest, he is on right now. What an enthusiastic and passionate man! He comes across as passionate about his Faith and ready to do what needs to be done. New York is lucky to have him.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

I like his style. We need more like him.

 

[KathleenElsie]

I believe what he did was to outline, in bullet form, the contents of truth. In reality, it says more to the average person than to say “we have the fullness of truth.” That statement sounds arrogant, ambiguous and does not really tell the person who does not know Catholicism the essence of the fullness of truth.

By bulleting the sacraments, the papacy, the Blessed Mother and the saints, the scriptures, the liturgy, and the other details that he mentioned he explains what we have to the general population. We have to remember that some Church jargon is not understood by the person who is not Catholic and has never been Catholic. When we say the fullness of truth among Catholics, everyone knows what that means. When you say that to those who have never studied the meaning of the expression, they are clueless.

In closing I would also add that he’s talking about men and women who have come into the Church and how they descibe their journey. It would be inappropriate for him to put words in their mouths that they have not said, even though they believe it.

Hope this helps.

Fraternally,

JR

As sad as this statement makes me I will say it anyway.

The average person has no idea what “The Fullness of Faith” means. And this includes Catholics.

It is not taught in our churches or in the schools that call themselves catholic. So how can we expect people that are ignorant (in the classic form of not knowing) to understand what the term means. It is like many people that roll their eyes at a Latin hymn don’t know that Latin is the official language of the Roman Catholic Church.