Well duh…look at their statement of faith. Would you sign on with people who required that of you as a Catholic? I doubt very seriously if they’ll even consider you.
Bring it on.
A–you never heard of His Holiness proposing that he and Graham do a joint crusade now do you ? Totally different things and again, a very Protestant type personal interpretation of both scripture and Papal comments, that you have still failed to document for context.
B–What are we waiting for? I’ll tell you…we await n-Cs to begin to preach and teach the fullness of truth. We await them openly admitting that we are every bit the Christian faith that they are. We await a time when their eyes no longer light up when they hear someone say they are Catholic so they can do their level best to proselytize them away from our most holy faith.
C–There are already a great many excellent Catholic apostolates that do the work of evangelism and we should waste time trying to hook up with a bunch of n-Cs who by definition and statement don’t even consider us Christian to begin with.
A-- We don’t know all those two discussed. 2 hrs was a long time to discuss the faith. And, we know JP2 considered Graham his Brother in Christ !! John Paul had arranged for Mr. Graham’s Crusade in Poland … at the very moment he became Pope. Is that just co-incidence ? Don’t we see God’s hand at work in fostering Ecumenism of Catholics and Evangelicals ?
B-- C. Militant … don’t you appreciate how hard Graham worked to foster relations with Catholics ? JP2 did !! And, many anti-catholics hate Graham for his love of the CC. But, many, many more don’t. They hold no fear of the Popes and CC. They are just waiting for the CC to approach them … and make them an offer of re-unification, like we have done with the Anglicans. Billy Graham speaks for a large # of the Evangelicals … and now his son Franklin also desires to work closely with Catholics. We make gains by working jointly, in Evangelizing for Christ, and thus learn not to fear each other’s ‘church’ and leaders. I hope Pope Francis will approach the Graham Crusade / Mininstries … for Billy loved the St. Francis of history, … he was his hero !! What a perfect time for a Pope taking the name of Francis … to reach out to the Grahams and all Evangelicals … inviting them to join Catholics in World Evangelical outreach … joint ventures, where we go out in teams, two by two … to both home and world mission fields. And, large World Evangelism Crusades … jointly sponsored by the Catholic Church and those Evangelical Ministers who wish to continue what Billy Graham began.
C – As long as you avoid the Evangelicals …they will continue to be suspicious of you. We need to reach out to them, both individually and collectively as a Church. Dialogue is great, but mission projects, where we work together, will be key in breaking down errant ideas we hold about each other.
