Cardinal Dolan On Pope Francis

"What he [Pope Francis] is saying is that if the perception of the church is of a scold who's always nagging and always negative and always fearful, we're not going to make many converts, because nobody wants to join the church out of fear or (join a) a paranoid group. If we emphasize the positive, the gracious, the embracing, the warm, inviting side of the church, then we're going to attract people. And that of course is what Pope Francis is saying and doing on steroids. When the Holy Father suggested this new strategy, I don't think he got a longer standing ovation from anybody than he did from the bishops in the United States. Because we've been saying for a long time, 'Listen to everything we say, don't just listen to us when we speak about your pet issue.'" - Cardinal Timothy Dolan, responding to Pope Francis' call for the Catholic Church to not "interfere spiritually" with the lives of gay people. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)