Well, Bill, the conservatives have a different mindset and speak a different language. I've tried to answer them in classes; and I find that when I use their language, I dig myself into a hole. They see religious faith as some sort of quasi-judicial process - I see it as broad concepts that are a source of joy and hope, and a call to serve the needy. The official documents published by Rome and by the American bishops, often take years to produce. As I said, they're usually quite rational and balanced. Even what they've said about homosexuality and birth control is quite balanced. They produce videos and study guides and all sorts of excellent instructional materials based on their documents - and most people listen to the sound bites.

Several months ago, I did a presentation to my parish of the American bishops' document called "Welcoming the Stranger," about justice for immigrants. It was a wonderfully insightful document, with an excellent video to go with it. I doubt that the video would be shown on the EWTN Catholic TV network, because it might be offensive to the network's conservative donors.

We progressive Catholics tend to spend our money on serving the poor. Conservatives spend their money on broadcasting.

What can I say?

-Joe-