Posted on 10/19/2012 8:11:37 AM PDT by Father Gillen
Last night I was invited to dinner by Al Smith IV, the great-grandson of Al Smith, who was a former New York governor and the first Catholic nominated for president. Al shared some jokes while introducing Obama and Romney. He also poked fun at Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a man of considerable girth, who sat between the two candidates. Al joked that they were separated by a “vast expanse.”
The banter throughout the night reminded me of another man of great girth, namely G.K. Chesterton. Standing 6 feet 4 inches and weighing around 290 pounds, Chesterton’s size gave rise to a famous anecdote. Chesterton remarked to his friendly enemy George Bernard Shaw: “To look at you, anyone would think a famine had struck England”. Shaw retorted, “To look at you, anyone would think you have caused it”.
Chesterton always had a willingness to engage the enemy in the public square with sound reason and wit. George Bernard Shaw penned the following words near the end of his life:
“The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels which should have established the millennium have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed in them once…In their name I helped destroy the faith of millions of worshippers in the temples of a thousand creeds. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith.”
Shaw did not end his life without giving us an authentic paradox. It was a great tribute to his friendly enemy. In our own day, it takes a big man to step into the middle of controversy and I’m glad Cardinal Dolan did not shrink from the task.
(Excerpt) Read more at ordopraedicatorum.org ...
Bump
Padre Gabriel,
welcome! People are going to suggest that you post your entire article, not an excerpt.
Coincidentally, someone just gave me your 6=page undated fundraising letter that ends, “ P.S. The Dominincan Friars are fighting relativism ...” (Sending a check soon.)
And in the Religion Forum, rather than "News/Activism."
My favorite anecdote about Chesterton's bulk is the one about how, during WWI, a woman saw him (from the back) and said, "Sir, aren't you ashamed of yourself? You should be out at the front!" He replied, "Madam, if you will step around to the side, you will see that I am out at the front!"
Thanks for the personal insights on the Al Smith dinner.
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Dear Father, I am a friend of Fr Marcel Guarnizo, so you know how conservative my new Catholic faith is. I yield to no one in my conviction that Barack Obama is a dangerous, destructive force. I was among those who strongly opposed Cardinal Dolan’s invitation to Obama on the occasion of this dinner.
But I was wrong, and I’m thoroughly glad His Eminence paid no attention to those of us who discouraged this.
The dinner gave everyone a chance to see the warm, human, funny side of Mitt Romney, who had been painted as a cold and stiff wonk. It gave Romney the chance to make some very sharp remarks about his candidacy and the Obama Administration, and get those remarks more easily heard because they were cloaked in humor. It gave him a chance to express his solidarity with the Catholic Church in its defense of life and religious freedom. And it allowed the world to see Obama again as self-obsessed, as all his remarks began with “I.” That was one debate Romney certainly won.
In other words, the Al Smith dinner served the Kingdom and advanced the cause of Christ. His Eminence was wise after all. A skilled and astute politician, we see.
Welcome to FR. The boys play rough here, but mean no harm.
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