This past Thursday, Bishop of Harrisburg Joseph P. McFadden attended what might have been one of the first – if not the first -- event of its kind for both Catholics and atheists in the United States. PA Nonbelievers – a group comprised of atheists, agnostics, nontheists, humanists, and freethinkers – hosted a meeting in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in which the bishop engaged members and friends of the group in respectful dialogue.
Bishop McFadden said he was “absolutely willing to come” to the event and hoped that an event like this would be the first in a series of many.
The event was comprised of two main portions: a speech given by the bishop and a question and answer session.
In his opening speech, Bishop McFadden spoke about the importance of respectful and civil dialogue. He noted that even though atheists and Catholics disagree, conversations can and should occur. “We are not going to agree,” Bishop McFadden said, “but we can still be civil. It is a different moment in history now that requires dialogue.”
The question and answer session consisted of pre-screened questions that were addressed to the bishop. The questions fell into three rough categories: the interplay between Catholic identity, American identity and whether there is any conflict; how Catholics [specifically the bishop] perceive atheists and issues important to atheists; and questions relating to sexual abuse scandals within the church. Philosophical and theological questions were intentionally left out; they were not the focus of this event.
Specific questions ranged from “Do you believe lack of belief in God leads to the destruction of society?” (to which the bishop answered 'no' and said that atheists can be moral persons just like everyone else), “How can the Church claim any moral authority in wake of the priestly abuse scandals?” (to which the bishop said that persons in the Church are imperfect and are striving to adhere to God's moral standards), and “Would the Church [or you] support a legal contract between two consenting adults provided it was not called marriage and provided the same substantive benefits as marriage” (to which the bishop replied in the affirmative).
Because of the format of the meeting and time constraints, there were to be no follow-up questions posed to the bishop. Carl Silverman – board member of PA Nonbelievers -- said, “every question could have easily had dozens of follow-up questions. We wanted the bishop to answer all questions rather than just a few. Follow-up and debate can be had at a later date.”
Carl Silverman said, reflecting on his opening statements before the bishop's speech, said, “We welcomed the bishop to the 'lion's den' and reminded attendees not to behave like lions nor like pussycats.” He also noted that no question was off-limits.
The event was recorded by PA Nonbelievers and will be available for viewing online in the future.
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