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Archbishop Dolan: New face of the church?
"When you think of what happened, both that a man who proposes to act in the name of God would've abused an innocent young person, and that some bishops would have in a way, countenanced that by reassigning abusers, that's nothing less than hideous. That's nothing less than nauseating. The second story, Morley, is the church's reaction to that, which I think has been good. It's been strong. It's been rigorous," Dolan said.
"But to an awful lot of people, the cover-up was worse than the crime," Safer pointed out.
"And I'd say there's some truth in that. You'd think that the church of all would know better. So, yeah, there's no denyin' that, Morley. That was a terrible thing that's over with," Dolan said.
But it's not - revelations keep coming. Since our interview, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia found itself embroiled in yet another sex abuse scandal.
Still, Dolan defends the church's efforts to protect children and remains a staunch supporter of Pope Benedict's handling of the abuse crisis.
And the pope clearly thinks highly of Dolan: he named him to several high profile Vatican committees.
Would Dolan himself ever want the top job?
"It's been speculated the most likely candidate for an American pope is you," Safer said.
"You've been talkin' to my mom," Dolan joked. "Unfortunately, the people that say that, Morley, also think the Mets are gonna win the World Series. So I wouldn't put too much credibility in that one."
Dolan admits that restoring the church's credibility is going to be an enormous challenge. Yet he insists that a dramatic reformation of the church is not the answer.
"But certain changes may be necessary. And the church seems to be blind to that idea," Safer said.
"There's no denyin' that, Morley. There would be a good chunk of people who would want more change. But I still would maintain that there's an equally large group who would say, 'Oh my, what attracts us to the Catholic faith is its sense of permanence and its sense of consistency and stability,'" Dolan said.
"Why is it that I feel that in your heart of hearts there are certain changes you really wish would take place?" Safer asked.
"I think there would be changes in the church. But I don't think they're the ones you have in mind. I don't wanna see changes in the church when it comes to celibacy or women priests or our clear teaching about the sanctity of human life and the unity of marriage between one man and one woman forever. I'd love to see changes in the church in the very area that you're hinting at over and over again, in the perception of the church as some shrill scold. We need to change that," Dolan said.
Dolan says he wants people to celebrate the beauty, charity and timelessness of the church, and not focus so much on what the church prohibits. "Instead of being hung up on these headline issues, let's get back to where the church is at her best," he told Safer.
"But the headline issues are where people are living their lives. And an awful lot feel that the church is going down the wrong road," Safer said.
"Yeah, I guess, you got two different world views there," Dolan replied.
"And you ain't gonna change," Safer remarked.
"I'm in one world. You're in the other," Dolan replied, laughing. "I'm glad you're visitin'."
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