Now that Fr. Luke Strand has agreed to change the “God Squad” logo on his car after getting a cease and desist order from Best Buy attorneys, www.chnonline.org/news/local/9689-god-squad-logo-may-change-but-priests-mission-remains.html, let’s examine the irony of this.
In 2000, Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, and his wife, Sandra, gave $50 million to the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities. When they gave the money to the school, Richard said, “I realize this institution shares my entrepreneurial approach to life.” When it comes to evangelization, how much more entrepreneurial than “God Squad” can you get?
Ever the diplomat: If there was ever any doubt why Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan to New York, one need only look at the former Milwaukee archbishop’s approach to the proposed Islamic Center being built two blocks from ground zero. The archbishop said he was willing to mediate a compromise between the center’s proponents and opponents.
Referring to how Pope John Paul II handled the Catholic nuns whose convent was on the site of the former Auschwitz death camp, Archbishop Dolan said, “(Pope John Paul II is) the one who said, ‘Let’s keep the idea, and maybe move the address.'”
The archbishop learned his lessons well while he worked at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC. That’s the Vatican embassy — the Apostolic Nunciature, where Archbishop Dolan worked from 1987 to 1992.