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Show UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY roots—roots that have only deepened over subsequent years. It is surely a remarkable fact in the history of religion that two faiths with such fundamental and irreconcilable theological differences have learned to coexist so peacefully and productively. Reviewing that history, their amicable relationship seems to have been based, for one thing, in the determination of Catholics to neither proselytize Latter-day Saints, nor, indeed, to engage in polemical exchanges of any kind. Catholic clergy have generally felt that they had their hands full just ministering to their own people without trying to steal sheep from other folds—a thievery that has, in any event, proved rather unproductive when attempted by Protestants. For the Mormons’ part, after enduring violent assaults on their existence from other churches, the Catholic olive branch obviously represented a welcome respite. Furthermore, Catholics and Mormons have learned to join forces in charitable, philanthropic, and cultural endeavors where religious differences have seemed irrelevant. Consider, for example, the cultural events regularly staged at the Cathedral of the Madeleine after its 1993 reopening. Even more dramatically, at this writing, Catholic Community Services is headed by Brad Drake—a Mormon. All these manifestations of interfaith cooperation and collaboration draw strength from a historical relationship carefully nurtured by leaders of both churches since the first permanent establishment of Catholicism in the heart of Mormon Utah. 248 |
