Kathleen Kennedy Townsend -- an interview

The blog Faithfully Liberal, a blog run by 2 seminarians, offers a most helpful interview with Robert Kennedy's daughter, Kathleen, regarding the message of her new book Failing America's Faithful.

Here she answers why she wrote the book:

A:I wrote Failing America’s Faithful now because I care for my Church and my country. Churches today are failing their faithful. The Churches are failing to make the connection between faith and the common good and faith and justice.

We face great challenges in the United States—a war in which Americans have tortured prisoners and have neglected our own soldiers. Iraq itself has been ripped apart with millions of refugees searching for safe havens. Income inequity has grown so that while the few have gotten richer, many families lack health care, children suffer from a poor education and pensions have been cut. We are harming the earth that we should steward.

Yet, the churches have focused their attention not on these large issues but on abortion, same sex marriage and stem cell research. They are shrinking God—and using faith to divide, to justify mean spirited attacks and to hurt and hate rather than love our neighbor.

I am sad and disappointed and so I write. I want to awaken believers to their rightful mission which is to be a source of inspiration for justice and compassion.

I've yet to read the book, but it looks like an important read. Take a look at the interview over at Faithfully Liberal! And tell them I sent you their way!!