My Friend, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin

December 2, 2015

Fr. Scott delivered “A Walk with My Friend, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin” at Elmhurst College last Thursday evening. His talk was part of the college’s religious lecture series, which presents informative talks from a variety of religious traditions. The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Lecture at Elmhurst College honors the memory of an influential and reconciling churchman.

Cardinal Bernardin, who led the Chicago Archdiocese until his death in 1996 of pancreatic cancer, became a dear friend and mentor to Fr. Scott. So rather than presenting a routine biography about the Cardinal, Fr. Scott opted to share personal, often humorous first-hand accounts of their times together and highlighted the ways in which Bernardin’s core values are reflected in the work that we do at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls.

Fr. Scott structured his talk on six of those values:

1. Courage
2. Self Deprecating Humor
3. Compassion
4. Forgiveness
5. Trust
6. Loyalty

The title of his presentation was an allusion to the frequent walks that the Cardinal enjoyed taking with Fr. Scott and the people he met along the way. It was these walks that provided several of the stories which illustrated the ways in which the Cardinal embodied the Gospel values to enhance the lives of others.

Founded in 1871, Elmhurst College is a private, four-year college affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Fr. Scott was graciously hosted by Elmhurst College President Larry Braskamp, College Chaplain Rev. H. Scott Matheney, and Mary Kay Mulvaney, a member of our Leader Council and chairman of the college’s Honors program. Groups of students from Notre Dame High School in Niles and Fenwick High School in Oak Park also attended the talk.