Priest, pastor, rabbi view declining faith population in divided America as an 'opportunity'.

The religious power trio of Reverend A.R. Bernard, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan walked into The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture on New York City's Bleecker Street, where they explored the 2024 Election ahead of an eager audience.

Despite a general decline in faith among Americans, Bernard, Potasnik, and the Archdiocese of New York's Dolan were invited to the Sheen Center stage for a live look at their WABC Radio Sunday morning talk and a discussion about the current state of religion and politics.

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The spirited trio embodied the very inclusion that was extended to people of all creeds, including those who were invited by the Sheen and sat on the board.

"Rabbi Postanik stated that while there is a crisis in the decline of religion in America, particularly among the younger generations, there is also an opportunity. Many of these young people do not attend a house of worship but are willing to help others at a food pantry. They identify as spiritual rather than religious, and Rabbi Postanik tries to explain that what they consider spiritual is actually religious."

"At the end of the day, it's what you do, not what you say, because belief is measured by behavior." — Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, who preaches with a "we don't impose, we propose" motto

When you help the hungry, poor, and rehabilitate others, that's religious," Potasnik said. "It's not what you say, but what you do that defines your belief.

The trio discussed the upcoming presidential election, which is causing tremendous stress and anxiety for many if not most Americans, with Planet Chronicle Digital ahead of their show.

"Rev. Bernard of the Christian Cultural Center stated that the message of Jesus transcended the political landscape of his time and continues to do so today. We live in a world that is affected by policies, systems, structures, and practices, and we must respond. We respond through voting, which gives power to someone to make decisions about our quality of life and the future of our nation. Therefore, we should take voting seriously and imagine a nation that is consistent with our key principles of human dignity and common good."

Rabbi Potasnik, the Executive Vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis, compared the current division in the country to the discrepancy between a book and its film adaptation. He said, "We're called the people of the book. And I think the sad part of that is, today, the movie is different than the book. It almost contradicts the book. In our houses of worship, we talk about respect. We talk about togetherness, cohesiveness, solidarity, cooperation, communication, all of those things. But when you go outside the house of worship, you see a whole different world."

The priest stated that polarization has reached a point where people not only disagree with each other but also denigrate one another. He believes that the challenge is to ensure that the movie and book versions of a story are similar, and that people are encouraged to respect different viewpoints. The priest emphasized that as children of God, we are expected to act with dignity and decency, and he hoped that the gap between people could be narrowed.

The current Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan, who was appointed 15 years ago by Pope Benedict XVI, added to the Rabbi's analogy and urged people and politicians of different beliefs to treat each other with more respect.

"We need to be as passionate and as excited about the issues as we can be, but always to respect the people who hold them." — Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York

"Dolan advised Planet Chronicle Digital that when the three of them studied preparing for ministry, debating, rhetoric, logic, they learned that the weakest argument was attacking the person. Instead, they should focus on the principles, policies, and issues while respecting the people who hold them. He emphasized the need for passionate and excited discussions but without resorting to ad-hominem campaigns."

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As the election nears, the trio ended their discussions for the night by emphasizing the importance of believing in a higher power for the country's future, and how this belief is intertwined with having faith in one's own.

Rev. Bernard stated that being a person of faith requires being a prisoner of hope.