Last evening, I had the opportunity to hear Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations, present a speech. The speech was pretty good. However, I was struck by his response to a fairly simple question. Someone asked for the Archbishop's impressions on the things that make people in the United State's unique. Having worked extensively in many parts of the world, the Archbishop is in a strong position to provide some insights. Many in the audience, like me, were thinking that His Excellency might refer to people in the United States stressing individualism, freedom, etc. However, Archbishop Migliore said the primary difference is how people in the United States view generosity. He said that in the articles he reads about people in the United States making a significant donation of resources to worthy causes, the donor(s) almost always mention that they are "giving back". They are responding out of gratitude for gifts that were given to them. Archbishop Migliore said this perspective rarely comes up in other countries. Donor(s) in other countries rarely mention that they are supporting a cause out of gratitude. I think the Archbishop's response caught many in the audience by surprise.
Maybe we citizens of the United States aren't all bad!
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