Replies

"Recently I was talking to a young couple – a Protestant couple. The husband is coming into the Catholic Church. He’s been studying and reading, learning everything he can about the faith. His wife, however, who – at least as of a few weeks ago – had no desire to come into the Catholic Church was amazed as how much she was learning in Catholic Bible classes. She said she had never learned so much about the Bible as a Baptist."

Sarah Palin: Billy Graham Transformed my Life
Dominic Gover - November 08, 2013 1:52 PM GMT

"Palin, a former republican governor of Alaska who spoke at the dinner, told USA Today: "His message transformed my mum's life. "In the 70s, she would tune into the Billy Graham crusades, televised. My mom was raised Catholic, and she ... was yearning for something more.

"His invitation for people to know that they could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - my mom understood that from the way that he could articulate it. She became a Christian, led the rest of the family to Christ, and that I believe transformed our family."
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/520703/20131108/billy-graham-last-sermon-hope-american-sarah.htm

Sarah Palin’s mother gave up the Eucharist. That tells me they never were devout Catholics to start with.

“Sarah Palin: Billy Graham Transformed my Life”

Here’s some comments for Sarah Palin on Billy Graham and what he thought of Pope JP2 and Catholicism in general.

“Pope John Paul II was the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world in the last 100 years”

~ Billy Graham speaking on the death of JP2

1967: Graham on his graduation speech from Catholic Abbey he stated: “Finally, the way of salvation has not changed. I know how the ending of the book will be. The Gospel that built this school Catholic] and the Gospel that brings me here tonight is still the way to salvation” (”Belmont Abbey Confers Honorary Degree,” Paul Smith, Gazette staff reporter, The Gastonia Gazette, Gastonia, North Carolina, Nov. 22, 1967).

1972: Graham received the Catholic International Franciscan Award for “his contribution to true ecumenism” and “his sincere and authentic ecumenism” (4/22/72 Minneapolis Star). In acknowledging the award, Graham said, “While I am not worthy to touch the shoe laces of St. Francis, yet this same Christ that called Francis in the 13th century also called me to be one of his servants in the 20th century” (2/86 The Gospel Standard).

1973: Graham recommended Roman Catholic literature in the ecumenical Key ‘73 meetings held across North America; he especially recommended a biography of the Pope John XXIII containing hundreds of pages of devotion to Mary and the Saints, worship of the host (wafer) at the Mass, and his [the Pope’s] trust in the sacraments as the means of salvation. Graham advertised this book as “a classic in devotion” (2/86 The Gospel Standard; Key ‘73: Congregational Resource Book).

1979: “The visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States is an event of great significance not only for Roman Catholics, but for all Americans as well as the world. In the short time he has been the Pope, John Paul II has become the moral leader of the world. My prayers and the prayers of countless other Protestants will be with him as he makes his journey” (Billy Graham, 9/27/79 Religious New Service dispatch; quoted in New Neutralism II, p. 40).

1979: Billy Graham appeared on the Phil Donahue show on 10/11/79, and in discussing Pope John Paul II’s visit to the U.S.A., said: “I think the American people are looking for a leader, a moral and spiritual leader that believes something. And the Pope does. … Thank God, I’ve got somebody to quote now with some real authority.”

1980: “Since his election, Pope John Paul II has emerged as the greatest religious leader of the modern world, and one of the greatest moral and spiritual leaders of this century … The Pope came [to America] as a statesman and a pastor, but I believe he also sees himself coming as an evangelist. … The Pope sought to speak to the spiritual hunger of our age in the same way Christians throughout the centuries have spoken to the spiritual yearnings of every age-by pointing people to Christ” (Saturday Evening Post, Jan.-Feb. 1980). [In this same article Graham was quoted as saying, “Recently I learned the word ‘Pontiff’ comes from the Latin words which originally meant ‘bridge builder.’ … Pope John Paul II [is] indeed a bridge builder, and that is something our divided world desperately needs.” Historically, “pontiff” does not mean bridge- builder, but refers to the papal title of Pontifex Maximus, which was handed down to the early popes from the high priests of ancient heathen religion in the Roman Empire; “Pontiff” in Italian and Latin means “bridge,” and clearly points to the Pope’s blasphemous claim that he himself is that bridge between man and God.] (Billy Graham, The Saturday Evening Post, Jan.-Feb. 1980).