Thomas G. Bohlin

Thomas G. Bohlin

Monsignor, U.S. vicar of Opus Dei.

He also earned a doctorate in moral theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Monsignor Bohlin was ordained a priest for the Prelature of Opus Dei in 1997. Prior to coming to New York as the head of Opus Dei in the United States, he worked for the five years with Opus Dei’s Prelate, Bishop Javier Echevarría, at Opus Dei's international headquarters in Rome as chancellor for Opus Dei. Monsignor Bohlin has spoken about faith issues on such news programs as “Hardball with Chris Matthews” and “Meet the Press.” Opus Dei has 87,000 members worldwide and 3,000 in the United States. Pope John Paul II canonized Opus Dei’s founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá, in 2002, calling him “the saint of ordinary life." Close.

Thomas G. Bohlin

Monsignor, U.S. vicar of Opus Dei.

Monsignor Thomas G. Bohlin is the U.S. vicar of the Prelature of Opus Dei, an international institution of the Catholic Church that helps people come closer to God in their work and daily activities. A native of northern New Jersey, Monsignor Bohlin received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a doctorate in history from the University of Notre Dame. more »

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October 19, 2007 4:12 PM

We Preach Christ Crucified

It is unquestionably true that the major religious traditions preach love, compassion and forgiveness. Is that their basic message? Yes and No.

What religion is about is God. Benedict XVI puts it this way is his recent best seller, "Jesus of Nazareth:" “What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God.”

But God is love. This is especially clear in the Christian tradition. When Benedict became Pope he wanted the first major statement of his papacy to be about the essence of Christianity, rather than some peripheral issue. Hence his encyclical, God is Love, in two parts: on the nature of love and on its practice.

Does what Benedict wrote about love express the message of Judaism and Islam, of Buddhists and Hindus? I don’t think so. Their path to love and forgiveness is not going to be as immediate or as obvious as the Son of God dying on a cross for the sake of love and forgiveness.

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