Cardinal Bernadin of Chicago died of cancer in 1996. A few years earlier, a man accused the Cardinal of a crime he did not commit. The charge was on CNN before Bernadin heard it. What did he do? Against some advisors’ counsel, within hours, he held a press conference and clearly, honorably denied the charge.
Someone at that press conference wrote:
“The reporters had come for a good story and found instead a good man. They, rather than the Cardinal, were changed by the experience.”
This is Howard Butt Jr., of Laity Lodge. Bernadin’s accuser later recanted. But already a man’s character had cleared him. That’s what good character can do for us … in the high calling of our daily work.
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.”
—Prov. 3:3-4
