about his new position: “A cardinal will never starve because of
all the events over which he must preside; he would never again
be told the whole truth; he would not know for sure who his
friends are.”
But Billy had somehow earned the trust of Cardinal Cushing.
“Cushing loved Billy,” said Allan Emery. “Billy was genuine.
He was himself. He didn’t hedge. He was clear, direct, and focused
on what the Bible said.” And Cushing appreciated his spirit and
candor.
The bridge built by Billy Graham and Cardinal Cushing led,
over the years, to a closer relationship between evangelicals and
Catholics.
During the 1964 Graham meetings in Boston, Cushing,
recently returned from Vatican II, met with Billy for a forty-
five-minute televised conversation. The cardinal, dressed in
street clothes rather than the robes of office, assured the evan-
gelist and his supporters that “although we Catholics do not
join with them in body, yet in spirit and heart we unite with
them in praying God’s blessing upon this Christian and Christ-
like experience in our community.” He encouraged Catholic
young people to attend the meetings because Billy’s message
“is one of Christ crucified, and no Catholic can do anything but
become a better Catholic from hearing him.... I’m 100 percent
for Dr. Graham.”
Then Cushing said of the Catholic Church, “I only wish we
had half a dozen men of his caliber to go forth and do likewise.”
Billy reciprocated. He praised Cushing and Pope John XXVIII
and hailed Vatican II as a significant step in clearing the clouds of
suspicion and resentment that had divided Catholics and Protes-
tants. Billy professed that he felt “much closer to Roman Catholic
traditions than to some of the more liberal Protestants.”
While Cushing and Graham were both chided by many in
their respective camps for being too cozy with a rival tradition,
both men had meant what they said. Observing the rancor that
emerged in the 1960 presidential election for John F. Kennedy’s
being Catholic, Billy observed that from his perspective, “this is
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham