The Rev. Don Browning, a professor of ethics and social sciences at the University of Chicago Divinity School, said the absence of fathers is not discussed much in the academic or denominational circles in which he travels. But Browning warned that the language used in conversations about fathers should be carefully crafted. Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, suggested that a good job, as well as a good marriage, is important in strengthening the bond between fathers and their families. They, too, deserve our ministry. Diane Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a conservative Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, called for men to volunteer for positions in which they can be positive role models, such as mentors and Sunday school teachers.
Fathers are more than sperm banks and automatic teller machines.
Speakers expressed the hope that the gathering would spur greater religious involvement in supporting fathers and that it would encourage men without children to be mentors to fatherless youths. Pollster George Gallup Jr., chairman of the Gallup International Institute in Princeton, N.J., said in a brief interview before his luncheon speech to the gathering that there is growing concern about the issues raised at the summit. A Muslim from Delaware urged that individual members of houses of worship no longer keep the problem of absent fathers to themselves but rather share ideas with the entire religious community. This is hot. We need to talk about it now.