The debate about the building of a  mosque within two blocks of the site of the World Trade Center tragedy rages on.  Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York City, recently weighed in on the controversy.  Here is a quote concerning the Archbishop's position that appeared on the front page of the August 18th issue of the New York Times.

"Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in New York, said Wednesday that he would gladly help mediate between the proponents and critics of an Islamic center and mosque planned for a site two blocks from ground zero.  The archbishop said that it was his “major prayer” that a compromise could be reached, and that while he had no strong feelings about the project, he might support finding a new location for the center.....Archbishop Dolan invoked the example of Pope John Paul II, who in 1993 ordered Catholic nuns to move from their convent at the former Auschwitz death camp after protests from Jewish leaders.

“He’s the one who said, ‘Let’s keep the idea, and maybe move the address,’ ” the archbishop said. “It worked there; might work here." 1

1  JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ, Published: August 18, 2010, The New York Times, page 1.

There is an initial problem with the Cardinal's approach to mediation concerning the controversy.  Mediation usually takes the form of either of three approaches, namely: facilitative, transformative and evaluative with the engagement of the disputants.  Contrary to his position of having "no strong feelings about the project," it appears that the Cardinal does indeed have a strong position by using the word "compromise" and by referring to Pope John Paul II's solution for the Auschwitz dispute.  He is floating trial balloons as potential solutions which are commonly associated with negotiation tactics as opposed to mediation techniques.

Regardless of the different approaches to mediation, the core concepts require mediator neutrality and a confidential process with the outcome determined by the disputants.  Neither of these three elements appear in this article. 

I understand that the Cardinal is using his power of office to still the troubled waters.  Perhaps I am being pedantic by focusing on the word "compromise" vs. the comprehensive mediation process.  My point is that outside of our studies and profession, well intentioned people use ADR terms and concepts incorrectly which ultimately impede rather than aid in the dispute resolution process.  Oftentimes, prominent figures including President Obama say too much before the disputants even consider mediation or some other forum of conflict resolution to address the issues.  These well meaning comments continue to hover over the situation and never entirely go away regardless of the dispute resolution outcome.  On the positive side, there is much work for us to do.

JCT