"My father was a Catholic," Elder Bednar said after many toured the Rome Italy Temple, including a Catholic delegation. "As a young man, he aspired to be a priest. And I have an aunt who's a nun, Sister Rosario, my Aunt Mary. So all my life I've been answering questions about, now what is it you do? And why do you do that? So today to take these really sincerely interested journalists through the temple and respond to their questions, questions of the soul, questions about living the gospel on a daily basis, we simply tried to explain to them that there is a pattern of progression that is symbolized in the temple: As we put off the natural man, we become new creatures in Christ."
A Catholic delegation led by the secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity took a tour Tuesday of the new Rome Italy Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Most Reverend Bishop Brian Farrell headed a group that included four other priests and three sisters.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles led the tour with Elder Jack N. Gerard, a General Authority Seventy. They, along with Elder David A. Bednar of the Twelve and other church leaders, are leading tours this week for dignitaries prior to the temple's public open house, which will be held Jan. 28-Feb. 16, excluding Sundays.
"The delegation from the Catholic Church came today at our invitation," Elder Rasband said. "They said they came to the temple to learn."