This is just too good and interesting to pass up.

As a journalist who happens to be a member of the clergy (or a clergyman who happens to be a journalist, take your pick), I found this encounter between a venerable columnist and a bishop both heartening and fascinating.

The columnist is the Providence Journal’s M. Charles Bakst, and the bishop is none other than Thomas Tobin, who raised eyebrows (and some blood pressures) recently with his pointed criticism of Rudy Giuliani. As Bakst explains it:

I’ve seen role reversals before, but this was extreme.

Though maybe not as extreme as it might seem at first glance.

Bishop Thomas Tobin, whom I have interviewed several times, including a long session in his office, came over to The Journal the other day to interview me.

Yes, we see things through different prisms.

For example, when people visit The Journal, they are invariably surprised. Their notion of a newsroom usually has been shaped by the hubbub of noise and frantic activity conveyed by old movies. In reality, the modern-day newsroom is as calm as an insurance office. I often say it’s as quiet as a library.

Bishop Tobin said, “It’s like a church.”

I’m not sure the CBS News studio is like a church, but you no longer hear the clatter of wires or the ding of the bells when a bulletin arrives. You hear the pitter-patter of computer keys and the dull monotone of CNN and MSNBC humming in the background on dozens of plasma screens hanging over our desks.

Anyway, read the rest of Bakst’s account. And a considerable tip of my fedora (press pass in place, ‘natch) to Amy Welborn and her Open Book for bringing it to my attention. It’s all good.

Photo: by Mary Murphy, The Providence Journal