Politics is always at the center of public debate, especially over the last few years, as health care, jobs and the economy have been on everyone’s mind. But with 2012 primary races underway, things appear to have headed into overdrive.

And candidates lobbing accusations and insults back and forth, it’s easy to be discouraged about becoming involved in the political process. This past weekend, at an event called New York Encounter, attendees got a different understanding of what it means to enter the political arena. At the event – organized by the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation and the Crossroads Cultural Center – a former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican shared some words of wisdom – and experience.