Well, I just think it's an odd choice of words in this instance. I think it takes a sense of responsibility. I think it takes both intelligence and wisdom to recognize the problems and come up with seasoned and measured corrections. And I think it takes persistence and patience to get enough other people on board to actually implement those corrections. And after all that, it then takes humility to assess the results of the corrections honestly; without letting one's own biased ego get in the way.
It seems to me that 'passion' is antithetical to nearly all these above-mentioned attributes. It's passion that increases the intensity of our bias and closes our ears, eyes, and minds to everything but the desired objective. It's passion that blinds us to a 'measured response' and encourages us to act impulsively and in the extreme. And it's passion that allows our egos to run away with us. Which is almost never a good thing, for anyone.
'Compassion' I would gladly accept as one of the attributes that we need to focus on, and in fact I'm soon going to start a threat on that idea as related to your thread, here.
Passion, though, is not all that it's so often cracked up to be. And I say this as an artist, even! :nono:
Passion in the sense of 100% commitment to one's cause. I cannot stand a "Mugwump"! If you believe in something you do your due diligence and then you go for it.
You might even have to break a sweat!