The University of Notre Dame invited President Barack Obama and Catholics were stunned. Georgetown honored HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Catholics everywhere were horrified.
Meghan Myers, the Executive Director of the annual fundraiser for Catholic Charities, told LifeSiteNews that U.S. President Barack Obama was invited to keynote the Al Smith dinner by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
And for the life of me I can’t see why Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s invitation to President Obama to the Al Smith dinner is any different. I know the Church isn’t honoring Obama but come on. Right on the home page of the Al Smith event is this picture:
Horrifyingly, you can go to the Al Smith foundation right from the Archdiocesan website
and then just click on “dinner” and you’ll see this pic.
Why is this invitation different than Notre Dame or Georgetown’s invitations? You can say that it has nothing to do with politics and that it’s a fundraiser for children but didn’t Georgetown and Notre Dame say that it wasn’t about politics and that it was all about the students?
I’ve been to two religious freedom rallies with my kids in Philadelphia. I traveled down to Baltimore for the kickoff Mass of The Fortnight for Freedom with Archbishop Lori. And yeah, this ticks me off.
When millions of Catholics who prayed and protested for religious freedom see the pictures that will surely surface from the event with Cardinal Dolan and Obama how will they feel? Pray tell what will that do to the morale of millions of Catholics? What will that do to the pit of their stomachs?
It’s just unserious. We can say it’s all for a good cause. But its just unserious. Either those 50 million babies count as human beings or they don’t. Either marriage is worth fighting for or it’s not. Either religious freedom must be preserved or not. To say we’re taking a “time out” from politics a few weeks before election day is just unserious. And it says to millions of Catholics that we can take a time out from those important issues to yuck it up. I hope and pray that this invitation is rescinded. I’m serious.
August 8, 2012 at 4:10 pm
Mark 2:15-17
While he was at table in his house, 9 many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
Jesus heard this and said to them (that), "Those who are well do not need a physician, 11 but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
August 8, 2012 at 4:11 pm
It's dinner, folks. Not a ceremony celebrating President Obama and his ideologies. Get a grip.
August 8, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Admittedly, this all makes ne nervous, but we have no place criticizing without an explanation, and as Catholics there is no room for this kind of public criticism of our most-respected shepherd in the US. Cardinal Dolan has done and said many great things in the past year and I do believe we owe it to him to wait and see what is happening with this. On the surface it feels very wrong, but our duty as the lay faithful is to trust Cardinal Dolan until this plays out.
August 9, 2012 at 12:10 am
I'm sure glad none of you people are Archbishop of New York or head of the USCCB. All I'm seeing here is pure emotionalism. Stop and think, please.
How many people here know if Pres. Obama was even taking Card. Dolan's calls up to now? For some time relations have been freezing between the White House and the bishops – largely on the President's part, I'm sure. The ability to find a solution, to actually get the President to rescind not just the HHS mandate, but his whole definition of freedom of religion – let's not even get into the rest of his policies — has come to a standstill. Yes, we MIGHT win in court, but probably not before the election. Obama MIGHT not be re-elected, but we can't count on that.
Cdl. Dolan may have been hoping for an ice-breaker by extending this invitation. It might re-open communications and lead to talks.
And let's not forget that the dinner itself is still two months away. If Obama continues to be the horse's-you-know-what that we all know he is on these matters, and things come to a head, then there is an easy solution. Cdl. Dolan can say: "Sorry, Cardinal Egan and I have just just discovered we have a previous engagement that night," and not attend the dinner, leaving the President with egg on his face – right before the election. Sort of sounds like a plan.
By the way, has Cardinal Dolan even said that that he himself is attending the dinner?
August 9, 2012 at 3:03 am
What does it say to me? It says that the Church in America cares more about it's relationship with the Federal Government and the billions it receives from Uncle Sam than it cares about life and truth.
Prelates and popes have always been more about associating with the powerful and expanding their secular influence than about life and truth. Just look at how the vast majority of bishops have dealt with the abortion issue. Just look at the history of the papacy.
The only recent exception was John Paul I (Albino Luciani, not Karol Wojtyla). He was murdered. It was an inside job.
Think about it.
August 9, 2012 at 3:23 am
Sorry, Joseph, but that is not true, and continuing to spread this conspiracy theory nonsense is scandalous. I have a nearly book-length series of posts here going into the matter in great detail.
http://subcreators.com/blog/investigation-of-the-death-of-pope-john-paul-i/
You might also be interested to know that there is going to be a conference in New York on October 12-13 called "The True Pope John Paul I" that will show what he was really all about.
http://www.jpicentenary.org
August 9, 2012 at 4:06 am
It says 1936 and the JDL inviting Hitler to their fundraiser…
August 9, 2012 at 4:17 am
It says…
Peter.
only the ones being crucifed upside down may be us.
kim
August 9, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Reminds me of what my dad used to say "do as I say, not as I do"…
August 9, 2012 at 7:36 pm
I would in part agree on the side of Louie Verrecchio at Catholic Lane. I think Cardinal Dolan is a smart guy. He knows who is going to the event. He has said before he would leave doors open for the president to have dialogue, this way now Cardinal can say hey we gave you the opportunity and you refused. This is a time of uncertainty in the world, and I think we shouldn't' let emotions get in the way of tactical thinking. We should trust this shepherd. I know Dolan knows that we as Catholics want answers you know.
August 9, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Lori, the possibility that I might be wrong about JPI doesn't necessarily negate my statement that prelates and popes have been far more concerned about politics and maintaining their influence with politicians than with truth and life. That, sadly, has pervaded the papacy and the hierarchy for centuries.
August 9, 2012 at 7:54 pm
BTW, why should we give bishops the benefit of the doubt, especially after the way most of them behaved when faced with sexual predators in their dioceses? Merely because they're bishops?
Puh-leezze! Jesus Himself said that you shall know them by their works. Well, the American bishops' works over the past thirty years speak more loudly than anything they could ever say.
August 10, 2012 at 1:01 am
It's not that we should place our trust in the Bishops themselves but in the wisdom of God. Bishops are still human, and it's by the Grace of God they do their good works, we shouldn't discount the ability of God to instill what is needed in Dolan to has this turn out well for us. I know it's hard but here again we have to trust God above and have faith he is doing what is best for us.
August 10, 2012 at 3:25 am
Jacob:
"Jesus heard this and said to them (that), 'Those who are well do not need a physician, 11 but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.'"
It also matters what he called them, don't you think? Consider what he told the woman about to be stoned.
"Nor do I condemn thee, but from now on, avoid this sin."
Not exactly a back-slapping endorsement.
August 10, 2012 at 4:49 am
Joseph I didn't say a word about anything except John Paul I. I didn't deny there were and are many "political" bishops. You're mighty defensive on the subject though. Didn't the possibility occur to you that if you are wrong about the one thing (and you are), you could be wrong about others?
August 10, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Lori, my main point wasn't about John Paul I. My main point was about the nature of the hierarchy, which has been revealed through centuries of recorded behavior. Given that record, I'm not wrong about my fundamental point.
Nate, at some point, we have to look at what people do, rather than just at what they say. Anybody can say anything for any reason. But how do they live? Yes, we're all human and, yes, we all make mistakes under pressure. That doesn't mean we should sacrifice our God-given powers of discernment for some false "non-judgementality."
August 10, 2012 at 9:31 pm
You didn't answer my question, which was "what if you're wrong about what they do?"
August 10, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Joesph, I understand the need to walk the walk and talk the talk. But I think if dolan was to rescind the invitation of both candidates, all the media would see and say is that he didn't want to have a dialogue with the president. They'll push it like Dolan and the U.S bishops don't want to try and work something out and then praise the presidents "accommodation". Now if I knew that if Dolan were to not invite him and that would garner points from the secular media then I would say have at it, but this is thin ice, but also to say all is lost is not really the right attitude either. not that I think that's what your saying I'm saying in general.
August 10, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Joesph, I understand the need to walk the walk and talk the talk. But I think if dolan was to rescind the invitation of both candidates, all the media would see and say is that he didn't want to have a dialogue with the president. They'll push it like Dolan and the U.S bishops don't want to try and work something out and then praise the presidents "accommodation". Now if I knew that if Dolan were to not invite him and that would garner points from the secular media then I would say have at it, but this is thin ice, but also to say all is lost is not really the right attitude either. not that I think that's what your saying I'm saying in general.
August 11, 2012 at 6:42 am
Nate, you make valid points about the situation in question. You might be right that Cdl. Dolan is considering how secular media might react. OTOH, at some point, people have to disregard what others — even influential others — think and do what is right (I'm speaking in general, here.). What other ways do the bishops have of holding Pres. Obama accountable concerning his administration's decisions?
Lori, if you think I'm wrong about the hierarchy and papacy, then say so and provide examples. I would caution you, however, that I can site far more examples of high-ranking prelates who have sacrificed their spiritual patrimony on the altar of ambition, greed, political influence and a misplaced loyalty to the ecclesiastical institution as opposed to God.