Since Cardinal Dolan extended an invitation to President Obama to attend the Al Smith Dinner, along with Governor Romney, many Catholics have found themselves somewhere on the spectrum between concerned and outraged.
Many people consider it a scandal for a Catholic foundation and the Cardinal to host the virulently anti-life President when the Church is locked in an existential struggle against that same President.
After enduring so much criticism for this decision, Cardinal Dolan has taken to his Archdiocesan blog to defend and explain his decision. He makes several point in his explanation. First, the invitation is not an award. Second, the point of the Dinner is as an interfaith gathering, the whole point is to open the doors. Third, you gather more flies with honey. He paraphrasically says, Remember I am the same Cardinal leading the charge against the administration’s attacks on the Church. This is a prudential decision, so pray for me and trust me.
For sure, Cardinal Dolan has been the outspoken champion of the Church’s rights and the rights of individuals to practice their religion in public free from coercive immoral mandates. For this and by virtue of his position in the Church, he rightly deserves our praise, respect, and a fair amount of trust.
Cardinal Dolan, We trust you. I trust you. But I also have a warning for you.
You wrote about what the perception would be if you refused to meet with the President saying ..
August 15, 2012 at 7:11 pm
It's a delicate balance – John Paul II met with Jaruzelski in Poland and yet it was really clear who came out on top in that encounter. So we need to pray for the good cardinal. He is not only going to engage a facile liar, he is going to do it in a media environment that is equally facile in lying for the liar.
August 15, 2012 at 7:38 pm
May it be so. I fear, however, that perhaps the Cardinal is "evolving." May it please God that I am wrong, wrong, wrong.
August 15, 2012 at 7:53 pm
Obama practices Saul Alinsky, the communist atheist. Alinsky put one man in the center of the audience and one man at each corner. These men were to control the crowd's thinking by hissing snd booing at the right time, by shouting disrespect, disagreement and plain hatred. In plain English, they play dirty. One presidential candidate was booed when he rose to speak. The media is going to have a field day with this. Honestly, Obama the INFANT BUTCHER, never did anything presidential.
August 15, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Could you adjust your article to address Cardinal Dolan to "Your Eminence" instead of "Cardinal"? That'd help your article.
August 16, 2012 at 2:17 am
wow, "anti life president". He might be better if he tortured people like Bush43 did. Threatening a cardinal and calling bishops wrong. Looks like you"ll be with me in hell.
"we laugh because we deceive".
August 16, 2012 at 3:40 am
Hey, rover (sic):
Try writing complete sentences as you were taught in primary school. Then determine your thesis, focus on it, and proofread your submission in order to minimize errors.
August 17, 2012 at 9:40 pm
I think it's time for Catholics in New York to engage in some civil disobedience. I suggest that they picket the chancery in force and stage a sit-in so nobody goes in or out until Dolan withdraws the invitation. If he doesn't, then do the exact same thing at the site of the dinner and make sure that nobody — not even Obama and Dolan — gets in or out.
The American bishops have abandoned God, let alone the faithful. Consequently, they no longer deserve their allegiance. Catholics should stop being infatuated with ecclesiology and fight the borderline apostates who run the Church!