Offend God publicly but then quietly admit your sin and go on with your day. Does that sound like a recipe for success for the Church today?
Make no mistake, this is cowardice.
LifeSiteNews.com: Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York told a Catholic laywoman that Father Edward Dougherty, who officiated at the scandalous February 15 funeral service of a transgender activist and atheist in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, “is a hero.”
LifeSite spoke with Wendy Stone Long, who had approached Cardinal Dolan on Saturday, February 17 after his vigil Mass at Blessed Sacrament Parish in New Rochelle, New York. Long told LifeSiteNews that she first asked the cardinal when a Mass of Reparation would take place at the cathedral in order to make reparation for the recent sacrilegious funeral.
Dolan leaned over to Long and whispered into her ear: “You know, I think it’s already happened – they did it on the QT (quiet) so it wouldn’t be disrupted by those protesters.”
When Long insisted that many Catholics would have liked to attend that Mass of Reparation in light of the great scandal of the funeral service, Dolan told her that Dougherty “is a hero” because “he stopped the (funeral) Mass.” And when Long objected that she herself had watched the entire service and that it was not stopped, Dolan said, “Then it went on without him,” and the cardinal turned around and walked away.
Dolan did not use his homily at the Saturday evening vigil Mass in New Rochelle to comment on the scandal that had taken place in his own cathedral some days earlier and since then has not made any public comment on the matter.
Me again: So they allow this outrageous service to happen and the world knows about it but when asked about reparation for this awful event, Cdl Dolan winks and nods and says we’re going to keep that on the QT to avoid publicity.
God’s words no longer need publicizing? Is that what he takes from the state of the world right now? Our broken world cries out for truth but Cardinal Dolan intends to keep the Good News on the QT.
I wonder who he’s saving it for?
Suicide rates are climbing? Children depression rates are skyrocketing? Abortions. Euthanasia. Gender swapping. Christians are being persecuted openly by the government.
And this is the time to keep the truth on the QT?
February 20, 2024 at 2:37 pm
I wouldn’t thick St. Patrick’s Cathedral is an event hall for rent. Anything scheduled there requires, or should, the active involvement of the pastor and priests. I’ll bet there were numerous red flags that should have been warnings of the sort of shtick that would end up on that video. They should have refused to allow use, plain and simple.
February 20, 2024 at 3:04 pm
I think the Lord in recent years has been actively and openly sifting the wheat from the chaff, separating the sheep from the goats… doing so for all to see, and giving us all individually one final opportunity to choose sides in this spiritual battle… and to choose wisely.
February 21, 2024 at 2:50 pm
Completely agree with your assessment
February 21, 2024 at 7:35 am
They couldn’t have done a 30 second Google search to find out about the tranny before scheduling the funeral-?
February 21, 2024 at 2:32 pm
I do not know nor understand Cardinal Dolan’s reasons for reacting as he did in this horrific catastrophe. In many ways he is a good servant of God and His Church, which I respect and appreciate.
I know things seem different in NYC than they do in my corner of the Midwest, where this is regarded as an absolute horror against not only our Faith, but against God Himself.
I do know, where I live in the Diocese of Cleveland, that my own bishop, His Excellency Edward Malesic, effectively put a target on his back when, a few months ago, he quietly and clearly protected the students, employees, and parishioners of Cleveland Diocesan schools and parishes from the latest attacks on Catholic teaching. He decreed that all students, employees, and parishioners are to be referred to by their birth gender only. That students, employees, and parishioners only use the restrooms of their birth gender. That sports teams are to be open only to those of the corresponding gender – for instance, boys football is only for those who were born boys. That Diocesan and parish sponsored dances may only admit couples of the opposite sex. And so on.
For this, he was roundly and viciously attacked, both in his vocation and personally. Even the Mayor of Cleveland, who was educated in Cleveland Catholic schools, went on the attack – although the Cleveland Public Schools have unending problems of their own. Bishop Malesic was mercilessly insulted and attacked from those who think they know better, nationwide. It was ugly, distasteful, and relentless.
But this seemingly mild-mannered man did not back down, nor did he offer any explanation than every Catholic Diocesan school, hospital, parish, or any other organization sponsored by the Diocese was to abide by these rules because to do otherwise would be against the teaching of the Church, and it simply would not be sanctioned by the Diocese. And the souls of those of us in the Diocese of Cleveland are his responsibility. He did it for our spiritual and physical protection. And I am grateful.
If our Bishop Malesic could do what his holy vocation called for, and bravely stand up to those who want to hurt us spiritually, I do not understand why other bishops, archbishops, and cardinals cannot.
The teaching and standards of the Catholic Church does not differ from diocese to diocese. What is true and faithfully Catholic in Northeast Ohio should be identically true and faithfully Catholic in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, or any other diocese worldwide.
That’s all. I’m not attacking Cardinal Dolan. But I am grateful I am a Catholic in the Cleveland Diocese because my bishop cares enough about all of us to protect our souls, even if it is inconvenient or politically incorrect.
February 21, 2024 at 10:09 pm
Wow! You are blessed indeed. We must pray unceasingly for the thousands of good, holy priests labouring quietly in parishes everywhere.
February 22, 2024 at 11:41 am
Yes, we are blessed, and I do not take it for granted! (BTW – I reread my comment and am ashamed to see grammar errors – my apologies!)
Bishop Malesic has been our bishop for only 2 or 3 years, but he has been a good leader for us. He isn’t flashy and doesn’t look for opportunities to get his name in the media. He just tries to be a good bishop, dealing with the paperwork, visiting parishes all over 8 counties in NE Ohio, Confirming the children, and being a good example. He recently started sending recordings of daily prayers – just the prayers we learned as children – along with a short homily on the readings or saint of the day – to the emails of anyone who signs up for them. He is assisted in this by our auxiliary bishop and other priests of the Diocese. I love it and listen to it twice daily.
You are entirely correct to say we must pray for our priests and seminarians. I am further blessed to have an outstanding young man as my pastor. At my parish and our sister parish, where we currently have a young man in priestly formation at a Benedictine monastery, another who entered the Diocesan seminary last Fall, and two young men who will be entering the Diocesan seminary in August, we pray a Memorare for them ahead of every daily Mass and the weekend Masses, for their spiritual and physical health and protection. And we include our bishops and parish priests and the young ladies who have recently entered convents (the Nashville Dominicans and the Mercedarians). It is a very small thing for all they do for us and the Church.
God bless and protect you and all here!
February 22, 2024 at 11:31 am
Thank you for this inspiring witness, Susan. We shall know them by their fruits – or ultimate results. Not their words, their good intentions, or even their actions. Confusion and dismay are the rotten fruits sown by poor leadership. Clarity and inspiration are the abundant fruits which endure.