The following story appeared August 6 on the website of Crisis magazine.
According to reports, Dolan has extended an invitation to President Obama to the annual Al Smith dinner in New York City. The president, reportedly, has accepted.
Historically, the dinner is one of the most prestigious political events in New York City particularly during a presidential election year and candidates from both parties usually attend
Known for its lighthearted political speeches, the major speakers deliver a series of self-deprecating jokes while ribbing their opponent at the same time. In October 2008, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama both attended the dinner, accepting an invitation by Cardinal Egan of New York. During the dinner, Cardinal Eagan expressed his “delight” that Obama and McCain had attended, called them “outstanding exemplary Americans.”
But this year, some Catholics are surprised to hear that Archbishop Dolan had invited Obama, now that he is president. Should the Archbishop associate a fundraiser for Catholic Charities with a leader whose administration remains defiantly opposed to Church moral teachings?
It’s not unprecedented in a presidential election year for a candidate not to be invited. In 1996, Cardinal O’Connor did not invite President Clinton or Senator Dole to the dinner and, in 2004, neither Sen. John Kerry nor President Bush were invited.
Obama’s attendance at the dinner this year could be awkward, particularly since the Catholic Church’s relationship with Obama has been severely tested in the battle over his administration’s contraception coverage mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services….
Already, some Catholics are grumbling that the Archbishop’s public association with Obama may suggest a reluctance to oppose the president’s policies on abortion or religious freedom.
It has not been confirmed whether or not Republican candidate Mitt Romney has been invited, but presumably he will don a white tie and exchange jokes with the president and some of the wealthiest American citizens in New York City.
Dolan will also be given the opportunity to address both candidates in the national spotlight. While it is unlikely he will be able to change the president’s mind on these issues, he might see the dinner as an opportunity to defend religious liberty before the American public.
Hopefully the irony of Obama’s relationship with the Catholic Church will not be lost in the humorous tone of the event. It certainly won’t be lost on the media, who will frame it in the most dramatic terms.
Dolan is known for his sense of humor, which often characterizes his public remarks.
“What weighs on me the most,” Dolan explained in an interview in 2011, “is the caricature of the Catholic Church as crabby, nay-saying, down in the dumps, discouraging, on the run. And I’m thinking if there is anything that should be upbeat, affirming, positive, joyful, it should be people of faith.”
Perhaps Dolan can be both gracious and critical while speaking about the president. The end result may teach Americans a significant lesson just before the presidential election.
To read original story, click here.
It looks as if Archbishop Dolan is trying to use the Lord Jesus and Zachias routine if I may use such a term. Will it work? I seriouly doubt it. It certainly would take a miracle.
That would be a problem if they didn’t exist.
Yes, Brian S., but Zachias was open to grace. Is President Obama or will he be like the Egyptian pharoah of old and harden his heart?
For all those that try to compare the Dolan/Obama dining experience to Christ supping with sinners, think again. That analogy is wrong. Christ when invited to dine with sinners accepted the opportunity to instruct and correct the Pharisees. Zacchaeus, the publican, was the sublime example and made the only public confession we have on record in the Bible at Christ’s entrance into his home. No, Archbishop Dolan’s dealing with Obama is actually analogous to Christ’s dealing with the established authority of the state, Herod and Pilate. With neither was there a fine dinner or a photo op. The coward Pilate was put in his place and made to know by our Scourged Savior the limits of his finite temporal power, “Thou should’st not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above.” The incestuous be-header of John the Baptist, the “Fox” Herod, with his petty soul expecting to be amused by a wonder worker and healer was only met with the reproach and scorn of our Lord’s silence. Our Blessed Lord gives our Bishops the sublime example as to how they should deal with such leaders as the Obama’s, the Stalin’s and the Hitlers of this world. Millions murdered in the womb, religious freedom under attack, and sodomy being claimed as marriage is hardly a time for conviviality and jovial exchanges. Christ is being crucified Archbishop Dolan!
The Archbishop of New York is His Eminence, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
With all due respect, the Archbishop should be militantly Catholic!
With any do respect, being “militantly Catholic!” usually takes the form of cutting-and-running and then carping about the state of the Church.
What a silly comment.
Rodda why are you against the church?
Barack Hussein Obama has declared war on the Catholic Church and has shown contempt for the Catholic Faith and people. He has done this before the 2012 election. If he is re-elected, what will he do to the Church when he is a lame duck president and doesn’t need to be concerned about his popularity? This is an election like no other in the histiory if thge U.S. I think Cardinal Dolan should retract his invitation from both candidates, to be fair and courteous. He doesn’t need to invite either candidate.
heres a newsflash dolan. you dont invite Satan to your party so you
look like the right guy. you dont invite Satan to your party PERIOD.
wake up you and the rest of the church this is war your enemy doesnt
belong where you are quartered. what is it about that you dont
understand?
This is a tremendous scandal. When Cardinal O’Connor was archbishop of New York, he did not invite President Clinton. Obama will use this event as a political endorsement to hook more Catholics into voting for him. What a fantastic photo opt for the most anti-Catholic president of all time, and this was awarded to him by a prince of the Church. No wonder people are leaving the Catholic Church in droves.Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!
Father Karl: of course Junior will use this as a photo op — he does not for one minute think Catholics are a voting bloc.
54% voted for this schmuck in 2008.
Have you heard Dolan come out and advise the remaining flock to use your conscience and do not vote for supporters of abortion that take our money to fund it?
Didn’t think so.
You won’t.
He’s an Obama fan — other than Junior’s tax on abortion Dolan loves the regime’s multi social programs that we pay for.
Goodness yes! Heaven forbid we appear crabby to the world! We might even be gasp! Dare I say the ‘u’ word!? We might become UNPOPULAR?! Oh, the gratest shame any American can know! The engine that keeps Madison Ave. humming, the cosmetics industry booming and magazines and Internet sites cranking out advice…we must please the world, right? Let’s get our priorities right Christians. Smile!
I foundly remember the pre-Vatican II Church, the one that told the Truth in good times and bad no matter what the consequences were. Pray for that Church to come back in its fullness.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Founding Director
Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc.
Is that the same Church that beamed in silent approval as JFK announced that his Catholicism would have nothing at all to do with his presidency in 1960, two years before the Council?
Anecdotal nonsense-proof please.
Still waiting.
“What weighs on me the most,” Dolan explained in an interview in 2011, “is the caricature of the Catholic Church as crabby, nay-saying, down in the dumps, discouraging, on the run. And I’m thinking if there is anything that should be upbeat, affirming, positive, joyful, it should be people of faith.”
AMEN, Cardinal Dolan! I wonder what the Cardinal would say about the tenor of this forum? Often times it’s exactly what he says weighs on him most…
As for the comment:
“Already, some Catholics are grumbling that the Archbishop’s public association with Obama may suggest a reluctance to oppose the president’s policies on abortion or religious freedom.”
I respond with grow-up already! No, you’re not a better Catholic because you grumble and whine all the time. No, being a reactionary is not a good thing. No, cutting-and-running is not a good thing! Get over yourselves already!
Respectfully, I would suggest that Rodda refresh herself on the Catholic teachings on Scandal. 2284-2287.
I say that you are full of baloney. You don’t know what you are talking about. My interactions with my brothers and sisters in Christ remind me everyday about how wonderful it is to be commtted to Christ and the Holy Roman Church.
“Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits”. — St. Philip Neri
Angry are you? All I see from self-described “traditionalists” is hatred and the propensity to cut-and-run at the first prospect of difficulty.
I say that you’re ignorant. Just look at your use of “Holy Roman Church.” Did you actually mean the Catholic Church including its Eastern Half?
Yes I know, all would be good if Burke or Bruskewitz was the Archbishop of NY. All I can say is they are not, thanks be to God through the God guided wisdom of JPII and BXVI.
Rodda-sorry but you don’t run the Church.There are no such things as Traditionalists or “Progressives” in Catholicism-there are only the orthodox and the heterodox and DO quit throwing wotds like HATE around-that is the sin of calumny.
Rodda,
Which is it for you: “being a reactionary is not a good thing. No, cutting-and-running is not a good thing!”. For me, it is “Viva Cristo Rey!”
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
When you allow open and notorious sodomites and abortionists to receive and profanate the Holy Eucharist, why not invite them and their partners in sin to dinners and ceremonies?
That’s what I always say.
Cardinal Dolan has expressed concern that the Catholic Church be considered “crabby, nay-saying.” We are “crabby, nay-saying” about the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriages!! In 1996, Cardinal O’Connor did not invite President Clinton or Senator Dole to the dinner and, in 2004, neither Sen. John Kerry nor President Bush were invited.
Cardinal Dolan, if you do not rescind your invitation to Obama, you will be helping him to be reelected!
“WHO IS GOING TO SAVE OUR CHURCH? NOT OUR BISHOPS, NOT OUR PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS. IT IS UP TO THE PEOPLE. YOU HAVE THE MINDS, THE EYES, THE EARS TO SAVE THE CHURCH. YOUR MISSION IS TO SEE THAT YOUR PRIESTS ACT LIKE PRIESTS, YOUR BISHOPS, LIKE BISHOPS, AND YOUR RELIGIOUS ACT LIKE RELIGIOUS.”. – Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Beautiful! Now lets all write letters to Cardinal Dolan in protest of his choices to cause this scandal!
Santo Subito !
Nonsense, what in the world is Cardinal doing. Obama is a an enemy of the Church and her teachings. How many betrayals are we the faithful laity supposed to take from these guys, no more talk, no more tolerance, no place at the table, its time for direct confrontation with an evil administration and gangster run government, PA are you still glad you voted for this thug in the White house???
Another good reason to boycott “catholic” Charities. Yes, Obama was funny at the last dinner, but, that was because his lines were written for him, and most liars do make good comics. What does Card. Eagan think of Obama now? +JMJ+
It is time that True Catholics of New York conduct a Prayerful demonstration at the scanalous event as we did for Notre Shame!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Cardinal Dolan, what a guy! Aside from being in NY, what is the basis of his positive reputation? He seems like a happy sort, good to have a beer with. Not much of a Church leader though. Absolutely asleep at the switch when NY State voted to permit homosexual marriage (when most commentators suggest that his active role would have resulted in failure for the law switch). Then, as head of the USCCB, he encourages litigation against the HHS mandate — a terrific move. But, then he undercuts the moral outrage of the bishops (?were they outraged at all?), and perhaps weakens his case, by inviting in the Good Old Prez in for an honorary meal. This is the “leader” of the American clergy?
“Not much of a leader?” He’s about the best we have going in the USA. He’s in his position for a reason. I pray he’s the next pope!
NEVER.GOING.TO.HAPPEN.
“What weighs on me the most,” Dolan explained in an interview in 2011, “is the caricature of the Catholic Church as crabby, nay-saying, down in the dumps, discouraging, on the run. And I’m thinking if there is anything that should be upbeat, affirming, positive, joyful, it should be people of faith.”
Emminence, what should weigh on you most is that the Catholic Church is running out of soldiers willing to defend the faith in the most difficult of times. I hope in front of Obama you are upbeat, affirming, positive, and joyful. It will be a coup for Obama’s re-election and the media will spin it that way. And when he wins thanks to your upbeat, afffirming help, with Catholics voting for Obama in droves, please be just as upbeat, affirming and joyful when the hammer comes down on the Catholic Church during his next administration. I trust you will be all smiles.
Archbishop Dolan is an Apostle that walks among us. He is our Shepherd here on earth and is “inspired” by the Holy Spirit. He knows what he is doing and we don’t. Our “opinions” on this invitation would be in vain.
Sandra, listen to yourself! Sheesh! the Cardinal is just a MAN and nothing more. No better than us and yet more is demanded of him. Our “opinions” are not in vain – speak for yourself. The Cardinal is not an Apostle. The apostles all died 2000 years ago. The Cardinal is not God.
The Cardinal is a bishop, and all bishops are successors to the Apostles. This is Catholic teaching.
Yeah, so was Archbishop Thomas Cranmer! Closer to home, so was “Bishop” Weakland and many others of his ilk!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Founding Director
Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc.
The Cardinal is the anointed of God. How dare that you question the judgement of God?
This is ONLY Catholic teaching when presented as part of the Magisterium of ALL Catholic Bishops.Please brush up on your catechism.You will avoid embarrassing yourself.
The Cardinal is NOT God and I’m certain PLENTY are in Hell.
Amen. I am shocked at the ignorance and negativity aimed at this article.
Rodda we seem to differ in opinion…
He on the contrary is NOT infallible and St John Chrsyotom did not say what he did without reason.YOU are as much a part of the Body of Christ as The Archbishop and even St Paul corrected the first Pope.
If anyone can find a way to be both gracious and critical, it would be Timothy Cardinal Dolan.
Amen.
And foolish
Perhaps it should be noted that the Al Smith Dinner is October 18–just under a month before the election. If I were Obama, I would use the occasion to announce a complete rescission of the contraception/abortion mandate–and to do so without any prior warning whatsoever. If Obama were to do that, I would then expect a stunned and delighted Cardinal Dolan to fall, weeping, at Obama’s feet, kiss the presidential wristwatch–and the following day issue a gushing, slobbering press release practically nominating Obama for sainthood. Obama may in fact be too proud to curry favor like that, even with nothing to lose and everything to gain–but in that case he would be forfeiting a golden opportunity. My evaluation of Cardinal Dolan is that he is a dilettante with a short attention span, a big ego and a naive vulnerability to flattering con artists. The Cardinal is personally orthodox, but he is vastly overrated as a caped crusader.
Larry, you make a good point. I predicted that Obama and the pro-Obama Care Bishops (minus the HHS mandate) made an agreement before the protest that he, Obama will eventually verbally remove the HHS mandate just before the election and therefore allow the Bishops to encourage a vote for him in “good conscience”. I hope I am wrong but this event at Catholic Charities convinces me that I am right. Most Catholics are so gullible. If they worshiped the One True God this would not be the case. The government is not a charitable organization.
Your fantasy isn’t about to happen. Nice try.
Rodda, I don’t understand your response to what I said. I wasn’t trying anything. I would be interested in your stance on having Obama at a Catholic Charities event?
My “fantasy”? Well, if it doesn’t happen, all the better. If Obama is too proud to pull a scam like that to help his sinking chances, then there’s precious little he COULD do to avoid a staggering landslide defeat in November. The only other thing I could think of would be an attack upon Iranian nuclear facilities late in the campaign. If he refuses to try even that, then I wouldn’t be surprised if Romney pulls a fifty-state sweep.
All this is going to do is give this Marxist a photo-op to appeal to CINO or `confused`Catholics.
A little less Chamberlain and a LOT more Churchill,please.We are in a war-WHEN will our shepherds get this?The orthodox mass attending flock does.
Appeasement is what got this Church into this mess and why those who HATE the Word of God have no fear in persecuting the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church.
St John Chrsysotom was right.But then again I’m a “crabby, nay-saying, down in the dumps, discouraging, on the run” Taliban (i.e. DEVOUT and OBEDIENT to the Magisterium) Catholic.
The Tyranny of NICE.
Speaking of Cardinal Dolan in the context of Churchill, (“Cardinal” mind you!, never mind the “all due respect”, not to a “Prince of the Church” displaying constant knee-jerk bonhommie and utter lack of “gravitas” (remember Cardinal Spellman?), I think of Churchill’s dismissal of somebody or other, I think it was the PM of the day, most probably Chamberlain. – with all due respect – “He’s like a seatcushion, he takes on the features of the last fellow who sat on him”, all part of the church of NICE.
Spellman? Are you serious? Gravitas? The man’s legacy is a joke. A disgusting joke at that. A J. Edgar Hoover joke!
Spellman’s old boss noted “Francis is what happens when you teach a bookeeper how to write.”
A little respect please.
These appeasing Bishops remind me of the old saw of the man who has fallen from a high building,”So far so good…..so far so good…….so far so good……s……”
You made me laugh, Gordon. Yes, we can be to optimistic just as we can be to negative, but not facing the reality of the situation can be very dangerous.
I am not going to speculate on why Cardinal Dolan has invited the president. I will say this though, I absolutely despise the man Barack Obama, but honor the position of President of the United States; disrespect the man of utter and complete immorality and respect the office of President. Hopefully Obama was invited out of respect of the office and will be called on by Cardinal Dolan to a higher moral reality that he has no regard for at the moment. God love You.
…while the usual “find an excuse at any cost” Catholics will take this as a sign that if a bishop can have dinner with him, then they can vote for him. What a shame, unless AB Dolan takes the opportunity to “in humor” dress him down. I don’t see that happening.
Obama has declared war on the Catholic Church…don’t invite the enemy to sit at your table in your own camp. And by the way; Obama is the idol of those who demand that Catholic Charities allow homosexual couples to adopt children. What is he thinking?
The day will come when the opportunity to resist will be gone…and these kind of losses will be painfully remembered as we attend mass in hiding. Vivo Christo Rey!
Viva los Christeros !
Alice thank you for expressing what you just posted. Our Bishops needs to know that the lay faithful are expecting them to do what is right by our Lord. We have weak leadership, that is why we have so much lukewarm Catholics. Whatever happened to backbone, to convictions in God? We need to return to fearing the Lord. This lack of fear in The LORD, is the reason why the enemy is managing to infiltrate in our church. I meet so many parents and many have no backbone, they avoid righteous confrontations of any kind. To much tolerance equals to much fancy dinners and political correctness.
The archbishop truly has a jolly temperament and personality. Is it always as extemperaneous as it appears? All I can say is, if his conduct and speech at the elite to say the least, party, ignores the plight of the laity and church in general, as well as what some of these elitist rats have done to our economy and the poor, another brick will be kicked away from the foundation of the church he represents.
Let’s get real here!!! If someone is advocating, promoting and murdering your children, (God’s unborn) and is now pushing and trying to enforce deviant sex on our nation, holds you and your faith and beliefs in contempt while you are also in the middle of a giant lawsuit with same, Do you INVITE them to dinner? This is totally insane and absurd and a BETRAYAL to the memory of the millions of aborted babies. Obama has their blood on his hands, so you have clergy, some telling dopey jokes at a dinner, laughing with him and breaking bread with him and his bloody hands. Unreal, what a scene. Humor is not what is needed, you’ve got to be kidding, but a Catholic leader who will stand up and say NO! to Obama and his evil regime . The New York Archdiocese is a disgrace. SHAME, SHAME on them.
…but just get a load of the sorts of people who Jesus dined with…
Jesus dined with those who were open to conversion. Now then, did He ever dine with Caiphas? No he did not.
Nor did he dine with Pilate
I guess you will be voting for the anti-catholic in chief
More grave scandal? Don’t be down in the dumps. Don’t be crabby. Be a happy worker. What is Archbishop Dolan up to? To be specific, whether it is intentional or not, Archbishop Dolan is joyfully securing more Catholic votes for Barrack Obama. Plain and simple.
I still remember when a poster described Archbishop Dolan with these words. “He’s a hoot. He loves milk and cookies.”
Archbishop Dolan was also taken by surprise when he witnessed the young people wanting to kneel in the cobblestone streets of Spain.
Archbishop Dolan has “got milk” but he has “lost his salt”
St. John Eudes, “One of the surest signs of God’s displeasure with mankind is to allow bad shepherds.”
Catherine this really upsets me. Fancy and expensive dinners, loss of humility and common decency. We are probably going to read some post out there that Jesus ate with the sinners, come on, do people have any better things to say that make sense? What if sinners ate with sinners, that is exactly what it is. Jesus ate with sinners but he was without sin, but when our leaders eat with enemies of the church and we see no fruit out of that invitation, what good did it do? It only gave out the wrong message and once again, some foolish Catholics are going to vote for Obama! Lore have mercy!!
Abeca Christian,
I agree with you Abeca. This is very upsetting for many Catholics.
I think that there are many people who are truly opening their eyes to the realization of just how much our nation needs God’s mercy.
“You will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-20
First we have the example of the Chick-fil-A CEO who simply spoke the truth about traditional marriage and Christians around the ENTIRE nation UNITED to show how important Godly values are to Christians.
Then we have the very scandalous action of a Cardinal inviting the Commander and Chief of Persecution to dinner in the Temple where smiles and handshake will ensure votes for Obama. This extremely imprudent action has caused even more harm, division and scandal within the Church.
agree. The Chick Fil A CEO is not Catholic and he does have backbone, maybe our Bishops, Cardinals etc need to go back to memorizing their scripture, because it’s shameful that protestants do not take for granted the holy word of God which our leadership can learn from them. It’s shameful, now I know why non-Catholic Christians are weary the second they know I am Catholic. I often find myself having to defend our faith because they do not consider us Christian enough. Wow how crazy is that. If the Cardinal indeed wants to save Obama, then he should pay him a visit privately and debate with him but to dine with him and hang out for the food and fun of it, forget it! It’s not different than when the very wealthy have expensive fundraiser events to raise money for the poor but their leadership get paid over hundreds and thousands of dollars a year and they pay a lot of that money to celebrities to help with those causes. It’s all about entertaining the very wealthy.
Abeca,
You are right Abeca. Take for example the depiction of the leading General in the movie, “For Greater Glory”. During the terrible persecution of the Cristeros, this leading General does not invite President Calles to a huge celebration dinner at his home so that the families of the martyred Cristeros can watch him have some light and happy moments with this evil murderous butcher.
The General does negotiate with President Calles , but even a Hollywood movie makes the proper distinction. The movie even shows how the General meets President Calles in the privacy of an isolated shack to not give scandal in disrespecting those Cristeros who have died, and those Cristeros who are still fighting for religious freedom.
Shame on our leaders for wounding the Body of Christ!
Cardinal Dolan comes accross as a pompus fellow. I do not know the man though
Perhaps Cardinal Dolan is going to use this event as a TEACHING MOMENT!!!
We should not judge at this point, we don’t see the whole picture.
But why is Cardinal Dolan taking this risk, especially so close to the election? The Obama machine will do everything possible to spin this in their favor. The Cardinal may think he can control events, but I certainly wouldn’t count on it.
Elizabeth, let’s hope for a teaching moment. Here are two possible options: 1. Consider Pope Pius XI’s (?) actions when Hitler was going to visit the Vatican. The Pope left town. Maybe Cardinal Dolan should follow suit and not show up at the dinner (which should not have been scheduled in the first place). 2. Use the opportunity to read aloud to Obama and the perverted media some of the Church documents on abortion, contraception, cloning, homosexuality, socialism, etc. There is precedence for this. Read your New Testament.
Elizabeth, We do see the entire picture. It is called SPIRITUAL NEGLCT. In case you haven’t noticed, The TEACHING MOMENTS have flown by for over forty years. Rome knows how bad it is in the United States. They are waiting for the laity to speak up.
Please read Gabriel’s post above.
We’re getting a pretty good snap-shot and it ain’t pretty.I’m tired of Clerics bringing scandal to the Faithful and we have EVERY RIGHT as Catholics to correct the errant-even the Pope when not speaking infallibly.St Paul did.
Enough mealy-mouthed Catholicism.Christ was no forelock tugging Pharisee-He enraged them-as should we.
Give me a Pell, Ouellet,or Chaput anyday.Hopefully one of the two former Cardinals will be our next Pope.
St. Jerome, the grumpy saint, please pray for Archbishop Dolan, President Obama and the whole United States. We need you now as never before.
Bingo.
Bruce says:
August 8, 2012 at 11:51 am
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
You know there is a safe refuge to turn to from this world of liberal insanity and non-sensible actions. Turn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. They will restore your Roman Catholic Faith and lead you to a Roman Catholic Church that practices tradition completely. All you have to do is pray to them humbly and fervently for it to happen. They can’t refuse your spiritual needs and they will not let you down. May God bless you on His Way through the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
I am praying for Cardinal Dolan. Up to now, it seems to be all about jokes and humor, ie wearing a cheesehead at Mass in Milwaukee. But we are at a point in time where we need our clergy to be courageous and militant for the Catholic faith. Jesus dined with sinners so that they may be converted from their evil ways. May Our Blessed Mother pray for His Eminence, that he may seek to please God first and foremost. +JMJ+
Jesus said “I vomit the lukewarm out of my mouth”!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Boyohboy I wish more Clerics would reference that.The world HATES us anyway-quit appeasing it and start CHANGING it.We need more Martyrs for the Faith.
Dolan should have said,”HELL,no !”
There is no way that any devout catholic can see justification for this invitatation to an avowed enemy of the Church. Archbishop Dolan needs his head examined. It is so discouraging to see such shortsightedness in our Church leaders. Pres Obama must be laughing up his sleeve at such weak leadership. With no real consequences for his anti- catholic stances, he must be saying to himself:
” I just can’t lose with these catholic’s. They voted me into office, en -masse, even when I promised to bring back partial birth abortion and there was hardly a peep from their pulpits about it, either before OR after.”
By the way the chances are very slight that Christ met with sinners to say: ” Did you hear the one about the…”
like our Cardinal Dolan hopes to do. MERCY !
There is an excellent article about this disastrous decision on the website titled “A blog for Dallas Area Catholics” The title of the article is, “How to Destroy Your Credibility in One Fell Swoop.”
As a catholic can one still vote for Obama, thats my only question. I can’t vote for a mormon, so no vote I guess
Why can’t you vote for a Mormon?
Oli, you can’t be serious. I’m not too sure that Romney is that radical in his Mormon beliefs. He might not be my first choice but you can’t be so stupid as to not see just what O’bama and his unelected czars would do and has already done to our country and our Constitutional rights. So, I guess it is better if you don’t vote at all, but there are other candidates! ;o)
Oli please stop, then you might as well vote Obama in once again.
oli, as a Catholic one can vote for Satan himself. Remember, God gave us free will. To that end we must give an account to God on the day of reckoning. Let’s see Obama; pro-death. Satan; pro-death. Check! Obama; pro-sodomy. Satan; pro-sodomy. Check! Obama; anti-family. Satan; anti-family. Check! Obama; promises a life without the cross. Satan; promises a life without the cross. Check! Check! As far as voting for a Mormon, I would ask you to remember that in the Old Testament, God used a pagan king named Nebuchadnezzar to save Israel. I myself, a registered Republican, was for Santorum, a Catholic, but the sad truth was that in the primaries, the Catholic vote went largely to the Mormon. It was the evangelical vote that went to the Catholic. I’m afraid that Santorum represented, for far too many Catholics, the “cross of having a large family”. Anyway oli, the fact now is that we have two candidates to choose from. Please choose wisely. But please choose.
I’d e surprised if this doesn’t undercut the Church’s teachings and confuse the laity ..AND GET OBAMA MORE CATHOLIC VOTES.
Amchurch is alive and well.
Agree!
Even the Satanic media can’t make sense of this: “New York Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan is suing the Obama administration, but he’s inviting President Barack Obama to dinner anyway.” But I can. When EWTN News Chief Raymond Arroyo famously said that certain American bishops told him 50% or more of their fellow bishops voted for Obama in 2008, Raymond was wrong. It was more like 90%.
now wait a minute.
it seems like just yesterday everyone in here was singing cardinal dolan’s praises, and now they have turned on him like tigers.
the Reichskonkordat between the holy see and germany (world war 2) was also criticized, but now, looking back, people are seeing the reasons for the church to work even with very dangerous people…
max I don’t think you understand, when they do good, we need to edify them and encourage them to continue but when they don’t, then we also should not remain silent.
Abeca is correct and her statement needs repeating: – – – ” max I don’t think you understand, when they do good, we need to edify them and encourage them to continue but when they don’t, then we also should not remain silent. ”
CODE of CANON LAW regarding the CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL –
“212 §3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess,
they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful,
without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.
Thank you MIKE, you improved my post with your post by adding Code of Canon law. You are awesome!
Didn’t Jesus break bread with prostitutes, liars, tax collectors, etc.?
nino
You are still missing the mark! Jesus went out into the world to heal the lame, cure the sick and give sight to the blind. Herod was never invited to dine inside the Temple after Herod had legislated the slaughter of the Holy Innocents.
didn’t I tell you Catherine that someone would use that liner as an excuse…..wow not again.
Point of clarification: The Herod of the Christmas story and the Holy Innocents (Herod The Great, king of Judea) died when the Lord was a child, and is not to be confused with one of his sons, Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and murderer of John The Baptist, who appeared in the Good Friday story. Both men were evil.
Larry,
Thank you for clarifying that there were two different Herods. Both bad.
The Gospel records that Simeon had been promised that “he should not face death until he had seen the Lord, Christ.
Simeon prayed the prayer known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the Redemption of the world by Jesus.
Larry, Do you know of any written Gospel accounts where the prophet Simeon rallied the support of other Church elders to invite Herod the Great to dine at the Temple?
No.
No Cardinal or Bishop or other Clergy is Jesus Christ and such a comparison should never be made.
Jesus is all knowing, and did everything for a reason (which did not include bringing in more money to any Charity).
Scandal is a MORTAL SIN, causes other people to sin, and can lose Souls.
QUOTE – – – CCC: ” 2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized.
It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others.
Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep’s clothing. ” – – – UNQUOTE
If the president of the USCCB and head Catholic bishop in the U.S., Arch Dolan, says it is ok to party with the “evil one”, Obama, a couple weeks before the election, then it must be ok for Catholics to vote for the “evil one”. Right? Scandal!
Larry I can’t vote for romney (mormon) because the guy who made his religion , made some false prophecies . I’m not trusting a guy who would follow such a man
It’s your vote, oil. Please be very clear on one thing, however. The next President will make two, perhaps three nominations to the Supreme Court.
If they are made by Barack Obama, then the gay fascist movement will rewrite the marriage laws.
These laws will be used to indoctrinate children in homosexualist anti-values in public schools *by law*.
No student or parent who objects will have the slightest thing to say about it.
And that is only the beginning.
I don’t like Mitt Romney *at all*.
He has one supreme advantage however.
He is not Barack Obama.
ROMNEY’s other advantages are that his values are family values – he is PRO-LIFE, pro freedom of religion, anti-homosexual marriage, etc.
And he has chosen a super Vice President in PAUL RYAN.
This proves his presidential appointments will not be intentially evil.
The CCC does not state that we must vote for anyone whom is the same Faith that we are. (As we know, there are some evil politicians who profess to be Catholic.)
Values and Morality trump the EVIL Obama (and his evil appointees).
Catholics are REQUIRED to VOTE – per the CCC “2240”.
Also on the internet see “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion, General Principles” by Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict); and remember that there is nothing proportionate in the USA to the annual murder of approx 1 MILLION innocent babies each year.
One example of Obama’s appointees is Catholic heretic and schismatic VP Joe Biden who supports abortion, gay-marriage etc.
In fact, Biden has been forbidden to speak in Catholic schools in his home Diocese by his Bishop.
Look at the candidate and their moral values when voting.
If they are against Freedom of Religion, in favor of gay-marriage, support the murder of innocent babies, then you can not vote for him (or her).
Then why trust anyone who does not follow Christ’s one true Church? By your reasoning, you couldn’t vote for anyone who followed Martin Luther or Henry VIII or Muhammed–or who even followed no one and called himself an atheist. Your reasoning leads to the inevitable conclusion that you may rarely, if ever, vote for anyone at all. That certainly conflicts with Catholic teaching which says we have a responsibility to take part in the political life of the nation, which includes voting. There is no Catholic teaching saying that we may only vote for Catholics, and then only for good ones. I would urge you to reconsider. We have an incumbent who is a sworn enemy of the Church, and whose policies are on a head-on collision course with the Catholic faith. He is opposed by someone who at least promises to swerve the government away from that collision course. I would think that failure to do one’s part to unseat that dangerous incumbent in favor of his opponent would almost certainly be morally culpable, perhaps seriously so. At this point, no write-in candidate has any chance of winning the White House and ending the danger to the Church. Although the situation was different during the primaries, we now face the general election in which the only way to unseat Obama is to vote for Romney. This is a pivotal moment. Not the time to be a conscientious objector to the act of voting.
Oli please re-consider, I felt the same way as you but remember that if you do not vote Romney then the chance that Obama gets in is higher. Vote for the lesser of two evils, one that will decrease abortion and gay marriage.
The Lord Jesus praised the Good Samaritan even though his theology was off.
All I can see are photo ops and headlines that tell Catholics “it’s okay to vote for Obama – see?”.
I can see it now: The “prize” photo showing the Cardinal, with a big grin on his face, being glad-handed by Obama on the eve of the election. That one will live in infamy.
This latest gambit of the Amchurch crowd to have a kumbiya moment with the man whom Cdl.Stafford in Rome described early in 2008 as an “Apocalyptic and divisive figure” makes me recall certain moments in “That Hideous Strength” by C.S. Lewis, one of the GREAT books of the twentieth century, wherin during the course of a great banquet attended by all the insidious plotters striving to establish the kingdom of Satan on earth, and during their ponderous speeches in which they relate how they are going to “orgnize” humanity in the most SECULAR and HUMANISTIC way, all at once they’re STRUCK BY AN ANGEL OF GOD, and none can unserstand what the other is saying; it all becomes GIBBERISH. We can certainly PRAY that when the sanctified one, OBUMMER, starts to speak, the same mysterious affliction will ensue. GOD BLESS ALL, MARKRITE
Bud , thats why i’m wondering how can a catholic vote for Obama, the dudes suspect , big time homi .
oli, have you seen the movie 2016 yet? True, Obama is not a Mormon. The fact is that he is in far worse error than even that.
Cardinal Dolan !
Listen to your people- _Read. these comments Hang your head in shame
Are the leaders of the RCC in the US suckers for fast talking community organizers ,naive,or just plain stupid????????
Larry, or is their ideology the same as the Alinskyite community organizers? In fact B. Kicanas has a background as a community organizer having founded Lake County United in Chicago and he is heavily involved with Alinsky’s Industrial Areas Foundation.
Breaking bread with the most vicious anti-Catholic President in the history of the United States?
Perhaps Cardinal Dolan is only battling him during business hours, like the Looney Tunes cartoons (search youtube) of Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf?
Gabriel,thank you for that wonderful quote from Archbishop Sheen! That is why he is a saint because he was so in tune with a. loving and merciful God and no one could ever accuse him of being a ‘heckofaniceguy’! And Rodda, we could just feel the love radiating from each caustic bomb you dropped here! But please keep in mind that Cardinal Dolan wants us to be jolly and showing the world a happy face Rodda. Tsk.. Tsk. Back to ‘How to WIn Friends and Influence People” 101 for you! Actually Norman Vincent Peale and our cherubic cardinal are a good match. Catherine & Abeca, lately I’m beginning to feel like maybe this country deserves to find out just what it means to suffer for the faith. This whole country is so corrupt on so many levels, the leaders are weak and often unprincipled and people are living such impossibly affluent lives while so many of our brothers and sisters in Africa and The Middle East are losing what little they have and face death every day. Our schools have to have armed guards but you can’t have prayer, our churches are being coerced into paying for murdering babies by their own government and it’s a close political race?? How can this be? I am beginning to seriously feel it may be time to think about how we’re going to protect our children in the coming maelstrom. We can’t possibly expect things to go back as usual even if Romney is elected! We still have men the calibre of Harry Reid in the Senate! We have hateful bigots like the mayors of Chicago and Boston, and our schools will still have regurgitated garbage in the textbooks. We really must begin trusting in Jesus to show us how to deal with what is coming, I think.
The Cardinal’s email address if anyone cares to communicate directly with him: archbishop.dolan@archny.org
God bless you for giving us this email….please everyone email him….kindly and remind him to be holy as our Pope has asked.
Look at the bright side. B Kicanas could have been elected as pres of the USCCB!
Remember, Cardinal Dolan has female dancers at his Masses, hand holding, altar girls, you all seemed so surprised? Cardinal Burke he is not!!
Female dancers at his Masses, I doubt that.
American Life League ran a terrific advertisement in a Washington DC newspaper a few years back concerning denial of Communion to open and notorious abortionists and sodomites, asking Cardinal Wuerl whether he would walk with Christ to Golgotha, or seek the applause of the world?
The same question needs to be asked of Cardinal Dolan.
this picture of CARDINAL EGAN is worth a million bucks!
the look on his face suggests he’d rather be undergoing a root canal than having to sit between these two politicians…!!!
The only authority a bishop has is that which God gives him. The bishops today make a mess of it. They simply do not have what it takes, and the Pope calls this missing thing “holiness” … He says that the bishops “should become holy”. But the bishops have their “better” ideas, which should be rather obvious. The only other authority that exists is that called “mammon”; they feed their concupiscence and not their souls. Why do people listen to them? Do people listen to our bishops today to find holiness? It’s more like they listen to find ways of getting into that money stream. What possible good could come of what Abp Dolan is doing? Can anyone think of anything good at all that would come of it? Has anything good come in the recent past from such show and tell events put on by the bishops? I do not see what purpose these men are serving … you can get better money advice somewhere else, and you certainly cannot get holy advice from the way they carry on. What else is there? Nothing else, which is why they have negated their meaning in life. But, who enables them, but the laity who wallows in their mire. The Pope writes that we cannot go it (Catholicism) on our own, yet he does not provide the bishops to unite us in holiness; rather look at what we get … of course maybe we are getting the least bad apples available. So why would this be?
JLS I love it when you point out what our Holy Father the Pope has asked of his priests. You are correct. It is truly a beautiful reminder…..to be holy.
I think many bishops look upon themselves as part of the ‘elite’ ruling class in this country. This Al Smith dinner is a gathering of the ‘elite’, political, business, academia and religious. Whenever bishops and their clergy get together for their getaways it is always at some posh resort/hotel that only the ‘elite’ can afford. It is never anyplace where they may have to be around the ‘unwashed’. So, Archbishop Dolan, if any Catholic sees pictures of you partying with Obama in October, and they say “well if Dolan can party with Obama then I can certainly vote for Obama”, that decision will be a reflection on you on your judgement day and certainly not on mine! I’ll pray for you.
Was Jesus Christ being “crabby” when he drove the money changers from the temple?
i don’t know about HIM being “crabby” (nobody invited me to the temple back then…), but as for anger:
When Jesus cleared the temple of the moneychangers and animal-sellers, He showed great emotion and anger (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; John 2:13-22). Jesus’ emotion was described as “zeal” for God’s house (John 2:17).
His anger was pure and completely justified because at its root was concern for God’s holiness and worship. Because these were at stake, Jesus took quick and decisive action.
Another time Jesus showed anger was in the synagogue of Capernaum. When the Pharisees refused to answer Jesus’ questions, “He looked around at them in anger, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts” (Mark 3:5).
Well someone in the Whitehouse has a stubborn heart it seems, Max. When he won’t budge an inch on the killing of unborn children, including those who suvived abortion, how much more stubborn can one get.
I predict that, after the Al Smith Dinner, Mr. Obama will give the bishops the religious exemption they want. The President knows that he’s over-played his hand, and the Dinner offers a face-saving way for him to back down. The bishops must also want to preserve the status quo of doing nothing to scandalous public Catholics in exchange for political favors. This appalls me.
PJ: dream on…Obama knows he has the upper hand here. Those who claim to be Catholic in this country have given him a pass…they don’t care. Cardinal Dolan is just confirming it…the photo ops will speak loudly: “Hey look we can have dinner together, so its just fine for you Catholic folks out there to vote for Obama again.”
I wrote that it appalled me, but I guess time will tell if my prediction is correct. Let’s not forget that the lawsuits against Obama’s definition of religious employer are still in progress. As long as that’s the case, it’s hard to imagine that the bishops have already given up.
I predict you are exactly right.
I certainly hope so.
It would be a real shame to sell out to Obama without even so much as a fig leaf’s worth of “mandate exemption” for one’s trouble.
Of course this all comes as no great surprise top those of us who fought to defend marriage in New York.
Then-Archbishop Dolan explained his absence from that fight’s most critical hours by informing us after the defeat that his advisors assured him “it could’t happen”.
Sounds like the Cardinal is still listening to the same advisors.
I wonder if Archbishop Dolan will still be around when the one child policy takes effect, by forced abortion, and I predict and so do many others it is coming. If they can force Christians and others to pay for abortions and contraceptives, soon they will be forcing women to have abortions.
I wonder if the pro-choice crowd is upset that Obama will be sitting down to dine with those who want to remove their “reproductive rights.”
No need to wonder about that, k.
They are delighted.
What I wonder is whether it is really possible that you wondered that in the first place.
I see.
Any one read Arch Dolan’s comments on his blog on why he invited Obama? Here’s part – “Some have told me the invitation is a scandal. That charge weighs on me, as it would on any person of faith, but especially a pastor, who longs to give good example, never bad. So, I apologize if I have given such scandal. I suppose it’s a case of prudential judgment: would I give more scandal by inviting the two candidates, or by not inviting them?” DUMB, STUPID, NAIVE, that’s all I can say!
There is an American Life League advertisement that says, “Remember when Jesus had dinner with Herod and enjoyed a good laugh? That never happened. Breaking bread with Obama is no laughing matter.” It kind of says it all if you ask me. The President has seen the pictures of aborted children and turned his head. Pro-lifers have made sure he has seen them. He knows that children survive abortion but is willing to let them die in a sink. How can anyone trust him? How on God’s green earth can anyone trust him?
Great post Anne T. It does say it all!
“Love is patient, tolerant, benevolent. It extends to those beyond our own set, and is exercised not only to the good, but even toward the dull and the foolish who stumble. But to be patient with them requires that kind of love which sees in every single person an immortal soul, more precious to the Lord than the universe itself. No doctor and no clergy man can do anything for a man whom he dislikes. Medicine and theology prosper only in love. Though we cannot love the weaknesses of others, yet we can love the weak and bear their infirmities, not breaking the bruised reed, nor quenching the burning flax…The parable of the lost sheep is the story of long, patient searching; when the sheep is found, it is put upon the finder’s back; it is not returned to the sheepfold by dogs nipping at its heels. The attitude of the one who finds the sheep is described as “rejoicing”. As the Good Shepherd found all His care centered upon the lost sheep, so He now finds all of His joy flowing from it. Not only the lost sheep, but even the Cross rested upon His shoulders as a lesson to men that not only the wanderers but even the burden of the world’s guilt is to be assumed by those who love.” Venerable Fulton J Sheen 1968
The greatest act of mercy which the Church possesses for the hardened and obdurate Catholic adversaries of Her teaching is the merciful balm of excommunication.
The diabolical disorientation of our Shepherds- the disaster which has befallen and continues to befall us- has deprived poor sinners of this medicine of mercy.
Soon enough, it will get so bad that even the most disoriented will find themselves bereft of any fig leaf’s worth of justification for allowing the continued devastation of the vineyard by laying aside the crozier in favor of another round of dialogue with the wolves.
By this action (the invitation) and also by appearing at the DNC, Cardinal Dolan gives tacit approval to the party of abortion, and has all but handed over this most crucial election to the current regime, an avowed enemy of the church.
Maybe the DNC wiki’d the bishop of Charlotte and decided to go with Cardinal Dolan.
Archbishop Dolan gave a beautiful prayer at the Republican National Convention and is suppose to give one at the Democratic Convention. I hope it is as beautiful and uplifting and heart changing. Let us all pray it is so.