Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s GOP convention blessing prompts debate

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/cardinal-timothy-dolans-gop-convention-blessing-prompts-debate/2012/08/23/6d69c280-ed65-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html

By David Gibson| Religion News Service, Published: August 23

AP

The news that New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the nation’s most prominent Catholic prelate, will deliver the closing blessing to the Republican National Convention in Florida next week was seen as a huge coup for Mitt Romney, the party’s presumptive nominee. But the move has also prompted a sharp debate within the church over the increasingly close ties between leading bishops and the GOP.

“The cozy relationship between a sizable portion of U.S. bishops and the Republican Party should be cause for concern, and not just among progressive Catholics,” Michael O’Loughlin wrote in a post on the website of America magazine, a leading Catholic weekly published by the Jesuits.

“Cardinal Dolan’s appearance in Tampa will damage the church’s ability to be a moral and legitimate voice for voiceless, as those who view the Catholic Church as being a shill for the GOP have just a bit more evidence to prove their case,” O’Loughlin concluded.

Similarly, David Cruz-Uribe, a member of the Secular Franciscan Order and a professor of mathematics at Trinity College, wrote on the Vox Nova blog that Dolan’s decision “will only drag the Church further into a partisan divide and fuel the perception (true or not) that the Catholic Church wants to replace the Episcopalians as the Republican party on its knees.”

[MichiganVote]

1. Who? This Guy? Oh, say it ain't so. See link below.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan Allegedly Paid Suspected Pedophile Priests To Leave Ministry While Head Of Archdiocese Of Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Archdiocese of Milwaukee confirmed Wednesday that it had a policy to pay suspected pedophile priests to leave the ministry.

The acknowledgement was prompted by a document made public by abuse victims' advocates from the archdiocese's bankruptcy that references a 2003 proposal to pay $20,000 to "unassignable priests" who accepted a return to the laity. The policy was crafted under then-Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who is now a cardinal and head of the archdiocese in New York.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests characterizes the payments as a payoff and bonuses to priests who molested children. The archdiocese disputes that characterization, saying the payments were in part to more quickly move those men out of the priesthood.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/cardinal-timothy-dolan-archdiocese-milwaukee-payoff-abusive-priests_n_1559298.html

[2pooped2pop]

2. the Catholic church and repiglicans?

You know, I never even put that relationship together before. But look at what they have in common like pedophilia. It makes sense now.

[standingtall]

4. Makes sense to me

The Roman Catholic Church has a history of mixing religion, and politics. In fact at one time they were the government in certain parts of the world. They want that again here in America, and they are using the GOP to push their agenda on everyone else. When I say this I am not speaking of all Catholics, because even most Catholics don't agree with them. However it seems the leadership of the Catholic Church is getting heavily involved in politics.

[FreeState]

6. Hes scheduled to give the benediction at the DNC too

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2012/08/republican-national-convention-democrat-cardinal-dolan/1#.UD1ztkJakts

[Berlum]

3. Hey, Pope Ratzinger clearly has Republican Family Values

So this Catholic Empire-Republican 1% gropefest may be totally skanky, unethical and unAmerican, but it ain't hardly surprising.

[stanchaz]

5. who's working for whom?

Dearest most blessed Cardinal Dolan:
Your boss was quoted as once saying
" What you do for the least of these, you do for me".
But your smiling face at the Republican Convention
kinda makes me wonder ....just who YOU are working for.

[seabeyond]

7. baptists do not think catholics are christian. surprised they chose a catholic. nt

[FreeState]

8. Hes an anti-gay bigot, thats why they chose him

Not sure why the DNC has chose him as well - but its enough to make my stomach turn.