Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Response to Terry Nelson Re: Cardinal Dolan


Cardinal Dolan goes into the belly of the beast, giving the closing prayer at the Democratic National Convention in 2012.  As stated on Youtube:  "The major networks skipped the closing prayer of the DNC in Charlotte."
Terry Nelson of Abbey Roads, whom I greatly respect, has left a comment on my blog in regard to Cardinal Dolan.  His entire comment:  "FYI, Cardinal Dolan is the Catholic guy who's following the herd."

Following is my reponse to Terry:

I saw your blog post on this subject, Terry, and I was going to answer it but I decided not to. I am very sad that you and I have such different views on this. I wish instead of such a terse comment to me that you had instead answered my points and shown how I was wrong.

I have shown that Cardinal Dolan does stand up for church teaching. As just one more example, he went to the Democratic Convention and gave a very moving prayer in which he was not afraid to bring up Church teaching and how it is in opposition to everything that was going on there. One part of that prayer:

"Show us anew that happiness is found only in respecting the laws of nature and of nature’s God. Empower us with your grace so that we might resist the temptation to replace the moral law with idols of our own making, or to remake those institutions you have given us for the nurturing of life and community"

Terry, the big problem that many are making is that they are looking at the St. Patrick's Day parade as a religious event. It is not. It is a cultural event. The Catholic Church has been a part of this cultural event from the beginning, even though it has always included every part of society which is most certainly not a part of the Church.  

Our society has become so morally degraded that the homosexual lifestyle is now approved. Thanks to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we know that the teaching of the Church will never change on this or any other moral teaching. But that does not mean that we should not change our approach to those with whom we disagree. Cardinal Dolan does not have any say in who participates in the parade, but he can choose how he will react to the different elements in the parade.

Yes, he can make the decision not to include church participation. And that would make you and many others very happy. It might not make Michael Voris too happy because that would give him less reason to call Cardinal Dolan evil and a tool of the devil.

But what about the GBLTQ persons who are marching in the parade? They need us, Terry. They need the message that Cardinal Dolan can give them. These poor lost souls are coming to join an event in which the Catholic Church is already a participant. They are coming to join us. Yes, it is as an adversary. But that is all the more reason why we should stay. We were told by Our Lord to "go out into the world and preach the Gospel." This is the perfect opportunity to do this.

If Cardinal Dolan was to run away from the parade, as you and so many others advocate, he would be letting the militant gays win. He would be capitulating and giving the parade over to them entirely, destroying the presence of anything good. He would also be giving them even more reason to point out how bigoted and hateful the Church is, that we may preach love, but all our actions show is hate. By staying and even leading as Grand Marshal, he is continuing to provide the presence of the Holy Spirit. He will be providing a light in what has become a dark, dark world. As he said in his statement,

"As I do each year, I look forward to celebrating Mass in honor of Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, and the Patron Saint of this Archdiocese, to begin the feast, and pray that the parade would continue to be a source of unity."

Satan is the one who wants to drive Cardinal Dolan and the presence of the Catholic Church completely away from the parade. He wants it to become a "gay" parade. That will not happen as long as Cardinal Dolan is there. And at the same time, it is a golden opportunity to evangelize - just by our presence - to those who are in such great need. I thank God for Cardinal Dolan's courage to go up against those who oppose him, both in and out of the Church.

I know this will not change your mind or anyone else who disagrees, but I'm still putting it out there. Please give it some thought. Think about what our commission as a church is. We need to go out into the world that needs us. Would it really be the work of the Holy Spirit to just run away and give the world over to darkness? Or do we stand strong and instead allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to reach out to others? Our Lord never ran away. He was condemned by the Pharisees because he socialized with known sinners. Far too many Catholics are sounding a lot more like Pharisees than like Jesus Christ.

UPDATE:  The Anchoress did a great post on this subject.  God bless her:


Dolan is Charged to Model Christ, Not the Pharisees

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for this perspective. Initially, I was dismayed that Cardinal Dolan agreed to participate in the parade but now, I believe you're right. For him to refuse would be viewed as a win by the LGBT activists. No doubt, they would gleefully brag that they had chased the Cardinal away from the parade and use his refusal to participate as evidence to support their myth that the Church is homophobic. Cardinal Dolan is in a very difficult position and we must pray for him. I wonder about those who spend their time criticizing Church hierarchy. I wonder sometimes if they're truly seeking to uphold Church teaching or if they aren't engaged in a sort of blood sport. They cry out for public humiliation of Catholic politicians and Church hierarchy and show no mercy. They're quick to jump to a conclusion without considering all the angles. I saw a post the other day attempting to malign Abp Chaput for participating in a Native American sweat lodge and vision quest. The poster insisted that participating in these traditions was necessarily invoking pagan gods. The idea that Abp Chaput was invoking pagan gods rather than meditating on his Catholic faith while participating in these Native traditions is ludicrous. Many Catholic Native Americans have adapted their traditions to help deepen their Catholic faith just as people all over the world bring their own culture into the celebration of the Catholic faith. Some of those who so vigorously seek for flaws in others seem dogmatic and legalistic in the manner of the Pharisees. They set themselves above all who disagree with them and accuse anyone who expresses an opinion, even on matters that are not official Catholic doctrine, of not being Catholic. They've set themselves up as a sort of magisterium.

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    1. Thank you for this insight, I want to do a post in Archbishop Chaput. I too think he is doing a wonderful thing.

      The Anchoress did a great post on the subject of the St Patrick Parade which I read after I wrote the above. Check it out and give her some support, because she is getting slammed,

      http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2014/09/09/dolan-is-charged-to-model-christ-not-the-pharisees/

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  2. Please step down Cardinal Dolan, please!!

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  3. The Democratic Party is the belly of the beast? Really? are you that much of a partisan hack?

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