In Praise of the Happy Warrior and Defender of Life, Marriage and Freedom, Timothy Cardinal Dolan

By Deacon Keith Fournier
8/12/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

He is a happy warrior. He is also unafraid to speak the full truth in any venue. He knows that no-one is beyond conversion. Not even U.S. Presidents.

Some within the Catholic blogosphere and on social networks are responding to the news of the two speakers at the annual Al Smith Dinner on October 18th with some rather uncharitable words. We will not join them.

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

NEW YORK, NY (Catholic Online) - Some within the Catholic blogosphere and on social networks are responding to the news of the two speakers at the annual Al Smith Dinner on October 18th with some rather uncharitable words. I will not join them.

The spokesman for the Archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling explained "It is the tradition of the Smith dinner to invite the presidential candidates in the presidential election years in the spirit of nonpartisanship, good humor and good fellowship."

Anyone who wants to read about the private Foundation behind the dinner, its purpose and the past invitees can go to their website here. You can also read the history of the invitations to the event.

What is disheartening to me are some denigrating comments directed toward the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan. This man is a champion of the Church, a light in an otherwise dark moment in our Nation. All you have to do is go to the Diocesan website or his wonderful blog to read his crystal clear and always uncompromising defense of the full teaching of the Catholic Church.

You see his holiness and living faith displayed in his apostolic work and inspiring leadership of the Church. The lawsuit the Archdiocese filed against the Obama administration - as well as his letters to the same administration defending life, religious liberty and marriage - bear witness to his courage.

We choose instead to call attention to the Cardinal's continuing defense of marriage as displayed in his States Dinner Address at at the 130th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus on Tuesday, August 7, 2012. It can be read in its entirety here.

Below is an excerpt

*****
"Usually, at this State's Dinner, thousands of our knights look up in admiration to this dais, the head table, to this "crimson tide" of bishops and cardinals. Tonight, I'm going to literally "turn the tables" as we up here look out with awe, admiration, and deep appreciation upon you, our knights and their wives, united in marriage.

"For this evening, I want to salute marriage. . . and it would be tough to find anyone who has done more to defend, strengthen, and promote marriage than you, Knights of Columbus, and your cherished wives and families. In fact, as you are aware, one of the driving motives of the Venerable Father Michael McGivney in founding the Knights was to assist men better fulfill their vocation as husbands and dads."

"We Catholics are hopeless romantics, you know, when it comes to married love . . .Against all odds, we still believe that, when a man and woman vow that they'll love and honor each other, "for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part," they really do mean it;"

"We still hold fast to the teaching of the Bible that God so esteems marriage that He compared His personal, passionate, eternal love for Israel to that between a husband and a wife; that Saint Paul tells us that the love of Jesus for us, His Church, is just like that of a groom for His bride;"

"We still have in our gut the Church's timeless "Valentine's Day card," that the love between a husband and a wife has the same characteristics as does that of God for us: it is faithful; it is forever; it brings about new life in children."

"We are such hopeless romantics that we contend the best way to get a hint of how God loves us now, and in eternity, is to look at how you, married couples, love one another. "The love of a man and woman is made holy in the sacrament of marriage, and becomes the mirror of your everlasting love . . . ," chants the Preface in the Nuptial Mass."

"You see why we, mostly celibates up here, look out upon you married couples with awe? We gaze out now at thousands of icons, reflections, mirrors of the way God loves us. Now, you are, we are, the first to acknowledge that this romantic, poetic, lofty, divine lustre of marriage can at times be tarnished a bit in the day-in-day-out challenges of lifelong, life-giving, faithful love."

For example, I recently had the golden jubilee of a wonderful couple I've known for decades. "What's the secret to the success of your fifty years of marriage? I asked Pat. "Well, you know Eileen and I are both of Irish background, so, for our 25th anniversary, I took her back to Ireland."

"Pat, how thoughtful," I remarked. "Yeah and then, for our 50th, I went back to get her! There's the key to our success!"

"Tension, trial, temptation, ...

1 | 2 Next Page

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 10 of 46 Comments

Judy Claar
10 months ago
KarlVDH & Jo Ann: I also agree. Blessings Always....
JoAnn
10 months ago
KarlVDH:: I totally agree with you. Have faith everybody. God bless.
KarlVDH
10 months ago
Is Cardinal Dolan called to be a Shepherd of the people of God, or to play politics on their behalf? Look to the Bible... even when the kings of old were as corrupt and disgraceful as possible, God sent them His prophets and preachers. He sent John the Baptist to Herod. He sent Elijah to Ahab. He sent Samuel to Saul, and by God, he's sent Dolan to Obama... and you people would have the Cardinal BACK OFF? I think you've all lost track of our priorities. The will and work of God is not subject to the political opinions of American men and women. God is clear in the scriptures: for good or ill, HE establishes our kings and leaders. "Touch not mine annointed." Unless you're absolutely POSITIVE that you know God;s will better than he does himself, and that you hear from God more clearly at your house than Cardinal Dolan does... you need to examine your own ideas rather than question his.
Castellina
10 months ago
Cardinal Dolan's decision is truly heartbreaking and confusing for all faithful Catholics. Obama is a rabid supporter of abortion which has claimed the lives of countless babies, he has lied to Cardinal Dolan once before regarding the mandate, he is actively trampling on our religious freedom and now he gets invited??? The consequences of this decision will be devastating as Obama will see this as weakness and take advantage to make a political point with Catholic voters.
Cardinal Dolan, I beg of you to change your mind. The millions of unborn babies killed by abortion beg you. Christ asks us to be forgiving but not to be doormats. If our leaders don't stand up for our faith in the face of evil who will? I thought we had a fearless leader in Cardinal Dolan but now I just don't know.
Blessed Mother intercede for us.
Judy Claar
10 months ago
Terry Cannon: Interesting Read! Thank you for sharing. Evening Blessings...
KarlVDH
10 months ago
Brenda- which makes more sense to you... using the power and prestige of the Presidency to draw attention and money to the real people we say we're trying to help, regardless of who the occupant of the White House happens to be, or letting those people go without just so WE can make some vague political statement by not inviting him? Are we REALLY this much more interested in iomage than substance? . the Cardinal has done the exact right thing for the people this whole thing is supposed to be about serving in the first place.
Judy Claar
10 months ago
S. Palmer: (3 Days ago) Yes, I am sure it will happen that way. However, real Christians are different. Not better. Just different. Sunday Blessings...
Brenda
10 months ago
Cardinal Dolan , who are you letting down now by allowing Obama to attend the Al Smith dinner? All Faithful Catholics, thats who. As St. Catherine of Siena wrote to a group of cardinals in th 14th century, “You are flowers that shed no perfume, but a stench that makes the whole world reek.” and as she told Pope Gregory IX, “Be a man! Father, arise!” Make a stand Cardinal by disinviting Obama or do not attend yourself. You have the responsibilty to make every Catholic understand that Obama is NOT a candidate for president PERIOD.
Terry Cannon
10 months ago
I would like to mention that divorce in America is at unprecedented levels. I have read numerous times that 80% of divorces are due to communication problems. I recently read a book by LuAnn Briezendine “The Female Mind” and some newspaper articles relative to the neurology".
Science through Fullness MRI in 37,000 empirical studies has determined some of the following. The frontal cortex of the male is partially destroyed in the womb of the mother creating a different neurological wiring and thought process in men than is in women. The frontal cortex is the communication center of the brain. Keep in mind that the following is not 100% of all males, yet is more that average (the author does quantify fully statistical data relative to standard deviations) for men as specified in this book.
Women are multi-taskers and can think of multiple tasks or subjects at the same time. Because women do not receive the flood of testosterone causing destruction to the frontal cortex they have superior multi-tasking skills in the use of communication. They are very proficient at reading body language and rely on this skill greatly in understanding ones emotions. They also have what you may call a sub-processing section that can unconsciously think or to say meditate on a topic without mental effort. I have read that you could describe them a macro thinkers (conceptualizing the big picture).
Men on the other hand, usually are not Macro thinkers, but tend to think on one topic (micro thinkers, usually very detail oriented).
When men and women converse in conversation and women try to discuss (especially in arguments) multiple subjects males become overwhelmed in general with this because they are neurologically wired towards conversing on one topic at a time. Many times a man in such a conversation will feel that due to the multi –tasking intrinsic conversation by the spouse that she is trying to make him inadequate, often resulting in him walking off and ending the conversation.
Another point to consider is that men are wired to try to solve problems, and when presented with a problem by the one person (whom they desire their respect) they go into problem solving mode or to say they are neurologically wired to try to help by finding a solution for their loved ones problem. Fullness MRI has empirically proven that when men seek to think of a solution to a problem; the part of their brain (neurological area) that expresses body emotion becomes disabled. This becomes relevant to the women in that she, upon presenting a problem scans his facial expressions trying to determine his emotional state (happy, sad, mad, indifference….ect). What she normally finds is that he becomes expressionless; Because of her perception she may conclude that he does not care. Hence many women say that men are emotionally challenged because when they present men with a problem or something that requires reflective or intrinsic thinking we become emotionally unexpressive, when contrarily men are doing their best to try to help their loved ones.
Many women complain that they are giving their spouse a problem, that they just want to discuss it, not have them solve it (what I believe would be called proactive thinking). But men are neurologically wired to solve problems.
Since around the 60’s men and women have been told that we are totally the same, but empirical science has through Fullness MRI proven that there are difference in neurological wiring and thought processes. As the fore mentioned author noted, men are not superior, neither are women. We both have our own strengths and weaknesses, but we rather complement one another. Due to shortness of discussion I will not go into the endocrinology differences as specified by the author in her book. This is not a Christian book but is based on empirical studies (the results can be replicated).
In conclusion: Women need to realize the neurological differences that men have, and use this to increase the communication with the one they are married. They can do this by limiting conversation to one topic at a time, and also give their spouse time to come out of problem solving mode to facially express their true emotions and a chance to verbally express their emotions.
I recently spoke to a psychoanalytic P.H.D. student who upon hearing the relative above conversation told me that she had been taught the above mentioned material.
Bob Cook
10 months ago
From the Foundation's web site: "the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation brings hope to the neediest children of the Archdiocese of New York, regardless of race, creed, or color." Do the President's policies and actions "bring hope to the neediest children"? Why invite someone who is clearly an enemy of the Church? Inviting the President was a mistake. I hope the Cardinal sees that and fixes his mistake.

Prev12 3 4 5 Next

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment