[pegleg]

How do you know that? Have you been following Dolan's "career"?

I have been following Cardinal Dolan since he became Chairman of the USCCB. His body of work suggest he’s a bright, articulate defender of the faith.

Or are you just assuming he knows what he's doing because he's so high up in the ranks?

I don’t assume anything. I also take the word of Catholic League president Bill Donohue who is a personal friend of his. He posted on his site the following:

“The fundamental difference between Cardinal Dolan and these critics comes down to one thing: he is a man of principle and they don’t know how to spell the word. He invited President Obama to the Al Smith Dinner, knowing he would receive flak from some on the right. Then he agreed to speak at the RNC, knowing he would be blasted by some on the left. Now he has accepted an invitation to speak at the DNC and none of his critics—on both the left and the right—can figure him out.”

“What this shows is that Cardinal Dolan is able to rise above the politics of the moment. But to those who view the world exclusively through the lens of power, this is completely unintelligible.”

[fr_freak]

“What this shows is that Cardinal Dolan is able to rise above the politics of the moment. But to those who view the world exclusively through the lens of power, this is completely unintelligible.”

This does not sound like a positive to me. A cardinal is not a politician - he is not supposed to be bi-partisan. He is supposed to be a shepherd of his flock. To me, that would mean that he needs to speak loudly about issues regarding the faith and Church doctrine.

Abortion and homosexuality are two issues about which the Church speaks rather firmly, yet Dolan, as well as other American clergy, has not condemned the Left's positions on these issues. Obama has not only supported abortion all the way up to partial birth abortion, but he has just recently declared his support for gay marriage. In fact, I believe the Democrats are adding gay marriage to their platform (abortion is already there).

Under those conditions, how can Dolan consider being impartial to be a good thing? How can he hobnob with Democrats, or tacitly support their convention by appearing there, and still consider himself to be a servant of God and the Church? "Rising above politics" in this instance appears to mean that he refuses to take a stand on these very fundamental issues so that he can be friends with both parties.

[Alberta's Child]

I don’t assume anything. I also take the word of Catholic League president Bill Donohue who is a personal friend of his.

As a prominent Catholic in New York City, I wonder if Bill Donohue himself is attending the Al Smith Dinner in October with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.