Readers of Catholic Online know of my deep respect and admiration for
Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
This is a Bishop who loves the Lord and the
Church with an infectious enthusiasm borne of a sincere, living faith.
Anyone who has been around him for any period of time experiences the
obvious, he is filled with the joy of the Lord and an evangelizer, to
the bone. He is a man comfortable in his own skin, at ease with the use
of the media, filled with the Holy Spirit, and eager to share the
Gospel, as it is found in its fullness within the Catholic Church.
I will never forget when he said "yes" to the invitation to lead the
troubled Archdiocese of Milwaukee in June of 2002.
At a time of great
concern for that Diocese he proclaimed those wonderful words of the late
Venerable John Paul II, the words of the Angel to Our Lady, "Be Not
Afraid" when he first addressed the faithful.
Any observer of the work
of Bishops will attest that, given the state of the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee when he was appointed, Archbishop Dolan demonstrated his full
palate of gifts and pastored with the heart of a true shepherd during
his time of service there.
His pastoral and communications gifts - and full compliment of
leadership skills - were then applied immediately upon his appointment
to the Archdiocese of New York, the second largest local Church in the
United States.
He leads the Archdiocese of New York - which the Holy See
is purported to consider the "Capital of the World" - with a pastors
heart, a teachers wisdom, and courageous dedication to defending the
fullness of truth found within the full communion of the Catholic
Church.
No matter where an attack or a challenge comes from, this gutsy but gregarious Bishop goes out to greet them and does not back down. He is fearless.
No matter where an attack or a challenge comes from, this gutsy but gregarious Bishop goes out to greet them and does not back down. He is fearless.
He is also willing to fight the enemies of
the Church, but does so with velvet gloves! He confounds his opponents
with Truth and wins them over with the Love of God, often making them
friends.
Wherever he has served he has been dearly loved by his priests and
deacons. That is because he has a pastor's heart and knows the
importance of a Bishop's relationship with his clergy.
He is also a
dynamic and inspiring communicator and solid teacher of the truths as
taught by the Magisterium of the Church.
Finally, he is a true leader,
naturally and supernaturally.
When Archbishop Dolan was elected to the office of President of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops I called it an historic
turn of events and a sign of the Lord's continued guidance of the Church
in the United States.
I wrote "Truly, God has not forgotten His people
in the Church in the United States.This is a day for rejoicing!"
I also
said then - and repeat it now - the United States of America has become
mission territory.
The Catholic Church in the United States is in need
of the "New Evangelization." Archbishop Timothy Dolan is a wonderful
instrument of this New Evangelization, a trumpet in the hands of the
Lord.
The Catholic Church and the message of authentic freedom which she
proclaims is the only hope for this age being ravaged by a hungry
darkness.
In the wake of the absolute tragedy of the President of the
United States, Barack Obama, unilaterally deciding on February 23, 2011
to no longer defend marriage, I awaited what kind of statement would
come from our Bishops, now under the leadership of this great man,
Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the President of the United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops.
Here it is, true to form:
*****
Archbishop Dolan Calls Refusal to Defend Defense of Marriage Act an 'Alarming and Grave Injustice'
"The announcement on February 23 that the President has instructed the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is an alarming and grave injustice. Marriage, the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife, is a singular and irreplaceable institution. Only a man and a woman are capable of the "two-in-one-flesh" union of husband and wife.
Only a man and a woman
have the ability to bring children into the world. Along with that
ability comes responsibility, which society historically reinforces with
laws that bind mothers and fathers to each other and their children.
This family unit represents the most basic and vital cell of any
society, protecting the right of children to know and be known by, to
love and be loved by, their mother and father. Thus, marriage represents
the bedrock of the common good of society, its very foundation and
future.
Contrary to the Attorney General's statement, DOMA does not single
out people based on sexual "orientation" or inclination. Every person
deserves to be treated with justice, compassion, and respect, a
proposition of natural law and American law that we as Catholics
vigorously promote. Unjust discrimination against any person is always wrong. But DOMA is not
"unjust discrimination"; rather, it merely affirms and protects the
time-tested and unalterable meaning of marriage. The suggestion that
this definition amounts to "discrimination" is grossly false and
represents an affront to millions of citizens in this country.
The decision also does not stand the test of common sense. It is
hardly "discrimination" to say that a husband and a wife have a unique
and singular relationship that two persons of the same sex-or any
unmarried persons-simply do not and cannot have. Nor is it
"discrimination" to believe that the union of husband and wife has a
distinctive and exclusive significance worthy of promotion and
protection by the state. It is not "discrimination" to say that having
both a mother and a father matters to and benefits a child. Nor is it
"discrimination" to say that the state has more than zero interest in
ensuring that children will be intimately connected with and raised by
their mother and father.
Protecting the definition of marriage is not merely permissible, but actually necessary as a matter of justice. Having laws that affirm the vital importance of mothers and fathers-laws that reinforce, rather than undermine, the ideal that children should be raised by their own mother and father-is essential for any just society. Those laws serve not only the good of the spouses and their children, but the common good. Those laws are now under relentless attack. If we forget the meaning of marriage, we forget what it means to be a human person, what it means to be a man or a woman. Have we wandered away so far in our society as to forget why men and women matter, and eroded the most central institution for our children and for our future?
The Administration's current position is not only a grave threat to marriage, but to religious liberty and the integrity of our democracy as well. Our nation and government have the duty to recognize and protect marriage, not tamper with and redefine it, nor to caricature the deeply held beliefs of so many citizens as "discrimination."
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I express my deep disappointment over the Administration's recent decision.
I have written of these concerns to the President in separate correspondence, and I pray that he and the Department of Justice may yet make the right choice to carry out their constitutional responsibility, defending the irreplaceable institution of marriage, and in so doing protect the future generations of our children."
Protecting the definition of marriage is not merely permissible, but actually necessary as a matter of justice. Having laws that affirm the vital importance of mothers and fathers-laws that reinforce, rather than undermine, the ideal that children should be raised by their own mother and father-is essential for any just society. Those laws serve not only the good of the spouses and their children, but the common good. Those laws are now under relentless attack. If we forget the meaning of marriage, we forget what it means to be a human person, what it means to be a man or a woman. Have we wandered away so far in our society as to forget why men and women matter, and eroded the most central institution for our children and for our future?
The Administration's current position is not only a grave threat to marriage, but to religious liberty and the integrity of our democracy as well. Our nation and government have the duty to recognize and protect marriage, not tamper with and redefine it, nor to caricature the deeply held beliefs of so many citizens as "discrimination."
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I express my deep disappointment over the Administration's recent decision.
I have written of these concerns to the President in separate correspondence, and I pray that he and the Department of Justice may yet make the right choice to carry out their constitutional responsibility, defending the irreplaceable institution of marriage, and in so doing protect the future generations of our children."