Cardinal prays with Democrats, too<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the Republican show closed in Tampa, Cardinal Timothy Dolan faced a flock of Tea Party activists, religious conservatives and country-club loyalists\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardinal prays with Democrats, too\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the Republican show closed in Tampa, Cardinal Timothy Dolan faced a flock of Tea Party activists, religious conservatives and country-club loyalists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Terry Mattingly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-17T10:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/\",\"name\":\"Cardinal prays with Democrats, too\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-17T10:00:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-17T10:00:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\"},\"description\":\"As the Republican show closed in Tampa, Cardinal Timothy Dolan faced a flock of Tea Party activists, religious conservatives and country-club loyalists\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cardinal prays with Democrats, too\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\",\"name\":\"Terry Mattingly\",\"description\":\"On Religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\",\"name\":\"tmatt\",\"description\":\"Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. 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{"id":2643,"date":"2012-09-17T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T10:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=2643"},"modified":"2012-09-17T06:00:45","modified_gmt":"2012-09-17T10:00:45","slug":"cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/09\/cardinal-prays-with-democrats-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal prays with Democrats, too"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cWe ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life,\u201d said the shepherd of New York, who also leads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.<\/p>\n

A week later, Dolan offered the final benediction for a Democratic National Convention<\/a> in which 25 speakers praised or defended their party\u2019s unchallenged support for abortion rights. While covering the same litany of issues in both conventions, the cardinal tweaked this Charlotte prayer to make his point even more obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp us to see that a society\u2019s greatness is found above all in the respect it shows for the weakest and neediest among us,\u201d said Dolan. \u201cWe beseech you, almighty God to shed your grace on this noble experiment in ordered liberty, which began with the confident assertion of inalienable rights bestowed upon us by you: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThus do we praise you for the gift of life. Grant us the courage to defend it, life, without which no other rights are secure. We ask your benediction on those waiting to be born, that they may be welcomed and protected. Strengthen our sick and our elders waiting to see your holy face at life\u2019s end, that they may be accompanied by true compassion and cherished with the dignity due those who are infirm and fragile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats respectfully stood with heads bowed, even as TV crews searched for anyone who might visibly shun the cardinal. Dolan\u2019s late insertion into the program had been controversial after months of church-state conflict between the Obama White House and the U.S. Catholic bishops caused by Health and Human Services mandates requiring most religious institutions to offer health insurance covering FDA-approved forms of contraception, including \u201cmorning-after pills,\u201d and sterilizations.<\/p>\n

While critics on left and right were quick to parse the prayer, it was highly symbolic that Dolan ended up standing before the Democrats in the first place, said Russell Shaw, former communications director for the U.S. bishops.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important to take steps to try to keep a religious presence in the public square, to make sure the church remains a player in debates about the great issues of our day,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are major players who, quite frankly, want to chase us back into the sacristy, where we\u2019re supposed to mind our own business and not bother all the important people who are working out in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Democratic Party\u2019s leaders could have declined Dolan\u2019s offer to pray, which would have left him \u201ctwisting slowly in the wind\u201d since he had accepted an invitation to give a benediction for the GOP, said Shaw. That would have made it easier to portray Dolan as \u201ca mere political partisan\u201d \u2013 which was precisely what he was trying to avoid.<\/p>\n

Also, it was important to know that the Charlotte drama unfolded in the wake of Dolan\u2019s decision \u2014 infuriating many Catholic conservatives \u2014 to invite President Barack Obama to the white-tie Al Smith Dinner, a nonpartisan event celebrating lighthearted civility that will take place just before the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cI apologize if I have given such scandal,\u201d wrote Dolan, at his \u201cThe Gospel in the Digital Age\u201d weblog. \u201cI suppose it\u2019s a case of prudential judgment: would I give more scandal by inviting the two candidates, or by not inviting them? \u2026 <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, I\u2019m encouraged by the example of Jesus, who was blistered by his critics for dining with those some considered sinners; and by the recognition that, if I only sat down with people who agreed with me, and I with them, or with those who were saints, I\u2019d be taking all my meals alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing is certain: court cases and political debates about religious liberty and health-care reform will continue for some time to come. The cardinal knows that the U.S. bishops will eventually need to talk to people on both sides of the negotiating table.<\/p>\n

\u201cCardinal Dolan has pretty good political instincts,\u201d said Shaw. \u201cIn this case, he knows that it\u2019s important to try to keep some channels of communication open. \u2026 It helps to be able to pray with people and to break bread with them, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"