Given my concerns about Dolan agreeing to speak at the Republican National Convention, I want to return to this now that he has actually given the benediction. Here is the text in full:
With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray. (makes sign of the cross)
Almighty God, Father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, we beg Your continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom and on all those who proudly call America home. We ask Your benediction on those yet to be born and on those who are about to see You at the end of this life. Bless those families whose ancestors arrived on these shores generations ago, as well as those families who have come recently to build a better future while weaving their lives into the rich tapestry of America.
We lift up to Your loving care those afflicted by the recent storms, drought, and fire. We ask for the grace to stand in solidarity with all those who suffer. May we strive to include Your tired, Your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free in the production and prosperity of a people so richly blessed.
Oh God of wisdom, justice, and might, we ask Your guidance for those who govern us, and on those who would govern us, the President and Vice-President, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and on all those who seek the common good by seeking public office, especially Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan. Make them all worthy to serve You by serving our country. And help them remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens rather than itself.
Almighty God, Who gives us the sacred and inalienable gift of life, we thank You as well for the singular gift of liberty. Renew in all of our people the respect for religious freedom and fulfill that first, most cherished freedom. Make us truly free by tethering freedom to truth and ordering freedom to goodness. Help us live our freedom in faith, hope, and love – prudently and with justice – courageously, in a spirit of moderation.
Enkindle in our hearts a new sense of responsibility to freedom’s cause, and make us ever grateful for all those who for more than two centuries have given their lives in freedom’s defense. We commend their noble souls to Your eternal care as even now we beg Your mighty hand upon our beloved men and women in uniform.
May we know the truth of Your Creation, respecting the laws of nature and of nature’s God, and not seek to replace them with idols of our own making. Give us the good sense not to cast aside the boundaries of righteous living You first inscribed in our hearts before inscribing them on tablets of stone. May You mend our every flaw, confirming our soul in self-control, our liberty in law.
We pray for all those who seek honest labor as we thank You for the Spirit of generosity to those in need with which You so richly bless this nation.
We beseech Your blessing on all those who depart from here this evening, and on all those in every land who seek to conduct their lives in freedom.
Most of all, Almighty God, we thank You for the great gift of our beloved country, for we are indeed one nation, under God, and in God we trust.
Dear God, bless America – You who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
Reasonably balanced and mostly unremarkable. I think he could have held the Republicans feet to the fire a bit more, but it is clear that he was not avoiding issues that make them uncomfortable: he led by talking about immigration.   I am not sure why he introduced a defense of natural law into the middle of his prayer—that paragraph seems out of place. Finally, I wish he had avoided the various platitudes of civil religion and American exceptionalism: this is ironic considering his prayer against idolatry.
With regards to my original post: I stand by my original concerns, framed as they were by the fact that at the time he was only speaking at one convention. That Cardinal Dolan also accepted an invitation to speak at the Democratic National Convention I think ameliorates my concerns: contra my colleague Mark, I don’t think this compounded his original mistake.  The dual address, assuming that his benediction is comparable to the one given above, mitigates my concerns about partisanship (real or perceived). Nevertheless, there is still the issue of whether the Archbishop of NY and the President of the USCCB should be taking to the national stage in this way. I think that the Church is better served if the custom of inviting the local ordinary is continued, and if said ordinary maintains a respectful distance from the actual nomination.
Other thoughts?
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