[Companion-post: Text censored by the Archdiocese of Washington.]
John Cardinal O'Connor, the former archbishop of New York, must be rolling over in the crypt of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Having successfully kept Catholic values in the annual Saint Patrick's Day parade, at least on social issues, his sermon on 17 March 1993 contained the unforgettable response to his many, many critics:
"Neither respectability nor political correctness is worth one comma in the Apostles' Creed."
The current archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, has taken a very different approach to traditional family issues.
Cardinal Dolan will be the "grand marshal" (the honorary leader) at the Saint Patrick's Day parade in New York in March. The front page of today's New York Times announces a change for the parade:
The organizers of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade said on Wednesday that they were lifting a ban on openly gay groups marching under their own banner, bringing to a close more than two decades of bitter protests and controversy that thrust an annual celebration into the national gay rights debate.
Cardinal Dolan's response? Here are his direct quotes from the same article, with an elaboration in brackets on the "decision" he not only accepts, but praises:
“I have no trouble with the decision [to promote acts against nature and Catholic doctrine at the parade] at all,” Cardinal Dolan said at an evening news conference announcing his appointment as grand marshal. “I think the decision [to promote acts against nature and Catholic doctrine at the parade] is a wise one.”
The article features the chairman of the "Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights," once upon a time responsible for upholding Catholic integrity in the public square, not surprisingly supporting the parade's changes -- but there have been some vocal opponents today, including Monsignor Charles Pope, although the blog post by the latter is not currently available at the Archdiocese of Washington website.
The current archbishop of New York's eagerness to please must be the reason why he is constantly the object in Rome, even at
the highest possible circles, of the strongest mockery and disdain.
