Cardinal Timothy Dolan: President Obama's Remarks on Marriage 'Deeply Saddening'

By Deacon Keith Fournier
5/10/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

May we all work to promote and protect marriage and by so doing serve the true good of all persons

We cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society. The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better. Unfortunately, President Obama's words today are not surprising since they follow upon various actions already taken by his Administration that erode or ignore the unique meaning of marriage. (Cardinal Dolan)

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

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WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - On September 20, 2011 then Archbishop Timothy Dolan wrote the letter we have republished below to the President of the United States. He affirmed that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. He asked the President to do the same.

He strenuously objected to the Justice Department's references to those who support marriage as between a man and a woman as somehow prejudiced. He called out the Administration for their failure to defend marriage under the Defense of Marriage Act.

He called upon the President to "push the reset button." He warned of the threats to religious freedom which have been unleashed by the Administration's actions.

We asked of our readers to pray for the Cardinal and for all of our Bishops. We also asked that you pray for our President, our Church and for our Nation. We reaffirm that request with even more urgency after the Presidents disastrous decision to deny the truth about marriage.

The Bishops provide one of the best resources for anyone concerned about this very serious crisis we face in the United States. It should be read and studied by every serious catholic, other Christians and all people of faith and good will. It is entitled "Frequently Asked Questions About the Defense of Marriage".It can be be read here.

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Letter from Archbishop Timothy Dolan to President Barack Obama of September 20, 2011

Dear Mr. President:

I write with a growing sense of urgency about recent actions taken by your Administration that both escalate the threat to marriage and imperil the religious freedom of those who promote and defend marriage. This past spring the Justice Department announced that it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, a decision strongly opposed by the Catholic Bishops of the United States and many others.

Now the Justice Department has shifted from not defending DOMA-which is problem enough, given the duty of the executive branch to enforce even laws it disfavors-to actively attacking DOMA‟s constitutionality. My predecessor, Cardinal Francis George, OMI, and I have expressed to you in the past our strong disappointment about the direction your Administration has been moving regarding DOMA. Unfortunately the only response to date has been the intensification of efforts to undermine DOMA and the institution of marriage.

The Justice Department's move, in addition to other troubling federal decisions occurring recently, prompts me yet again to register my grave concerns. The content of this letter reflects the strong sentiment expressed at a recent meeting by more than thirty of my brother Bishops who serve on the Administrative Committee of our episcopal conference. I know they are joined by hundreds of additional Catholic bishops throughout our nation. My observations are offered in the spirit of respectful, but frank dialogue.

The Catholic Bishops stand ready to affirm every positive measure taken by you and your Administration to strengthen marriage and the family. We cannot be silent, however, when federal steps harmful to marriage, the laws defending it, and religious freedom continue apace. Attached you will find an analysis prepared by my staff detailing the various executive activities of late that warrant our increasing apprehension.

Mr. President, your Administration's actions against DOMA and the values it stands for contrast sharply with your excellent Mother's Day and Father's Day proclamations issued earlier this year, which are also referenced in the attached analysis. In these perceptive and heartening statements, you correctly emphasize the critical role played by both a mom and a dad in a child's life, and you rightly call upon society to do all it can to uphold both mothers and fathers.

I know that you treasure the importance that you and the First Lady, separately and as a couple, share in the lives of your children. The Mother's Day and Father's Day proclamations display a welcome conviction on your part that neither a mom nor a dad is expendable. I believe therefore that you would agree that every child has the right to be loved by both a mother and a father.

The institution of marriage is built on this truth, which goes to the core of what the Catholic Bishops of the United States, and the millions of citizens who stand with us on this issue, want for all children and for the common good of society.

That is why it is particularly upsetting, Mr. President, when your Administration, through the various court documents, pronouncements and policies identified in the attached analysis, attributes to those who support DOMA a motivation rooted in prejudice and ...

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1 - 10 of 44 Comments

N.C. Nelms
8 months ago
I understand that charity is a basic part of the Catholic belief system, and agree that it is a vitally important part of our society - for everyone, not just Catholics. Most Catholics (not all) support President O'Bama, in the belief that he is a champion for the poor. Personally, I believe that this is just a ploy to get votes, considering how anti-religion he is otherwise. I don't understand why most Catholics choose to ignore the other, equally important tenets of their faith regarding birth control, abortion, basic teachings of the Holy Bible and religious freedom in their fervent support of a President who is steadily tearing this country both down and apart. O'Bama is vitally concerned about a woman's right to abortion - even late term abortion. It was this concern that led him to vote against an Illinois State legislature bill that would have allowed medical aid to be rendered to infants who survive late term abortion. Even though this bill did contain a clause that protected a woman's right to abortion - he claimed that it didn't. It was the practice of one hospital in Chicago to wrap these still living infants in towels and dump their tiny bodies in an unsanitary utility room, where they were left, alone, to die. This is monstrous - Surely not a practice that true Christians would embrace or condone! So why would the President refuse to help the most helpless among us? Please, Catholics, consider the teachings of the Holy Bible regarding these things.
Rob
1 year ago
Mike, I'm not sure what the point would be trading verses back and forth if you believe that you can take isolated scriptures that go against the teaching of the scriptures in their totality. Anyone can make any document say what they want it to say if they cherry pick, i.e. Westboro Baptist Church or Islamic terrorist. But it's not going to be words on a page that will cause your conversion or anyone's for that matter. In fact, it's pretty fruitless to argue back and forth if your core belief is that none of it's real. From you perspective, I'm not even sure why you would want to do that. To turn it around, it's about as interesting as I would find an atheist trying to convince me something is false that I know to be true. Pointless. But as for which worldview makes for better governance, seems the more secular we become as a society, the worse things get. The more "free" we are, the more enslaved we become.
Juneau Alaska
1 year ago
Rob, just telling me I misunderstand a verse has no teeth. So does your appeal to authority. Show me the evidence that I misunderstand the verse. There are plenty for me to choose from. Shall we go down that road? Do you want me to list a few? You agree they are tough. I assure you, I can find some very tough ones. My slippery slope analogy remains intact. -Cheers! ~Mike
fourth day
1 year ago
Beware: sexual "freedoms" are being purposefully used to nullify Real Constitutional Liberty of Religious Freedom, Freedom of Speech and Free Association. Homo-erotic activities, incapable of producing Life are NOT sex in any elemental or essential definition and are therefore unequal to the sacred and complementary union of man and woman. Remember the vicious public assault on Carrie Prejean, Miss USA candidate? If sodomite unions become "civil rights", this viscious assault on Christianity will increase exponentially. Remember when Rosa Parks refused to go to the Back-of-the-Bus? Catholic Church needs to maintain their adoption ministry presence in Illinois at Whatever-the-Cost. Don't go so far to the back of the bus that you fall out the back door. Obama and his cadre want to push you off the public stage.
Todd
1 year ago
What I'm really saddened by is that the child poverty rate in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth is close to 20%. That the value of a persons life is equal to what their health insurance will pay for. That we allow our college graduates to swim in debt to achieve a good education. That we lose hundreds of young men and women every year in wars, while many of them come back to find themselves in dire straits. Drug addiction, rampant sex on TV, prostitution and sex trafficking. Sorry, I suppose no one wants to hear the things that we are ALL guilty of. By the way, what was that commandment again? Love thy .... what was it?
Hillary
1 year ago
It's funny to see that the argument tjhat the gay lobbies use that "love knows no boundaries", bounces right back at them when we ask them" then why do you ONLY love people of the same sex you have? why do you condition your love ONLY if a person has the same sex you have?"isn't that prejudice too?The gay lobbies excuses, lies, subterfuges are hillarious to say the least.
Jorge
1 year ago
The very idea that any person can do watever he wants with is life is one thing, but when it conflicts with the rest of society, then we have a problem. Legalising gay marriage will tell a message to the children that marrying a partneer of the same sex is OK..this is disastrous and will create a LOT of artificail unions, diminuish birth rates dramatically, will embolden even more hedonism and the destruction of society as a whole..this has never happened in history and will rip apart the families, millions and millions of man and wimen will never even born, becuase their parents WILL be gay in a society that tells them" do watever you want..marry a wall, a horse, an object.." this is sheer EVIL!
Rob
1 year ago
Mike, I often hear the comment from gay advocates regarding things "condoned" by God. Most of the references are to the old testament, but to make that statement shows a fundemental misunderstanding of the text. You cannot take isolated passages out of the bible and purport to state something the text supposedly supports without presenting all of the relevant passages. There are several websites, particularly Catholic.com that present links and provide the equivalent of white papers on the subject. There are also links to various Phd's who have studied this issue in depth. As I have studied this topic myself, I have not found any rebuttals. Look at the work of Dr. Janet Smith. She has some really solid work on the topic. I've spent a lot of time studying this issue and it's a tough one. Our call to love is paramount, but sometimes love is confused with license to do whatever one wants. That is not our calling as Christians.
mgm.
1 year ago
Bush knew Cheney family member was gay , Politician Cheney (once introduced as the Vice President of the "First" Catholic President "Bush" of the U.S. at the National Catholic Payer Breackfast in Washington a few years ago)would have his kid's lover on stage with her and the whole family at big political advents .If Bush wanted to send a real messiage in subport of marriage between a man and women he should have fired Cheney.I agree on Bush having no control on Cheney's views as we've all learned it's Cheney 's views that had control over Bush .Iraq for one.
Juneau Alaska
1 year ago
The slippery slope argument: "If society allows to same-sex people to marry, soon Fathers will be able to marry their daughters!" Hang on everyone, recall the Thought Police. We don't persecute people for what they "might" do. Not in this country (unless it's a threat to incite violence, harm the President, etc.") Besides, nobody is talking about marrying their daughters or other incestuous claims! Besides, it's a bit rich to discriminate against gays for the slippery slope argument when the Yahweh condoned Father/daughter and other incestuous couplings! The way I see it, Catholics have two chores to accomplish. 1) provide evidence, rather than an appeal to emotion, that same sex marriages cause real harm., 2) Convince society that Catholics are right while other religions are wrong regarding same sex marriage. Without those two things, it seems to me that religion is asking for special privilege in this matter, and that's another no-no in the USA. -Cheers! ~Mike

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