I really don't understand Cardinal Dolan. Supposing I "came out" in public declaring that I am oriented toward adultery. There I am shouting from the rooftops, "Hey I'm really attracted to having sex with other women's husbands. And, as a matter of fact, I've dated a few." Would Cardinal Dolan cheer me on and say, "Bravo, good for her? I can't judge." Somehow I doubt it.
But isn't that what Michael Sam is basically saying, "Hey, I'm attracted to having sex with other guys. And I've dated a few." (He said that in a interview.) What's to celebrate in that? Didn't Jesus say even to look at another with lust was to commit the act in one's heart? Aren't our sinful "orientations" something to save for the confessional?
Cardinal Dolan needs a reality check. What does it do to the faithful when a shepherd blesses the immoral inclinations of others? Frankly, I feel like I've been sucker-punched! I don't judge Michael Sam; that's God's job. I do judge his choices to "date" other men. So I hope readers will pray for him.
But pray even harder for Cardinal Dolan because scandal by someone in his position is serious indeed!
YES!
ReplyDeleteIs Cardinal Dolan trying to borrow from Pope Francis' who-am-I-to-judge script and take it a step further to congratulations? We'd be better off with Ralph Kramden in charge of the archdiocese. At least once a week we got to hear him say: I've got a BIIIIIIGGGGGGG MOUTH. Dolan just keeps on rolling along.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine you would also be scandalized by our Lord when He refused to condemn the woman taken in adultery. In fact, the only sinners Jesus ever condemned when He walked the earth were those who thought they were without sin - the religious leaders of his day. I am not crazy about the word "bravo"', but we do not know the circumstances of this young man's life. And it is certainly true that he would have never come out as homosexual without the approval of society.
ReplyDeleteOur society has descended into a deep moral abyss in which millions of souls are in mortal peril. What is Christ's answer to this? Not condemnation but mercy, the Divine Mercy message given to St. Faustina. Michael Sam, like the woman taken in adultery, does not need public condemnation. By refusing to condemn him, Cardinal Dolan has actually opened a way for Michael Sam to find the mercy and forgiveness of God.
Cardinal Dolan has many times condemned homosexuality and gay "'marriage." But I say bravo to him for showing compassion and mercy to individuals, just as our Lord did.
Remember, keep putting your money in the collection basket for this cardinal!!
ReplyDeleteBrooklyn: Do you really think think there is nothing between condemning someone and cheering him on? You remind me of an older woman I once knew whose husband treated her disrespectfully. When I said, "You don't have to put up with that," she said, "What should I do divorce him?" I replied, "Don't you think there's something between tolerating that and divorce?
ReplyDeleteCardinal Dolan blessed someone who publicly came out as an acting-out gay. Far from being condemned by anyone, he is being made a secular hero-saint. The cardinal jonied in that acclaim. Do you really think the only other alternative was condemning him?
Jesus told the woman taken in adultery to go her way and avoid sin. He didn't say, "Bravo, I don't judge you." Of course He judged. He judged her actions as sinful and said, "Stop it!"
Carlos Romero had sex with a donkey in Marion county Florida, 2012- And theCardinal says? BRAVO!!!
ReplyDeletelike so many Irish (and Cardinal Dolan is Irish) alcoholism is an evil they sweep under the rug and refuse to talk about. I am starting to suspect that the lack of clarity of mind on the part of the Cardinal is due to alcoholism. I think he may very well be an alcoholic. If anyone has any information with regard to his excessive intake of spirits please consider COMING OUT of the closet and exposing him. Otherwise he will continue to lead his flock astray, and never receive the treatment he probably so desperately needs.
ReplyDeleteMortimer, Cardinal Dolan may or may not be an alcoholic. He does have a red face but that could be from high blood pressure due to his excessive weight. Even if he is an alcoholic, I doubt it would cause him to make such a ridiculous statement about Michael Sam. I suspect it is a case where he is over anxious to fall in line with the thinking of Pope Francis, as are many other bishops and archbishops.
ReplyDeleteMary Ann, Cardinal Dolan did not "bless" this man. He refused to publicly criticize and correct him. Cardinal Dolan does not know this man or his story of what led him to be a homosexual. What good would it do for the Cardinal to say, you are a sinner and you need to repent. All that would do would be to turn Michael Sam more against God because he would see Cardinal Dolan as hateful and bigoted.
ReplyDeleteThink of how our Lord treated the woman taken in adultery. He refused to condemn her. Then, after everyone else had left and no one else was there to hear what he said, he told her to go and sin no more. He did not say this publicly for others to hear.
Outside of the Pharisees who showed no mercy or love for anyone, our Lord never engaged in public condemnation of anyone. He never called anyone out for being sinner. I guarantee you that if Cardinal Dolan were to meet privately with Michael Sam, he would make very different statements to him. But that is none of our busines, and Cardinal Dolan realized that.
I still say, Bravo for Cardinal Dolan.
One more comment. This is from the opening message to the Second Vatican Council by Blessed Pope John XXIII:
ReplyDelete"We see, in fact, as one age succeeds another, that the opinions of men follow one another and exclude each other. And often errors vanish as quickly as they arise, like fog before the sun. The Church has always opposed these errors. Frequently she has condemned them with the greatest severity. Nowadays however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity. "
You make a valid point on the public statement. But the flip side of that is he doesn't know the man and had no right to say, "Good for him. Bravo." There is nothing noble or heroic about publicly announcing our sinful "orientations." Extrapolating from your comments, the prudent thing to say was, "I don't know Michael Sam or his circumstances. I would like to have an opportunity to talk to him some time." Period! What he did was scandalous. Jeff Mirus at Catholic Culture has a great article on this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=1167
I agree that the "bravo" comment was somewhat out of line, but I think that was an over compensation. Cardinal Dolan was attempting to show mercy, but like you and me, I think his first instinct was to say homosexuality is a sin, which he did not want to say, obviously.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it. Dick Gregory was trying to put the Cardinal on the spot and make him say something controversial. Cardinal Dolan is trying to follow the way of mercy. Let's give him credit for that.
Interesting post by Jeff Mirus. He makes a valid point, and I like the response he proposed. But he thought up this statement while sitting in the comfort of his own environment with no cameras on him or tens of millions of people listening while he tries to form a statement.
ReplyDeleteCan't we show a little mercy to Cardinal Dolan? Trust me, the homosexual community knows his positions, and they are not going to suddenly start shouting from the roof tops that Cardinal Dolan is now pro-gay. It seems the only people who stand ready to condemn this prince of the Church are baptized Catholics who should be showing him the most respect and honor.
How many strikes does the man get? He has foot in mouth disease and should by now recognize the problem. Scandal is a serious issue because it leads people into sin. There are many poorly catechized Catholics who have no problem with same sex "marriage." Now why is that? I think people like Cardinal Dolan can stand up and take a bow. The U.S. prelates are, as Bishop Bruskewitz said in Dallas, "this hapless bench of bishops." Things haven't changed much since then.
ReplyDeleteWell said Mary Ann Kreitzer! Bravo to you and God Bless!
ReplyDelete