Over a week ago Cardinal Dolan had blogged on the topic “All Are Welcome!”
My buddy Freddie from across the street and I were playing outside. Mom called me for supper.
“Can Freddie stay and eat supper with us?” I asked.
“He’d sure be welcome, if it’s okay with his mom and dad,” she replied.
“Thanks, Mrs. Dolan,” Freddie replied. “I’m sure it’s okay, because mom and dad are out, and the babysitter was just going to make me a sandwich whenever I came in.”
I was so proud and happy. Freddie was welcome in our house, at our table. We both rushed in and sat down.
“Freddie, glad you’re here,” dad remarked, “but … looks like you and Tim better go wash your hands before you eat.”
Simple enough … common sense … you are a most welcome and respected member now of our table, our household, dad was saying, but, there are a few very natural expectations this family has. Like, wash your hands!…
So it is with the supernatural family we call the Church: all are welcome!
…
So, for example, the Church loves, welcomes, and respects the alcoholic … but would not condone his binge;
The Church loves, welcomes, and respects a prominent business leader…but would not condone his or her failure to pay a just wage to a migrant worker;
The Church loves, welcomes, and respects a young couple in love … but would challenge their decision to “live together” before marriage;
The Church loves, welcomes, and respects a woman who has had an abortion, and the man who fathered the child and encouraged the abortion … but would be united with them in mourning and regretting that deadly choice;
The Church loves, welcomes, and respects a woman or man with a same-sex attraction … while reminding him or her of our clear teaching that, while the condition of homosexuality is no sin at all, still, God’s teaching is clear that sexual acts are reserved for a man and woman united in the lifelong, life-giving, faithful, loving bond of marriage.
The Church loves, welcomes, and respects wealthy people, while prophetically teaching the at-times-uncomfortable virtue of justice and charity towards the poor.
We are part of a Church where, yes, all are welcome, but, no, not a Church of anything goes.
The Cardinal did make some good points, although he constant use of elipses made his post confusing in parts and really could have been better written.
So of course the result of this blog post is that there were a group of protesters outside of St. Patrick’s.
Angry and greedy rich people were mad that the cardinal for talking as if greed was sin and equating them as having dirty hands. Oh wait that wasn’t the group.
It was alcoholics who were mad that the cardinal for talking as if alcoholism was sin and equating them as having dirty hands. Oh wait that wasn’t the group.
No of course it was an LGBT group with protest signs and hands dipped in ash.
Honestly my first reaction was “What a bunch of drama queens” although that thought was not intentionally pejorative and I don’t mean it in a pejorative sense here. Still those supporting homosexual acts are very good at staging events to get the media’s attention. In this case we are suppose to believe that for example that while the Catechism says the Church “has always declared that ”homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” it was the Cardinal talking about washing your hands that was so greatly offensive. This is just another staged controversy looking for coverage and rewarded by the automatic media coverage.
Of course we got headlines like Cardinal Dolan Denies Catholics Entry at Cathedral Because of Dirty Hands and Gay Catholic Group Threatened With Arrest During Silent Protest. The typical lack of concern for truth.
Apparently if you bring in protest signs inside to where the President is speaking it is fine if you are arrested, but if you do the same thing inside a Catholic church that is totally unreasonable. Although they did not in fact attempt this. This is all very much like the Rainbow Sash movement that use to (or still does?) make a sash of themselves on Pentecost Sunday.
It is sad how activists and the media totally distort this story. Still “What is truth” and the person who said that washed their hands of it.
See also:
