Cardinal Timothy Dolan is set to deliver the benediction at the Republican National Convention, a clear indication of support for the Republican team from the Catholic hierarchy. Dolan, you’ll recall, brought a case against Obama against his mandate that employers provide health insurance that includes free birth control as a preventive service, though it makes an exemption for houses of worship. Here’s what Dolan had to say about Paul Ryan:
I came to know and admire him immensely. And I would consider him a friend. He and his wife Janna and their three kids have been guests in my house; I’ve been a guest at their house. They’re remarkably upright, refreshing people. And he’s a great public servant.
Well there you are. Andrew Sullivan puts it in perspective:
And make no mistake: Dolan is an old-school Catholic pol – a figure who approved payments to molesting priests to expedite their firing, brazenly lied about it, then ran away abroad when the press demanded an explanation. His most important issues are criminalizing abortion, stripping gay couples of any civil legal protection, and making sure that non-Catholic employees of Catholic hospitals and schools be denied access to insured contraception. That he is saying the benediction for a ticket that explicitly endorses a priority for the super-rich over the working poor and views illegal immigrants as beneath contempt also tells you a lot about Dolan’s priorities.
