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May 10, 2018
Father John Catoir
There has been a major shift taking place on the political landscape that has been evolving for decades. It is called secularism, and it has been changing a faith-filled community into a society which questions and often disrespects basic religious values. This sad fact was recently expressed in the March 23 Wall Street Journal article by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York:
“The Democratic Party no longer welcomes Catholics,” proclaimed Cardinal Dolan. He cited an instance where the Democratic Party’s National Committee chairman Tom Perez insisted that pro-life Catholics have no place in the modern Democratic party. A recent example of this was when pro-life Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski “was effectively blacklisted.”
The cardinal was quite frank, “It seems the “Big tent of the Democratic Party has become a pup tent.” He recalled how the Democrats were once the party of inclusion. They went out of their way to support poor families, but recently legislators unanimously blocked a tax cut that helped low-income and middle-class families.
The relationship between the Catholic Church and Democratic Party has been strained for quite some time. The growth of secular values in the party has been steady. I was pleased to see Cardinal Dolan telling it like it is. In my view, the whole controversy is a spiritual problem, not merely a political one. It goes without saying that a Catholic prelate has every right to denounce any system which adheres to secularist principles, which aspire to being free of all religious scruples.
There is in the heart of every human being an energy that comes from the love of God. Pride leads to spiritual deafness. People become deaf to the voice of God. This passive rebellion has hidden itself behind the words, “I am personally against abortion, even though I won’t denounce it as evil.” But it is evil, and it has gradually grown to become a powerful force in opposition to the faith of our fathers.
The cardinal gave another example, “Under the proposed New York Assembly Reproductive Health Act, doctors would not be required to care for a baby who survives an abortion. The newborn would simply be allowed to die…and abortions would be legal up to the moment of birth.”
I am writing this column not for any political purpose, but to open the eyes of many well-intentioned Catholics who support the Democratic agenda. Many do not realize that the Democratic Party has abandoned them. When the Catholic cardinal of New York, the host of the annual Al Smith Dinner, denounces the Democratic Party for its adversarial position toward Catholic beliefs, he is acting as a good shepherd.
Timothy Dolan recalled his Irish grandmother whispering to him when he was a boy, “We Catholics are Democrats, and we don’t trust the Republicans.” He now says, “Such is no longer the case, a cause of sadness for many … I’m sorry to have to write this, but not as sad as you are to know that it’s true.”
May the Lord be your strength and your joy.
Father John Catoir is a canon lawyer and a priest of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey