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Cardinal Dolan Still Feels Betrayed That NY Passed Gay Marriage
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 12, 2012
Modified Mar 12, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 12, 2012
Modified Mar 12, 2012
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Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is getting ready to fight President Obama about contraception, is unhappy with the government right here in the Empire State (join the club!). Dolan told the Daily News it's all because of gay marriage's passage, "We got burned last year when we were told the redefinition of marriage didn’t have much of a chance — and of course it did."
Dolan adds he would have been more present otherwise, "Our Senate leaders, we highly appreciated them being with us all along. When they kind of assured us it didn’t have much of a chance — not that we let up, but we probably would have been much more vigorous and even more physically present if we knew there was a chance." Wow, if only he was in touch with a higher power.
Dolan is in Albany with other bishops, asking Governor Cuomo "to reject pending bills to [update] abortion rights and open a window for victims of child sex abuse to sue for old incidents." Regarding abortion, Dolan said, "We feel a high responsibility to speak up for the baby in the womb." Here's what is being proposed, via WCBS 2:
The pending legislation in the Senate and Assembly contains “conscience clauses” saying it will not alter existing protections in state or federal law that permit providers to refuse to provide abortions on moral or religious grounds. Sponsors say the bill establishes the “affirmative” right of an individual to choose or refuse contraception, including abortion of a fetus that can’t survive outside the uterus. That’s basically defined as within 24 weeks of a woman’s last menstrual period.
In her sponsor’s memo, Assembly Member Deborah Glick said New York legalized abortions in 1970, followed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling three years later, and its scope was clarified in subsequent federal court decisions. New York’s laws have never been updated, and her bill would also remove “unenforceable” provisions in the penal law that criminalize abortions and prohibit the sale of nonprescription contraceptives to minors, the Manhattan Democrat wrote.
Dolan also explained that he wanted to keep the statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims to one-year, because if the church gets sued, "The perpetrators don’t suffer. There’s no burden on them. What suffers are the services and the ministries of the apostolates that we’re doing now. Because where does the money come from? So the bishops of 30 years ago that allegedly may have reassigned abusers, they don’t suffer. They’re dead. So the people that suffer are those who are being served right now by the church. We feel that’s a terribly unjust burden."
Somehow, still, it's Cardinal Dolan Week in New York.
Tagged
abortion
cardinal dolan
Catholic Church
gay marriage
same sex marriage
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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