Cardinal Dolan: Synod should support, encourage, the 'new minority' of faithful Catholics
October 14, 2015
New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan said that Catholic couples struggling to live out their faith should be viewed as a “new minority,” and given the full support of the Synod of Bishops.
Writing on his blog, Cardinal Dolan observed that the Synod has given a great deal of attention to minority groups and people who feel excluded: “the single, those with same-sex attraction, those divorced, widowed, or recently arrived in a new country, those with disabilities, the aged, the housebound, racial and ethnic minorities.” He welcomed that drive for inclusion. Referring to those minority groups, he said: “We in the family of the Church love them, welcome them, and need them.”
However, the cardinal suggested that there is a danger of overlooking faithful Catholic families:
Can I suggest as well that there is now a new minority/ in the world and even in the Church? I am thinking of those who, relying on God’s grace and mercy, strive for virtue and fidelity:Couples who— given the fact that, at least in North America, only half of our people even enter the sacrament of matrimony– approach the Church for the sacrament; couples who, inspired by the Church’s teaching that marriage is forever, have persevered through trials; couples who welcome God’s gifts of many babies; a young man and woman who have chosen not to live together until marriage; a gay man or woman who wants to be chaste; a couple who has decided that the wife would sacrifice a promising professional career to stay at home and raise their children — these wonderful people today often feel themselves a minority, certainly in culture, but even, at times in the Church!
These faithful Catholics receive little or no support from the surrounding culture, the cardinal observed. “They are looking to the Church, and to us, for support and encouragement, a warm sense of inclusion,” he wrote. “We cannot let them down!”
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Posted by: Jerz -
Oct. 21, 2015 10:33 AM ET USA
I'm with brenda22890. I've been critical of Cardinal Dolan in the past so I'm happy to praise him now. He voices my sentiments perfectly. I'm amazed at how quickly the "old normal" has come to be viewed as radical. I look around and feel strange that my wife and I married young, had kids right away and don't have any dogs...not that there's anything wrong with that. Strange but incredibly happy, thank God!
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Posted by: brenda22890 -
Oct. 15, 2015 9:57 AM ET USA
I criticize Archbishop Dolan often enough, so I'm glad to support him when I see something praise worthy. He's really hit the nail on the head. Faithful Catholics are often a joke, even (especially?) among Catholics.
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Posted by: the.dymeks9646 -
Oct. 14, 2015 8:13 PM ET USA
Thank you Cardinal Dolan.
