Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Barron address Rededicate 250

May 18, 2026

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop emeritus of New York, and Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, joined civil and other religious leaders in addressing Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.

“Boy, going back to the days of the Revolutionary War, our very way of life has been defined in part by a few key principles: prayer, trust, worship, the Sabbath, loyalty to family, freedom of religion, the power and strength of democracy, the principle of subsidiarity, devotion to the common good,” Cardinal Dolan said in his video message to the gathering, which took place at the National Mall in Washington. “In other words, our deepest values as a country have always been rooted in our identity as a people of God and anchored in the reality that we’re not only American citizens—you bet we are, and grateful for it—but that we are bound someday to be citizens of heaven.”

“As we reflect on our history, from the founding through the trials of the Civil War to the struggle for civil rights, we can see this consistent thread, the conviction that human dignity, equality, rights, freedom, and the rule of law are all grounded in God,” said Bishop Barron, who was present in Washington. “What the founders knew from their Christian formation is that all people, despite their enormous inequalities, are equally children of God and therefore equal in dignity.”

In this video, Bishop Barron spoke at 2:18:57; Cardinal Dolan, at 3:50:36.

 

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Further information:

• Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving (Freedom 250)
• America 250 occasion to reflect on equality as a God-given right, Bishop Barron says (OSV News, 5/17/26)