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Cardinal Dolan prayer at DNC gets picked apart and praised

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Compiled by Matthew Brown, Deseret News

Published: Friday, Sept. 7 2012 11:40 a.m. MDT

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Summary

Democratic Party leaders invited a Catholic leader to have the last word at the party's national convention and today the benediction of Cardinal Timothy Dolan is being picked apart, criticized and praised.

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After Dolan was asked to pray at the RNC, he said he would do the same for the Democrats if they offered the invitation. The party initially rebuffed Dolan then later asked him to offer the closing prayer of the convention. The invitations ignited some debate on the appropriateness of having a prominent religious leader participate in such partisan events.

Michael O'Loughlin, wrote in AmericaMagazine.com, a Catholic Jesuit publication, that despite his "concerns about Dolan’s appearance at the conventions, I hoped he would challenge both parties, making both Democrats and Republicans alike a bit uncomfortable. To some extent, he did."

Rabbi David Wolpe wrote in the Washington Post that people shouldn't automatically jump to the conclusion that offering a prayer at a political convention is a tacit endorsement of that party's policies.

"If prayer means endorsement then God is made small. The clergy who give their allegiance entirely to one side of the political spectrum or the other do not, I believe, appreciate the richness of traditions nor the reality that different sides of the national argument have powerful truths embedded in their outlooks."

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Featured Comments

See all 13 comments »
lost in DC
West Jordan, UT

Sorry RanchHand,

Jefferson wrote the first statute guaranteeing religious freedom to prevent religion from being excluded from the public square.

  • 12:16 p.m. Sept. 7, 2012
  • Top comment
sallys
clovis, CA

Isn't it interesting how those who disobey the Lord get incensed by someone who respects Jesus? Yes, it's interesting how they recognized condemnation of themselves in Cardinal Timothy Dolan's innocuous prayer. "Thus do we praise More..

  • 4:36 p.m. Sept. 7, 2012
  • Top comment
Rifleman
Salt Lake City, Utah

Re: RanchHand Huntsville, UT
"This is why prayers are between you and god and nobody else."

Probably why atheists pray vocally and loudly as their airplane is headed directly into a cliff. There are, after all, no atheists in

  • 12:54 p.m. Sept. 7, 2012
  • Top comment
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About the Author
Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown

Matt writes about faith how it is lived, how it intersects with society and how current trends affect religious practice. He returned to reporting and writing after more than 12 years as an editor, most recently a more ..

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