Cardinal: Pope Francis Did Not Signal A New Tone On Gays

I noted yesterday how some are either in tears or nearly wetting themselves over remarks made by Pope Francis which these wishful thinkers are interpreting to be a signal that the Roman Catholic Church is going to cease its anti-gay jihad.  Today, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York City, threw cold water on these wishful fantasies by saying that nothing has changed and that Francis only repeated official Church positions on gays - namely, that we need to repent and be alone and celibate for the rest of our lives.  Think Progress has details.  Here are highlights:

Tuesday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is also the archbishop of New York, sought to downplay the Pope’s comments. During an appearance on CBS’ This Morning, Dolan insisted that the Church has long embraced gay people and that Francis’ answer did not represent a new tone or establish a more liberal precedent.

“Homosexual acts,” he said, are still a sin. “Homosexuality is not a sin, right? Homosexual acts are,” Dolan said, “just like heterosexuality is not a sin outside of marriage, that would be sinful.” “While certain acts may be wrong, [the Pope] would always love and respect the person and treat the person with dignity and not judge them,” Dolan continued. 

But the Cardinal hasn’t always followed his own advice and has repeatedly condemned the rights of same-sex couples under the guise of love and support for the gay community.

After lobbying against New York’s marriage equality law, Dolan prohibited by decree any Church personnel or property from being utilized for same-sex marriage ceremonies under penalty of “canonical sanctions,” calling the state’s law “irreconcilable with the nature and the definition of marriage as established by Divine law.” He has also compared the “threat” posed to marriage by gays and lesbians to that of polygamy, adultery, forced marriage, communist dictatorships, and incest.
Despite his rhetoric, a majority of New York Catholics supported the marriage equality bill months before it came to a vote and still do. 

The porcine Dolan is a nasty piece of work and a prime example of why I left Catholicism after the sex abuse scandal exploded in 2002.