Even I, who have written a few thousand words in recent months about Timothy Dolan's (however unofficial) stumping for Mitt Romney, was a little surprised by the announcement of Dolan's decision to lead the closing prayer at the the 2012 Republican National Convention.
Despite being a person of strong faith who happens to believe prayer has no proper place at political conventions, I would insist that not every prayer at a political convention need always be seen as form of electioneering. Timothy Dolan's prayer will be seen as such, as well it should be, due to the unofficial campaigning that came before it.
When a religious leader who has spearheaded a campaign to unseat an incumbent president delivers a strategically-timed benediction at the convention whose aim is to vote that president out, that cleric's choice to lead the convened in prayer can not be properly as construed as a being non-partisan.
Timothy Dolan has said he would accept a similar invitation from the Democrats. I don't doubt he would, but Dolan has the liberty of saying "yes" to an invitation he knows would never come his way. Why would Democrats invite a priest who has cast their candidate (and the president of all who live in the United States) as an enemy to Roman Catholics to pray at their convention? (If they are smart, Team Obama will recruit one of those "nuns on the bus" to pray at the Democratic convention.
If Dolan were not suing the president, if he were not already engaged in unabashedly campaigning for Romney, his choice to pray with the Tea partiers, latter-day Ayn Rand acolytes and "bring your gun to church" Christians might pass for non-partisan. A good priest should, after all, accept an invitation to pray with anyone.
But Dolan is the last man of the cloth in the world who should have accepted this invitation. Electioneering from the pulpit is not lawful under United States tax law despite that churches (none being so expert in this as the Roman Catholic Church) have been getting away with it for decades and during the course of the 2012 presidential campaign Dolan has violated if not the letter, then certainly the spirit of these laws. His apologists and boosters love him for putting "God's law" before the secular and civil "law of the land."
Dolan may be getting worried about the many Catholics he is alienates as he stumps for Mitt, and I think his decision to invite President Obama to the Al Smith dinner might be a ham-handed attempt to pull a few back into the Catholic/Republican fold. Surely the cardinal of New York is aware that significant numbers of Roman Catholics find the perforating of the line between the church and the state distasteful, an affront to those of who do not believe in God, as well as to the Roman Catholic faith itself.
By accepting the invitation to deliver the benediction at the GOP convention, Dolan eliminated any remaining doubt that he Dolan is a member of "Team Romney." I for one am glad Timothy Dolan is no longer hiding his political message-- that Roman Catholics should vote Romney--in plain sight.
Still, I puzzle over why Dolan said accepted this dubious honor. He may be acting on orders. Cardinals, in the context of public affairs, do not pull their own strings. Also, it pleases many of his Timothy Dolan's fans to imagine that he might become the first American pope. Although it will be a cold day in Vatican City before that happens, it is possible that Dolan has bought into this fantasy himself, in which case he would be unlikely to so much as sneeze without the imprimatur of the Holy See. Even if Dolan could shake the taint associated with the Vatican sex abuse crisis, there's little chance the College of Cardinals will elect a North American pope in Dolan's lifetime. If the cardinals were to break away from the European papal model, they would choose a cardinal from a region in which the Roman Catholic Church is thriving, not hemorrhaging.
On the other hand, who knows what the reward would be for working a miracle? If Dolan could get Roe v. Wade overturned, the American long-shot prelate might yet stand a chance of becoming pope. We can be sure, whatever the fantasies and ambitions of Timothy Dolan are, the Vatican, which posted the Dolan in New York, where they hoped that his big Irish personality might boost the hierarchy's public relations, is calling every partisan shot.
Dolan won't win votes when he blesses the GOP throngs next week, because His Eminence will be praying with the converted. Any Roman Catholic not living under rock already knows which way the Vatican wants Catholics to vote. Those not already on board with the Mitt/Ryan/Dolan ticket find the fundamentalist Christian-conservative Catholic alliance an unholy one. Dolan's decision to go (more) public with a half-tacit, hyper-implied endorsement disguised as benediction will not come as news to any Catholic.
Cardinal Dolan would have done well to say "no thanks" to this invitation. He's already become one of those preachers who looks like a pol. He'll come away from the Republican convention looking more like a "lens louse" and a shill than like a spiritual leader to moderate Catholics. There's no practical upside (beyond pleasing Ratzinger) to accepting this invitation beyond Dolan's own yearning to be front and center.
The downside is that the cumulative effects of electioneering from the pulpit could get expensive down the line. Tax-exempt organizations are prohibited by law from endorsing candidates. Dolan et al have gotten away with playing fast and loose with tax law for a long time, but their luck may not hold out. Should electioneering Roman Catholic bishops ever be called out on their tax law violation shenanigans, Dolan and his handlers could come to regret the decision to give the benediction at the Republican convention. The sex abuse scandal made churches even more vulnerable to prosecution under tax law. (See Catholic Bishops Endanger Church Tax Exempt Status)
It's a lot to risk for a temporary partnership with the Republican party. Fundamentalist Christians and the conservative leadership of the US bishops have in common their opposition to same-sex marriage and legal abortion, but little else. When it comes to defense, the economy, education and the proper role of government in responding to those in need, the US bishops and the GOP do not see eye to eye. The views of the bishops on economy and the making of war are far more compatible with those espoused by the Democrats. Even the most conservative bishops have a tradition of being hard on the sin of greed.
I couldn't help wondering, as I read the reports of Dolan's decision, whether those who invited its president to pray with them realize just how soft the United States Conference of Catholic bishops is on immigration. Do they know that well over 50% of Roman Catholic priests are gay? Do they care that many of the bishops on Team "Let's Oust The Black Guy" are black? Although Timothy Dolan may not exemplify the ethos of charity at present, the truth is that Roman Catholics on all points on the conservative-to-progressive spectrum have a tradition of taking seriously the "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me" principle, the "me" being Jesus. Once the election is over, Dolan could well revert to being one of them.
The GOP and the bishops may see eye to eye on abortion and same-sex marriage, but on
everything else? Not so much.
Dolan, in his role of strange political bedfellow, is, for the moment, willing to downplay poverty as he parlays his strict "pro-life"/"defense of marriage" to win a short-term partnership with fundamentalist Christians. His "by any means necessary" strategy for ousting Barack Obama is the plan for now. But once the president is re-elected (or newly elected) the USCCB will, I hope and expect, revert to its erstwhile interest in holding its ground on programs for the poor and immigration.
Timothy Dolan's "close the borders" (so-called) "Christians" and "every man for himself" Paul Ryan-style Catholics, will feel betrayed if, once the stumping for Mitt phase of Dolan's "ministry" is over and he is forced to think and preach a bit more like a man called to resemble and reflect Christ on earth. They may come to regret their part in expediting the ascendancy a papal operative from New York City who has been credibly accused of not doing nearly enough to protect individuals who were raped, in childhood, by priests, is a curious one, and they may come to wonder whether the cardinal from New York wasn't more of a hindrance than a help to the "Grand Old Party."
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