The grave scandal of hurting the feelings of co-habitating, pro-abort Catholic politicians

The New York Times efficiently describes the average U.S. Catholic:

He goes to Mass, though not every Sunday. He considers himself a practicing Roman Catholic, yet avoids calling himself devout. He opposes the death penalty, as church leaders do. But he is divorced. And he supports same-sex marriage and abortion rights, stances sharply at odds with church teaching.

The name of the average Catholic featured in the Times is Gov. Andrew W. Cuomo of New York:

In other words, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York shares the churchgoing habits and social views of a sizable number of the 68 million Americans who have identified themselves as Catholic in recent surveys. His brand of faith is so commonplace — at least in New York — that it was barely mentioned during his campaign last year for governor.

But now that he is the governor, the everyday complications of Mr. Cuomo’s religious identity have become a lightning rod in a decades-old culture war between conservative Catholics and those, like Mr. Cuomo, who disagree with the church’s positions on various issues, including abortion and divorce.

Ah yes, those "conservative Catholics"—such as the Pope, we should note—who believe that being a Catholic somehow involves knowing Church teaching and living in accord with said teaching. Of course, if you are a self-described Catholic who disagrees with the Church's teaching about the validity and licitness of the Novus Ordo, or the rejects in some way the Church's teachings on religious liberty, the New York Times won't be as sympathetic or understanding. The point being that the so-called newspaper of record is ardently pro-Catholic when the Catholicism in question adheres to the Gray Lady's black-and-white stances on the morality of abortion, the beauty of "gay marriage", and the need for divorce; in short, the Times likes non-Catholic "Catholicism". Thus, Gov. Cuomo, if not exactly a hero, is apparently a true disciple of this faux Catholicism, even if it means being a martyr (albeit in the service of a faux martyrdom):

The conflict over the governor’s faith began last month, when Edward N. Peters, who teaches at the seminary of the Archdiocese of Detroit and holds an appointment as an adviser to the Vatican on canon law, wrote that Mr. Cuomo should not be allowed to receive holy communion because he is divorced and living with his girlfriend, the Food Network host Sandra Lee, in what Mr. Peters called “public concubinage.”

In early March, Mr. Cuomo said he would be unable to meet with the bishops because of a scheduling conflict, a move that some in Albany interpreted as a deliberate snub in response to Dr. Peters’s criticism.

All was eventually patched up: Mr. Cuomo found time on March 8 to meet the bishops for lunch at his residence. Afterward, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany said that the question of whether the governor should receive communion was between Mr. Cuomo and his pastor.

Yet friends of the governor’s who were interviewed in recent days said Mr. Cuomo was disturbed at so promptly being thrust into the spotlight of conservative Catholics’ moral disapproval — rough treatment previously accorded only to the most high-profile Catholics, like Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts or former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani when they ran for president.

“I’d say he was hurt, on his own behalf and on behalf of Sandra,” said John Marino, a family friend and a past chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Because, you see, stating the obvious and objective truth about public sins—especially those of a high profile, powerful, and wealthy politician—is hurtful. Unlike, say, the scandal such sins cause serious, orthodox Catholics who continue to think and believe, contrary to the wisdom of the masters of mainstream (im)morality, that being Catholic involves "an assent of the intellect and will to the self-revelation God has made through his deeds and words" (CCC, 176), and that the "Church is the mother of all believers" (CCC, 181). For some average U.S. Catholics, however, spurning the advice of Mother Church is preferable to losing the accolades of the Gray Lady and her handmaids.

UPDATE (Mar. 22, 2011): A number of readers have expressed frustration or concern over this quote in the Time's piece:

In e-mailed responses to questions, Dr. Peters, whose canon law blog is called “In the Light of the Law,” said there were only three ways to resolve what he referred to as “the scandal” that Mr. Cuomo was causing the church.

“He should cease cohabiting without benefit of matrimony, or he should cease presenting himself for holy communion, or the sacrament should be withheld from him,” he wrote. “As a general rule of Catholic morality, men and women are not supposed to live together without benefit of matrimony.”

Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said the controversy did not arise during the governor’s “cordial” lunch with the bishops.

“Thank God it didn’t,” Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan told reporters after the meeting, “because it was a bit of a tempest in a teapot.”

It would seem, based on the above, that Abp. Dolan is dismissing the importance of Dr. Peters' remarks and Gov. Cuomo's actions/positions. But, in fact, it appears that the Times has neatly taken the Archbishop's quote out of its proper context. Here is a section from a March 9, 2011, piece from the Associated Press:

 Although Dolan said he discussed few specifics with the Democrat, the archbishop said he felt progress was made to support Catholic schools more with state aid after the state "gets its fiscal house in order." Dolan recently testified in a legislative budget hearing that nonpublic schools are taking a deeper hit than public schools in Cuomo's proposed budget, and the state owes Catholic schools money from past years' commitments.

"I said, 'Look, you all tell us in the government that you want quality education, you need to save money, and you need more room,"' Dolan said, relaying his conversation with Cuomo in the executive mansion. "We can help you in all three: We do the best job around, we'll do it at half the price and we got room. It's a no-brainer. Can't we cooperate? He said, 'Yeah, let's do it.' ... So there will be follow up."

Then Dolan turned on his renowned wit to avoid some touchy issues. He said he didn't feel snubbed when Cuomo wasn't in Albany recently to meet with the archbishop earlier.

"It was a bit of a tempest in a teapot," Dolan said. "Hey, it worked out better. We got lunch out of it."

Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto said the governor enjoyed the lunch and will work closely with the bishops.

The New York Daily News reports the same thing, but adds:

Dolan also said the bishops did not bring up the recent comments of a Vatican adviser who said Cuomo should be denied Communion because of his relationship with live-in girlfriend Sandra Lee.

"Our religion would also say it is not good to judge a person," Dolan said.

Of course, judging the eternal state of someone's soul is not at issue; rather, it's a matter of judging public actions, which is a completely legitimate and necessary part of, well, life.

UPDATE #2: (March 22, 2011): The New York Times piece has been updated/revised:

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: March 22, 2011

An earlier version of this article misstated the context of the quotation by Archbisop Dolan,  “it was a bit of a tempest in a teapot.”

Ah.

Comments

[Jack Swan]

How hard is it to say this, even to powerful people:

Catechism 2184: "Those who deliberately fail in this obligation [i.e., to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation] commit a grave sin."

Catechism 2390: "All these situations [e.g., concubinage] offend against the dignity of marriage; they destroy the very idea of the family; they weaken the sense of fidelity. They are contrary to the moral law. The sexual act must take place exclusively within marriage. Outside of marriage it always constitutes a grave sin and excludes one from sacramental communion."

How does it help anyone to stand by and say nothing while people go down the path to destruction?

[Charles E Flynn]

For the record, the Gray Lady has apparently continued to fail to review the book that reports her own lapse from the standards of the attempt to engage in objective journalism:

http://www.amazon.com/Gray-Lady-Down-Decline-America/dp/1594034869/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300748106&sr=1-1

So, on March 28th, the New York Times will ask us to spend at least $15 a month to read its Website and use its cellphone app. I hope I can justify sending these people money, on the grounds that, just as adolescent boys read Playboy for the interviews, I read the The New York Times for the criticism of architecture and the occasional article about industrial design.

[Beth]

Charles...

Don't pay the Times for anything. Go to the library once in a while and read it via your tax dollars.

[Beth]

Having now read the whole article, if Archbishop Dolan said the matter of Cuomo's cohabitation and irregular mass attendance was a "tempest in a teapot", then I am disappointed. I don't trust the times for quoting Dolan accurately. I am hoping that's the case.

[Bill Russell]

This affects only the Diocese of Albany, but also the Archdiocese of New York where Cuomo is resident in Mt. Kisco.

Items from local newspapers:

Regarding Andrew Cuomo and his mistress receiving communion: “And so Jesus was easily ready to embrace the people that the scribes and the pharisees condemned,” said Reverend Msgr. Robert Richie, Rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said the controversy (living together) did not arise during the governor’s “cordial” lunch with the bishops.
“Thank God it didn’t,” Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan told reporters after the meeting, “because it was a bit of a tempest in a teapot.”

[George R. Kadlec]

Some quotes from various individuals:

G. K. Chesterton:

“There are an infinite number of ways to fall, but there is only one way to stand.”

“Is one religion as good as another? Is one horse in the Derby as good as another?”

"I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean."

“I want a church that moves the world not one that moves with it”

“Moral issues are always terribly complex for someone without principles.”

“When men cease to believe in God they do not thereafter believe in nothing; they believe in anything!”

"Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine [Ephesians 4:14], seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's ego and desires." --- Cardinal Ratzinger (before he became pope)

George Orwell “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”

(Matt 13:27-30). How would we be sifted?
Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household. (Matt 10:34-36)

Hillaire Belloc stated “It is a nice question whether ignorance or stupidity play the greater part in human affairs.”

St. Athanasius is the first recognized Doctor of the Church and has the title “Father of Orthodoxy.” The following quote has been attributed to him “The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of Bishops.”

[Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick]

The bishops of the state of New York issued a statement in which they committed themselves to disobeying Canon 915. In other words, they committed themselves to continued commission of grave sin--because EVERY instance in which a priest or bishop refuses to obey Canon 915 is grave matter.

Anyone who wishes to become an instant expert on this issue can do no better than to read an article that Cardinal Raymond Burke mailed to every bishop in the United States three years ago. Every bishop KNOWS that giving Communion to pro-abortion Catholics is a mortal sin. No shadow of a doubt is left by the exhaustive treatment of the issue by Cardinal Burke. As Cardinal Burke himself has said recently, the failure of all but about a dozen bishops in the U.S. to obey Canon 915 is a function, not of ignorance, but of corruption.

http://tinyurl.com/canon915

[Jzepi98105]

It looks to me like Archbishop Dolan - a terrific bishop who I always seem to find myself defending to other conservative Catholics who hear lots of seemingly credible indictments of Abp Dolan's orthodoxy - was misquoted and mischaracterized again.

According to a March 9th AP article posted on WABC's website titled "Archbishop Dolan meets with Cuomo over cuts", Archbishop Dolan's tempest in a teapot comment was not referring to Cuomo's public concubinage but to the alleged snub Cuomo dealt the bishops in saying he was initially too busy to meet with them.

[Jzepi98105]

Also I just found a very similar article on EWTN's website titled "Archbishop Dolan meets with NY governor over Catholic school budget cuts" where the Archbishop's quote is applied to the snub, not Cuomo's living situation.

[lisag]

Who wants to be obedient to church teachings when you can have a no obligation relationship with a woman, when you get money and or votes for your views on abortion and gay marriage, when you are treated respectfully by your staff and party, when you control billions of dollars, etc. Why be obedient when no one tells you no and you can do whatever you want. Where is the man's conscious and is he not afraid of eternal damnation? Is he not concerned about the example he is setting for young Catholics? Wake up Mr. Cuomo.

[Therese]

We need our Bishops and Priests to have the guts to proclaim the teachings of Catholicism, because those teachings come from Our Lord. They shouldn't bend one iota toward the world's agenda which is to change His teachings to excuse their choice of sin.

[Dan Deeny]

Interesting article. I think too much time is spent on Gov. Cuomo and not enough on the bishop and the priests. Doesn't the appropriate canon law emphasize the responsibilities of the bishop and the priests? In his interesting book God and His Image, Fr. Dominique Barthelemy writes, in the section on Eve in Genesis, that the person who permits, or allows, or acquieses in the sinner's wrongdoing commits a more serious evil.

[Steve Cianca]

Assuming the bishops were quoted correctly, once again we witness squishy, mealy-mouthed accommodation on the part of bishops who are "uncomfortable" confronting political leaders happy to wrap themselves in the mantle of Catholicism, without actually having to, you know, practice it.

[InkStained]

No doubt everyone here is very concerned about the state of Gov. Cuomo's soul. That's good to see.

But is it possible for Catholic leaders to work with him *as governor of the state of New York* without immediately bringing up the state of his soul? Or at least, without bringing the state of his soul into, say, on-the-record interviews with newspaper reporters?

Is it possible that the state of his soul isn't necessarily everyone's immediate business? Everyone else here is in a state of grace, no doubt, but my sins will send me to Hell, not Gov. Cuomo's.

Can Catholic Church leaders work with Catholic government leaders without publicly condemning them when they sin, as they certainly do and as they certainly will? Or is that mealy-mouthed accommodation?

[Dan Deeny]

Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick has provided very useful information. Perhaps Catholic journalists will now begin to write more about the Christianity of the Catholic bishops?

[Donna Bethell]

Thanks to Fr. Fitzpatrick for pointing us to Cardinal Burke's article. As for Archbishop Dolan being unfairly misquoted, brooklyn.tv1.com did an interview with him last year, in which he claimed not to know Cuomo's position on abortion and apparently never met a pro-abortion politician he doesn't "deeply respect."

[Brad]

Dan at 7:10am, hi. Yes, if we abet a brother's sin, we have the millstone to dread. I for one am terrified of that. My own sins carry with them the hope of mercy, but the millstone very much less so. I wonder if it is engraved "no mercy"?

[Carl E. Olson]

Inkstained: Employing self-righteousness to condemn alleged self-righteousness isn't very effective. Besides, the issue at hand is not "working with the governor", nor is it the judgment of his soul. The issue is the public action(s) of a public official who is Catholic. It would be good to review the interview/article that set this train in motion and then do some further reading here before making more remarks about the facts.

[Nancy D.]

Enough is enough. It is time for a march in Washington, only this time, to the headquarters of the USCCB.

[LJ]

Enough is enough. It is time for a march in Washington, only this time, to the headquarters of the USCCB.

It wouldn't be the first time in Church history.

[Ed Peters]

The NYT has corrected their correction again. It's even clearer that the question of Cuomo and Communion is a serious one.