Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, conceded on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that the Catholic Church has not done enough to make gay people and couples feel welcome, but he said that “we try our darndest to make sure we’re not an anti-anybody.”
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Cardinal Dolan what he would say to a gay person who is concerned that the church is not welcoming.
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“Well, the first thing I’d say to them is: ‘I love you, too. And God loves you. And you are made in God’s image and likeness. And — and we — we want your happiness. But — and you’re entitled to friendship,’” Cardinal Dolan said. “But we also know that God has told us that the way to happiness, that — especially when it comes to sexual love — that is intended only for a man and woman in marriage, where children can come about naturally. We got to be — we got to do better to see that our defense of marriage is not reduced to an attack on gay people. And I admit, we haven’t been too good at that. We try our darndest to make sure we’re not an anti-anybody.”
“Sometimes by nature, the church has got to be out of touch with concerns, because we’re always supposed to be thinking of the beyond, the eternal, the changeless,” Cardinal Dolan said in response to a separate question from Mr. Stephanopoulos. “Our major challenge is to continue in a credible way to present the eternal concerns to people in a timeless, attractive way. And sometimes there is a disconnect — between what they’re going through and what Jesus and his church is teaching. And that’s a challenge for us.”
