Timothy Dolan : The J.P. Cardinal In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopbegoneblogspot.com - Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 “In one were to pick a modern pope to whom comparisons with Timothy Dolan seem most natural, the obvious choice would be John Paul II. First of all, Dolan is a “John Paul bishop”. Dolan belongs in the John Paul camp, and he’ll often describe himself as a “John Paul II guy.” “At a personal level, one could go on at length indexing the qualities that John Paul II and Dolan share: A kind of swashbuckling, daring, “man’s man” personality A lively sense of humor An instinctive genius for communication, making both me “rock stars” in terms of their charisma and media savvy Personal fearlessness, rooted in a rock-solid sense of who they are. Nobody would ever compare John Paul or Dolan to Hamlet, constantly agonizing over which path to take. Both men almost perfectly incarnate their respective national characters; Dolan is American the way John Paul was Polish. “The overall similarities between John Paul and Dolan are so striking that at one stage I actually thought of titling this book American Wojtyla, a reference to John Paul’s given name. “At first blush, Dolan and Benedict XVI don’t seem such a match made in heaven’ they’re not the sort of personalities that an online dating site such as eHarmony would likely flag as naturally compatible. Dolan has a deep affection for Benedict, not to mention a fierce sense of loyalty - witness the uncharacteristically testy fashion in which Dolan came to the pope’s defense in March 2010, when Benedict XVI was under fire for his handling of the sexual-abuse crisis… However, the two men remain an odd couple - Benedict shy and cerebral, Dolan ever backslapping extrovert. 126 “Yet in one key sense, the two men are simpatico, and that’s in their commitment to what I defined in the introduction as affirmative orthodoxy. The term refers to a complete embrace of Catholic orthodoxy - the traditional elements of Catholic belief and practice - expressed in the most relentlessly positive fashion possible, so that the Catholic message comes across fundamentally as a yes rather than a no. The accent is on what the Church is for rather than what it’s against… “For Dolan affirmative orthodoxy seems more a matter of personal instincts and temperament. In other words, he doesn’t have to think about it, because his own life experience has disposed him to see Catholicism primarily in terms of adventure, romance, and fellowship, and it almost requires an act of will to think of it in any other way… George H. Kubeck- Thankfully we are blessed with a leader and fighter for the U.S. Catholic Church. STOP OBAMA’S WAR AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND FREEDOM “ The simple fact is that the Obama administration is compelling religious people and institutions who are employers to purchase a health insurance contract that provides abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization. This a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand. It is an insult to the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and other people of faith and conscience …” [Statement signed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan and U.S. Bishops.] For update information - WWW.USCCB.ORG