WISCONSIN: Court Rules Against Catholic Archdiocese In Bankruptcy Case

In 2013 it was revealed that while the Archbishop of Milwaukee, now-Cardinal Timothy Dolan sought the Vatican's permission to move that money into a cemetery fund in order to shield assets from the victims of sexual abuse. The Archdiocese declared bankruptcy in 2011.

UPDATE: Here's the AP's report.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said Monday that the fund created by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan when he was archbishop of Milwaukee is not covered by a federal law that protects religious organizations from government interference. Attorneys for clergy sexual abuse victims say Dolan created the fund to hide money from their clients. The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Hundreds of victims have since filed claims against the archdiocese. The appeals court's ruling reverses a judge's decision that had found that the cemetery fund couldn't be touched. The appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.

Fox Anchor Bails On Anti-Gay Convention

Yesterday actor Gary Sinese canceled his speaking gig at the Florida convention of Catholic anti-gay activists. Today AdWeek reports that Fox News anchor Bret Baier has done the same.

Baier had been among the confirmed speakers at the 2015 Legatus Summit later this month in Naples, FL. But he’s canceled the appearance following recent revelations that the group’s publication insisted that LGBT people could be cured. “Bret Baier has withdrawn his participation as a speaker at the upcoming Legatus Summit due to the controversy surrounding some editorial stances in the organization’s magazine,” a Fox News spokesperson tells us. “Bret accepted the invitation to speak about his book, his faith, and his son’s congenital heart disease. He was unaware of these articles or the controversy surrounding them.”

Both of these cancellations are likely due to the work of Jeremy Hooper, who first publicized the list of attendees yesterday at Good As You. Still attending at this writing: Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and MillerCoors Brewing chairman Pete Coors. (Tipped by JMG reader DM)

NEW YORK: State GOP Chair Smashes $70K Vase At Catholic Art Event

New York GOP chairman Sen. Ed Cox accidentally smashed a $70K antique vase yesterday at an event to raise money to preserve the artwork at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan hosted the breakfast for New York notables including Home Depot billionaire Ken Langone and Blackstone’s John Studzinski in the bank’s swanky, art-filled corporate offices at One Bryant Park on Sixth Avenue. The breakfast was organized to bring together New York business leaders with Cardinal Dolan to discuss restoring the landmarked Fifth Avenue cathedral’s treasure trove of art and artifacts. But, a witness reports, “the peace was shattered when Ed Cox accidentally knocked over a 4-foot-tall antique vase in the center of the room. It fell to the floor and shattered with a terrible, piercing, sound which stopped the entire room.” The source added, “Ed nervously tried to edge away from the wreckage while the event staff looked mortified. One exclaimed, ‘Oh my God, that was a $70,000 vase!’ ”

Cox is married to Tricia Nixon, daughter of the late former president. He will not be asked to pay for the vase. (Tipped by JMG reader Dean)

Cardinal Timothy Dolan: Gays Are OK As Long As They Don't Do Anything Gay

Cardinal Timothy Dolan has been the target of withering criticism from Catholics after saying that he'll stay on as the grand marshal of next year's St. Patrick's Day Parade even though the entire celebration is totally going to be ruined by the inclusion of one LGBT group. Dolan responded to his naysayers this week in a lengthy letter published to the website of the Archdiocese of New York. An excerpt:

I haven’t been in this much hot water since I made the comment, right after I arrived as your archbishop five-and-a-half years ago, that Stan Musial—my boyhood hero of my hometown St. Louis Cardinals—was a much better ballplayer than Joe DiMaggio! Now I’m getting as much fiery mail and public criticism over my decision to accept the honor of Grand Marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. According to the critics, I should have refused, due to the Parade Committee’s decision to allow a group of self-identified Gays of Irish ancestry to march in the parade with their own banner. As with Stan Musial, I’ll stand by my decision.

However, enough of you have courteously expressed some confusion and dismay, that, as your pastor, I owe you an explanation. Let me try. For one, the decision to change the parade protocol was not mine. The archbishops of New York have never been “in charge” of the parade. Although my predecessors and I have always enjoyed friendly cooperation with the Parade Committee—and still do—and deeply appreciate the identity of the Parade as a celebration purely of Irish heritage, intimately linked to the Catholic Faith, we’ve never had a say in Parade policy or the choice of the Grand Marshal. Nor did we expect or want one! [snip]

While a handful have been less than charitable in their reactions, I must admit that many of you have rather thoughtful reasons for criticizing the committee’s decision: you observe that the former policy was fair; you worry that this is but another example of a capitulation to an “aggressive Gay agenda,” which still will not appease their demands; and you wonder if this could make people think the Church no longer has a clear teaching on the nature of human sexuality. Thank you for letting me know of such concerns. I share some of them.

However, the most important question I had to ask myself was this: does the new policy violate Catholic faith or morals? If it does, then the Committee has compromised the integrity of the Parade, and I must object and refuse to participate or support it. From my review, it does not. Catholic teaching is clear: “being Gay” is not a sin, nor contrary to God’s revealed morals. Homosexual actions are—as are any sexual relations outside of the lifelong, faithful, loving, lifegiving bond of a man and woman in marriage—a moral teaching grounded in the Bible, reflected in nature, and faithfully taught by the Church.

At least he didn't put gay into scare quotes. Hey, he even capitalized the word. He respects us! As long as we all vow to live an entire lifetime of untouched, unloved, miserable, tortured solitude. It's what Jesus would want. Praise! Glory!

Bill Donoue: I've Been Betrayed And Will Boycott The St. Patrick's Day Parade

Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue today announced that he has been betrayed by the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade committee and will boycott next year's event. According to Donohue, he had been promised that an anti-abortion group would be allowed to march in the parade in return for allowing one gay group to participate.

To be specific, I asked them to pledge that a pro-life Catholic group would also be permitted. I was told that a formal change in the rules had been approved and that a pro-life group would march. Now I am being told that the list of marching units is set and that no pro-life group will march in next year’s parade. Accordingly, I have decided to withdraw our participation. Why should this matter? For the past two decades I have been the parade’s most vocal defender of its rules. Repeatedly, I have said that gays have no more been banned from marching than pro-life Catholics have: members of both groups can march with other units; they simply can’t march under their own banner. Why? Because the parade is not about gays or abortion, or anything other than St. Patrick. Attempts will now be made to pit me against Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Grand Marshal of the 2015 parade. The suggestion that I am at odds with the New York Archbishop is not only false, it is despicable. Cardinal Dolan has no more rabid supporter than Bill Donohue, and nothing that has transpired recently changes anything. My reasons for withdrawing from the parade have nothing to do with Cardinal Dolan or with gays. It has to do with being betrayed by the parade committee. They not only told me one thing, and did another, they decided to include a gay group that is neither Catholic nor Irish while stiffing pro-life Catholics. This is as stunning as it is indefensible.

RELATED: On Tuesday three LGBT Irish groups held a press conference in midtown where they mailed their applications to also march in next year's parade.

FRC Slams Cardinal Timothy Dolan Over St. Patrick's Day Parade Rule Change

"New York’s Cardinal Dolan, appointed as Grand Marshal of the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, praised the decision to allow an openly gay group to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. 'I have no trouble with the decision at all. I think the decision is a wise one,' he said. Perhaps organizations which advocate to legalize prostitution and pornography should also be permitted to march? What about promoters of euthanasia for the elderly and disabled or those who champion physician assisted suicide? Where does Cardinal Dolan draw the line? As society continues to disregard what America’s Founders wrote about the laws of Nature and Nature’s God, the moral fabric of our nation is disintegrating to the point of becoming thread bare, unable to hold together even the most basic values upon which our nation was founded. For a Church authority to embrace political correctness at such a time will have consequences which extend far beyond the parade route." - Crackpot Virginia state Del. Bob Marshall, writing for the Family Research Council.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: In February 2014, Marshall filed an amendment that would grant Virginia state legislators the right to claiming standing in marriage lawsuits. In September 2013, Marshall petitioned the US Supreme Court to overturn Virginia's legalization of sodomy. In May 2012, Marshall attempted to block the appointment of an openly gay state judge because the nominee has "an illegal husband." In 2011, Marshall claimed it is a felony for a state office to fly the rainbow flag. Marshall has also called on Virginia to issue its own currency, and has claimed that God punishes women who have abortions by giving them deformed children. After the DADT repeal bill passed, Marshall tried to have gays banned from the Virginia National Guard.

The Advocate Names Russian President Vladimir Putin "Phobie Of The Year"

The Advocate today announced its Phobie Awards, with Russian President Vladimir Putin topping their list of the thirteen most homophobic people in the world. The rest of the list features evildoers well known to JMG readers: Orson Scott Card, Scott Lively, Pat Robertson, E.W. Jackson, Marco Rubio, Frigide Barjot, Ken Cuccinelli, Robert Mugabe, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Rep. Louie Gohmert, and two anti-gay California groups working to overturn transgender rights. Hit the link and read the Advocate's justification for each selection.

Cardinal Dolan: We've Been Out-Marketed

Cardinal Timothy Dolan says that that Catholic Church as been "out-marketed" by activists and politicians who have unfairly branded the church as anti-gay. Dolan's remarks will be aired tomorrow on Meet The Press.

"We've been caricatured as being anti-gay," Dolan said in an interview airing Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. "And as much as we'd say, 'Wait a minute, we're pro marriage, we're pro traditional marriage, we're not anti anybody,' I don't know. "When you have forces like Hollywood, when you have forces like politicians, when you have forces like some opinion-molders that are behind it, it's a tough battle," he said. The legal battle over same-sex marriage has moved to states, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision striking down a tenet of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. "I think I'd be a Pollyanna to say that there doesn't seem to be kind of a stampede to do this," Dolan told David Gregory of Meet the Press. "I regret that. I wish that were not the case for the states."

Maybe Dolan should hold an exorcism to get rid of all that evil marketing.  The Illinois-based Civil Rights Agenda has responded to Dolan's words. Via press release:

The Catholic bishops have spent millions of dollars fighting hate crimes legislation and laws banning housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,. Most egregious, the bishops have threatened to not support the immigration reform bill if it includes same-sex couples. The bishops consistently reduce gay people to their genitals and what they do or do not do with them and a number of bishops have supported and promoted dangers programs that seek to change gay people's sexual orientation. The bishops have opposed any legislation or policy changes that would affirm gay people's right to be treated equitably under the law. That is why the Church is perceived as anti-gay. It is not a caricature it is a sad reality,

Cardinal Dolan On Pope Francis

"What he [Pope Francis] is saying is that if the perception of the church is of a scold who's always nagging and always negative and always fearful, we're not going to make many converts, because nobody wants to join the church out of fear or (join a) a paranoid group. If we emphasize the positive, the gracious, the embracing, the warm, inviting side of the church, then we're going to attract people. And that of course is what Pope Francis is saying and doing on steroids. When the Holy Father suggested this new strategy, I don't think he got a longer standing ovation from anybody than he did from the bishops in the United States. Because we've been saying for a long time, 'Listen to everything we say, don't just listen to us when we speak about your pet issue.'" - Cardinal Timothy Dolan, responding to Pope Francis' call for the Catholic Church to not "interfere spiritually" with the lives of gay people. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

WISCONSIN: Victims Group Wants Judge Tossed In Milwaukee Archdiocese Case

Late last month a Wisconsin judge ruled that the victims of pedophile priests and other creditors should not have access to the millions that then-Archbishop Timothy Dolan moved to a cemetery fund after telling the Vatican that he was doing so for the "improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability." Now that group wants the judge to recuse himself after they learned that he has at least nine relatives buried in the Archdiocese's cemeteries.

In motions filed Monday — one to set aside the ruling and the other asking Randa to recuse himself — the creditors said they "discovered that at least nine of Judge Randa's relatives (including his mother, his father and his wife's parents) are buried in cemeteries owned and operated by" the archdiocese. "This fact alone creates the appearance of partiality," the motion states. They add that Randa, by purchasing burial rights for his parents, entered into a contract with the archdiocese, further supporting the call for him to step down from the case. "Judge Randa should have disqualified himself from presiding over any aspect of this adversary proceeding. Yet, he did not do so," the motion reads. "Nor did he disclose the facts to the parties at any time during the case."

The petitioners contend that if the cemetery funds were to be turned over to claimants, the judge could be forced to pay for the upkeep of his family's plots out of his own pocket.

Dolan Wins In Milwaukee

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

In a major victory for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, a federal judge ruled that funds set aside for cemetery operations cannot be tapped to pay sex abuse settlements in the archdiocese's bankruptcy case. U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa ruled that taking even a portion of the funds would violate the archdiocese's free exercise of religion under the First Amendment. The archdiocese has about $53 million in funds in a cemetery trust created in 2007, from monies it said it held in trust on its books for decades. Victims have accused the archdiocese of moving the money into a trust to keep it from sex abuse victims.

Early this month it was revealed that Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was then Archbishop of Milwaukee, had asked the Vatican for permission to move the money, saying that the transfer would result in "improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability." (Tipped by JMG reader Drew)

Interviewed By NPR New Hampshire

This morning I was interviewed by New Hampshire Public Radio's Word Of Mouth show about yesterday's comments by Pope Francis.  Listen here.  Towards the end, we also touched on the Russian vodka boycott. The show airs at 2:00PM Eastern today.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan On Pope Francis

Dolan appeared on CBS This Morning today to downplay Pope Francis' seemingly more kind tone towards gay people. Igor Volsky recaps at Think Progress:

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.

Cardinal Dolan Sought Vatican Permission To Shield Millions In Assets From Lawsuits Filed By Victims Of Pedophile Priests

He has denied it for years, but today the truth came out. Via the New York Times:

Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday revealed that in 2007, the diocese’s archbishop at the time, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in order to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation. Cardinal Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, has in the past emphatically denied seeking to shield church funds as archbishop of Milwaukee, and he reiterated in a statement on Monday that these were “old and discredited attacks.”

However, the files released Monday contain a letter he wrote to the Vatican in 2007, in which he explained that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.” The Vatican moved swiftly to approve the request, the files show, even though it often took years to remove known abusers from the priesthood. Abuse victims demanding transparency and accountability have long pressed for the release of the documents, and the victims’ lawyers had asked a judge to compel their release.

Bolding above is mine. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee declared bankruptcy in 2011.  Dolan has responded to today's revelation on his blog.

Unfortunately, we have already seen how the release of these documents will cause some to raise old and discredited attacks – like priest-abusers having been “paid” to apply for laicization, (like it or not, bishops do have a canon law obligation to provide basic support like health care and room and board for their priests until they have finally moved on) or that establishing a perpetual care fund from money belonging to cemeteries and designated for that purpose – as required by state law and mandated by the archdiocesan finance council – was an attempt to shield it from the bankruptcy proceedings. While certain groups can be counted-upon to take certain statements or events out of context, the documents released show plainly that the bishops have been faithful to the promises made over a decade ago: permanent removal from ministry of any priest who abused a minor; complete cooperation with law enforcement officials; and, strict child-safety requirements.

Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue:

Under questioning by Jeffrey Anderson, an activist lawyer, Cardinal Dolan gravely disappointed the enemies of the Catholic Church: they were denied their “gotcha” moment. Indeed, pint-sized Anderson didn’t lay a glove on the big guy. Boring. That is the most accurate word to describe the deposition. Here is a list of the topics that Anderson pursued: the statute of limitations; a public list of accused priests; the process of handling deceased and elderly priests; laicization; false and substantiated allegations; compensation for priests let go from ministry; cemetery funds; parish finances; the scope of an archbishop’s authority; the effect of the scandal on Catholics. In short, there was nothing new—it was another fishing expedition conducted by a man who believes there should be one standard for the Catholic Church, and another for the rest of the world.

Catholic Bishops Have The Supreme Sadz

"Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation. The Supreme Court has dealt a profound injustice to the American people by striking down in part the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The Court got it wrong. The federal government ought to respect the truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, even where states fail to do so. The preservation of liberty and justice requires that all laws, federal and state, respect the truth, including the truth about marriage. It is also unfortunate that the Court did not take the opportunity to uphold California’s Proposition 8 but instead decided not to rule on the matter. The common good of all, especially our children, depends upon a society that strives to uphold the truth of marriage. Now is the time to redouble our efforts in witness to this truth. These decisions are part of a public debate of great consequence. The future of marriage and the well-being of our society hang in the balance." - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is headed by Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. Read more.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan Issues Call For Anti-Gay Action In Advance Of SCOTUS Rulings On Prop 8 And DOMA

In his role as the head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Dolan has issued a directive for all parishes to insert the above message into Sunday bulletins.  David Badash writes at New Civil Rights Movement:

As of Friday night, New York City has been home to nine anti-LGBT violent hate crimes this month, and 27 this year — almost double the rate of last year, which saw a double-digit increase over the previous year. But instead of denouncing anti-gay violence, instead of even acknowledging it, instead of calling for tolerance and love, Cardinal Dolan issued a directive to preach anti-LGBT hate in Church. Even the President of NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, and the head of the anti-gay hate group, Family Research Council, have denounced the violence. But the nation’s number one Catholic cannot find the time to even acknowledge it, much less denounce it.

Badash has posted the full bulletin. It opens:

For the first time in our nation’s history, the Supreme Court is considering two cases about whether or not marriage should be redefined to include two persons of the same sex. These cases involve the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8, both of which define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.The Court is expected to rule on both cases by the end of June. A broad negative ruling could redefine marriage in the law throughout the entire country, becoming the “Roe v. Wade” of marriage. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has joined with many other organizations in urging the Supreme Court to uphold both DOMA and Proposition 8 and thereby to recognize the essential, irreplaceable contribution that husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, make to society, and especially to children.

NYPD Bars "Dirty Hands" Protesters From Entering St. Patrick's Cathedral

GLAAD reports:

A group of gay and allied Catholics gathered to worship together at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City with dirty hands in response to comments made by Cardinal Timothy Dolan. However, even as they were gathering, they were told by the police that they would be barred from entering the Cathedral unless they washed their hands.  Joseph Amodeo, who organized the event, tonight issued a statement and is hopeful that an apology will be forthcoming for the inappropriate response to a peaceful demonstration. He told GLAAD: "In the wake of today's events, I only desire to once again feel welcomed in the Catholic Church. The Archdiocese's response to our silent presence, leaves many of us with a feeling of spiritual homelessness."

The protest was organized in response to a blog post by Cardinal Timothy Dolan in which he said that sinners - including gay people - are welcome in the Catholic Church, but first they must symbolically wash their hands of their sins.

The Church loves, welcomes, and respects a woman or man with a same-sex attraction . . . while reminding him or her of our clear teaching that, while the condition of homosexuality is no sin at all, still, God’s teaching is clear that sexual acts are reserved for a man and woman united in the lifelong, life-giving, faithful, loving bond of marriage.

Organizer Joseph Amodeo has written a lengthy account of the protest for Huffington Post.

Cardinal Dolan's Message To Gays

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan appeared on ABC News This Week this morning where George Stephanopoulus asked him: "What do you say as a minister, as a pastor – to a gay couple that comes to you and says, 'We love God. We love the Church. But we also love each other, and we –– want to raise a family in faith.' What do you say to them?"  Dolan's response:

“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.’ 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,” Dolan said. “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. We're still – we're – we're tryin'. We're tryin' our best to do it. We gotta listen to people, like the couple that you just described – that say, 'We don't feel comfortable here.' Jesus died on the cross for them as much as he did for me. But you got a point. Sometimes we're not as successful or as effective as we can be in translating that warm embrace into also teaching what God has told us about the way He wants us

Dolan added that in some ways the Catholic Church is always going to be behind the times because "we’re always supposed to be thinking of the beyond, the eternal, the changeless."  Dolan was one of the most vigorous opponents to sames-sex marriage in New York state. As the head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops he continues to work to thwart LGBT rights nationwide.

UDPATE: Here's the clip.

Cardinal Tim Dolan Deposed Over Molestations In Milwaukee Archdiocese

Lawyers for the victims of pedophile priests yesterday deposed Cardinal Tim Dolan in Manhattan for the role he may have had in covering up the crimes while the Archbishop of Milwaukee.

The lawyers deposing Cardinal Dolan represent hundreds of people who say they were sexually molested by priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which he led for seven years before his appointment as archbishop of New York in 2009. The lawyers want to know when Cardinal Dolan, as archbishop of Milwaukee, learned of allegations against certain priests, and how quickly he made those allegations public.

Cardinal Dolan is one of two American cardinals who are being deposed in sexual abuse lawsuits this week, and who plan to travel to Rome next week in advance of the proceedings to elect the successor to Pope Benedict XVI. The Milwaukee Archdiocese said recently that it had spent $9 million in legal fees. Creditors accuse the archdiocese, under Archbishop Dolan, of shielding $55 million in a cemetery trust. The archdiocese argued that those assets had been set aside for Catholic burials by Archbishop Dolan’s predecessors.

A spokesman said that Dolan was "eager to cooperate."

Will It Be Pope Dolan?

One British columnist thinks Cardinal Timothy Dolan is the front-runner to replace Palpatine.

One of Benedict’s first major appointments was to install an American, Cardinal William Levada, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He resigned last year, to be replaced by a German, but US influence in the Vatican continued to grow. Cardinal Raymond Burke, from Wisconsin, heads the Vatican’s highest court. And Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, a New York native, was recently given the key position of vice president of the Vatican’s Ecclesia Dei Commission. Moreover, an ex-Fox news presenter, Greg Burke, is now the Church’s head of communications.

With Americans in key curial positions, the red-hatted US contingent will have a strong influence over the next Conclave. The suddenness of Pope Benedict’s announcement does not give the cardinals from the developing world much time to form a consensus around an emerging star. Whereas the Americans, in Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York and a close ally of the Pope Benedict, have a widely respected and popular figure who could comfortably win enough votes. A New York Pope might not be the global story people are hoping for. Nonetheless, it would be quite something.

As the head of the United Conference of Catholic Bishops, Dolan has been the Vatican's point man in their battle to thwart LGBT rights in America.

UDPATE: Dolan says he "admires the pope's humility."