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New Pope In Rome, Same Old Anti-Gay Focus From The Catholic Church In America

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Pope Francis gave hope to millions of progressives worldwide, including the LGBT community and our allies, that the Roman Catholic Church would change into the religious institution it is supposed to be: one focused on helping the poor, the needy, the sick, and the elderly, and spreading the message of God’s love across the world; in short, what America’s Catholics expect of their Church. But in reality, little has changed, at least here at home in the U.S.

The vast majority of America’s Catholics support same-sex marriage and the civil rights of LGBT people — even at a rate higher than the average American. They also do not see same-sex relations as sin.

Yet Cardinal Timothy Dolan (image, top,) who is the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Archbishop of New York — making him the highest-ranking Catholic in America — has worked to distance himself from the LGBT community, and made it clear how incredibly uncomfortable he is with LGBT people and embracing us as part of his flock.

Dolan yesterday appeared on his weekly Tuesday Sirius radio show, telling tales and stories, laughing, and joking with comedian Jim Gaffigan. It was certainly a heartwarming show.

But the Cardinal knew he had to say something about the dramatic increase in anti-LGBT hate crimes in New York City — his home — this month and this year.

Why?

Because he had said absolutely nothing, even after the hate crime murder of Mark Carson, a gay man shot to death literally for being gay.

The New Civil Rights Movement and other LGBT activists, including Scott Wooledge of Memeographs and Joseph Amodeo via the Huffington Post, have been asking why the nation’s number one Catholic had been uninterested in denouncing the violence against LGBT people.

So yesterday, at the very end of his radio show, Cardinal Dolan mustered the courage to make mention of the violence.

“You look at even the violence in our own city with some homosexuals who have recently been beaten and killed,” Dolan said. “I mean that’s just awful, that flies in the face of divine justice. Every human life deserves dignity and respect, right? Anytime life is attacked we all suffer.”

LOOK: Cardinal Dolan Spends A Few Seconds Mentioning Violence Against ‘Some Homosexuals’

Dolan said the very least he could have, just so he could be on the record as “denouncing” anti-gay violence given the nine incidents of anti-gay violence in NYC this month alone.

Hardly a denunciation. It took up all of 19 seconds.

And then the Cardinal launched into comments about Memorial Day.

Compare Cardinal Dolan’s “that’s just awful” that “some homosexuals…have recently been beaten and killed” comment with that of one of the nation’s leading anti-gay professionals.

“We condemn in the strongest possible way the murder of a gay man in New York by a killer who apparently hurled anti-gay insults at him moments before the killing,” National Organization For Marriage president Brain Brown’s statement last week reads, posted to NOM’s blog days after the shooting-death murder of Mark Carson. Brown added:

This senseless act cannot be condoned in America or anywhere, and we urge that the perpetrator be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Our heart goes out to the family of the victim, and we hold them in our prayers. While this killing appears to have no connection to the current debate about redefining marriage, there is no room for violence toward any American — whether they support traditional marriage or not. No person should be subjected to violence because they are gay or lesbian or because they believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. There is no place for violence, period.

Last summer, when the Family Research Council was attacked by a lone gunman who put a bullet in the arm of the FRC’s security guard, within hours more than two dozen LGBT organizations rushed to condemn publicly, and in writing, the violence.

So, Cardinal Dolan’s tepid and offhand remarks, as much as they are appreciated as an important first step, and far from sufficient.

If Dolan truly wishes to condemn hate-motivated violence against the LGBT members of his church, and against all LGBT people, he will have to say more than “that’s just awful,” and he’ll have to stop issuing directives to his Bishops telling them to preach against same-sex marriage and LGBT relationships too.

LOOK: Cardinal Dolan Calls For Anti-LGBT Sermons In Shadow Of Violent Anti-Gay Hate Crime Wave

Earlier this month, Dolan through his USCCB issued a directive to be shared with all Catholics, calling the Prop 8 and DOMA same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court the “’Roe v. Wade’ of marriage.”

And he called on all Catholics to “pray, fast, and sacrifice” so the Court would not grant civil rights to loving same-sex couples.

Dolan cares about the family, and families, but not those of same-sex couples. He is a supporter of immigration reform, but not of including protections for families headed by LGBT people.

In fact, in his directive, Dolan stated that “redefining marriage serves no one’s rights, least of all those of children.”

If there’s one thing most people can agree upon, it is that marriage strengthens families and provides safety and security for children — regardless of their parents’ gender(s).

Just a few weeks ago, Cardinal Dolan, or his representatives, used the NYPD to prohibit from Sunday worship services gay Catholics by barring their entry into NYC’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the iconic home of the Roman Catholic Church in New York.

Why?

Their hands were dirty.

Cardinal Dolan had written a blog post demanding LGBT Catholics wash their hands — presumably of our bad behaviors, like entering into loving same-sex relationships and marriages — and Dolan refused to allow a small group of LGBT Catholics and their allies entrance into St. pats with their “dirty hands,” unless they washed them first.

In March, Cardinal Dolan said the Catholic Church wants “happiness” for same-sex couples but same-sex married couples are entitled only to “friendship” and not “sexual love.”

Last year, Dolan attacked same-sex marriage equality and abortion in his closing prayer while an invited guest at the Democratic National Convention.

Cardinal Dolan has been actively engaged in opposing the civil rights of LGBT people. It’s time for him to see us as human beings, and God’s children first.

Michelangelo Signorile invited me to speak on his SiriusXM OutQ radio show this afternoon, and he wondered why with a change at the top — with Pope Francis focusing publicly on the more traditional role of the Church as a savior for the sick, the poor, the needy, the elderly — if Cardinal Dolan is “freelancing” and acting on his own.

Signorile, a veteran journalist who has served the LGBT community for years, wondered why Dolan issued the directive to “pray, fast, and sacrifice” in the hopes of a Supreme Court upholding Prop 8 and DOMA.

Who knows what the Catholic Church is thinking. But we do know what the vast majority of America’s Catholics are thinking, and it looks nothing like what Cardinal Dolan is.

 

Related:

Gay Catholic Leaders Weigh In On Use Of NYPD To Bar Gay Catholics From St. Pat’s Cathedral

Cardinal Dolan Uses NYPD To Bar Gay Catholics From Sunday Worship In St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Cardinal Dolan: Same-Sex Couples Entitled To ‘Friendship’ But Not ‘Sexual Love’ (Video)

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‘Impossible to Lose’: Trump Pitches Strategy to Cement One-Party Rule

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13 hours ago

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November 7, 2025

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President Donald Trump renewed his demand that Republican senators eliminate the 60-vote filibuster, which he sees as one of the biggest roadblocks to achieving his far-reaching agenda. Now, he said he wants to eliminate the filibuster as a way to ensure permanent Republican control of the government.

The president has been calling for senators to act, despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s strong opposition to invoking the “nuclear option.”

In a lengthy Truth Social post last week, Trump expressed his agenda.

“It is now time for the Republicans to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!” he declared.

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He warned that Democrats want to “substantially expand (PACK!) the United States Supreme Court, make Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico States (Thereby automatically picking up 4 Senate seats, many House seats, and at least 8 Electoral Votes!), and many other highly destructive things.”

“Well, now WE are in power, and if we did what we should be doing, it would IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, Country destroying ‘SHUT DOWN.'”

Trump then admitted: “I want to do it in order to take advantage of the Democrats….”

Trump has repeated his call to end the filibuster several times since then, most recently on Friday afternoon.

“The Democrats will do this,” he said of killing the filibuster, “so if the Democrats are gonna do it, I’m saying Republicans should do it before they get a chance.”

“It’s very simple,” Trump explained.

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“And if we do it, we will never lose the midterms, and we will never lose the general election, because we will have produced so many different things for our people — for the people, for the country — that it would be impossible to lose an election.”

Critics quickly weighed in with warnings.

“I thought the vice president Vance statement about ignoring judges would be it for today,” wrote The Steady State, a group of over 350 former national security and intelligence officials, referring to JD Vance’s apparent suggestion to ignore a federal judge’s order to release about $6 billion in SNAP funds.

“President Trump went a little farther in terms of crossing yet another red line,” the group continued, “explaining why he wants [the] filibuster gone he is very clear. One party rule. Elections that he and his never lose —— that is autocracy.”

READ MORE: ‘Make Lots of Trump Babies’: Dr. Oz Highlights Midterm Goals

 

Image via Reuters

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‘Unique Action’: Trump Admin Spins Flight Cancellations as Fix for Traveling Frustration

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16 hours ago

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November 7, 2025

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U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy sought Friday to cast a positive light on the Federal Aviation Administration’s order requiring airlines to cut ten percent of flights at 40 major airports — a move prompted by overworked air traffic controllers who have gone weeks without pay as the government shutdown stretches into its 38th day with no immediate end in sight.

More than 800 flights nationwide were canceled on Friday, leaving some travelers “scrambling to figure out backup plans,” the Associated Press reported.

But According to Secretary Duffy, he has come up with a “unique action” that reduces a major frustration of air travel: flight delays.

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“I asked the head of the air traffic controller union to reach out to his controllers, to ask them to show up. It is their jobs,” Duffy said on Friday.

“If they start coming to work, we may have the same experience we had in Newark: We had delays and cancellations in Newark in the early summer. We reduced the capacity, and then the flights were on time. Right?”

“It was the most on-time months we had in Newark ever,” he added. “So that could be an outcome of what we’re doing, and we’ll see probably more people on less flights, which means less pressure on controllers.”

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Secretary Duffy also said, “There’s a very easy solution to the problem that they put directly on my lap, which is open the damn government. Vote to open the government, so those who snipe at me for having to take really unique action — they put that on my plate.”

Critics blasted Duffy.

Republican former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger wrote: “Cutting flights because of the govt shutdown is a stunt, plain and simple.”

He also remarked, “We’re cutting flights and food because of the govt shutdown but ICE is out [in] full force!”

READ MORE: Democratic Rep. Interrupts Speaker Johnson — Accuses Him of ‘Lies’

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Trump Admin Starts Setting Stage for Recession — and Shifting the Blame

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19 hours ago

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November 7, 2025

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The Trump administration has begun quietly preparing Americans for the possibility that the economy may be nearing a recession — a broad and painful downturn that officials appear increasingly concerned may be on the horizon.

Economist Kevin Hassett, director of the Trump White House’s National Economic Council, on Friday laid both the groundwork and the blame for any impending recession.

“There’s holiday travel, but there’s business travel,” he told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cut ten percent of flights — about 700 — in 40 high-volume markets across the country as air traffic controllers, who have not been paid in weeks due to the federal government shutdown, are increasingly overworked and under financial strain.

“Business travel is a really big, important part of air travel, and if ten percent of business travel isn’t happening, those are deals that aren’t being cut, and hotel rooms that aren’t being filled,” Hassett explained. “And so the ripple effects, and then the multiplier effects of all that, are really, really large.”

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“And so I think Secretary Bessent wisely said we’re starting to see pockets of the economy that look like they might be in a recession, that we’re not in a recession because of this, but there are pockets that are really hurting,” he added. “And if we go another month or so, then who knows how bad the economy could be this quarter?”

“And we know whose fault that will be,” Hassett said.

Hassett was referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks earlier this week.

“I think that there are sectors of the economy that are in recession,” Bessent said on CNN on Sunday, as The New York Times reported.

“He described the economy as being in a ‘period of transition’ because of a pullback in government spending to reduce the deficit,” the Times added. “He called on the Fed[eral Reserve] to support the economy by cutting interest rates.”

The Times also explained the White House’s strategy:

“Mr. Bessent’s remarks added to pressure on the Fed and deflected blame from Mr. Trump in case the economy does ultimately face a downturn, reinforcing a strategy that has been in place since the start of the year. As the administration has imposed aggressive tariffs on nearly all of America’s trading partners and slashed federal spending, potentially slowing growth, it has sought to pin blame squarely on the Fed in the event of an economic downturn.”

READ MORE: Democratic Rep. Interrupts Speaker Johnson — Accuses Him of ‘Lies’

But Hassett’s remarks appeared focused on pinning the blame for a possible recession on the shutdown of the federal government, which Republicans and the White House insist is the fault of Democrats.

President Donald Trump has railed against the Democrats over the shutdown, while increasingly demanding the Senate end it by going “nuclear” and eliminating the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold for the filibuster, opting instead for a simple majority of votes to pass legislation.

For example, on Tuesday in a Truth Social post, President Trump vowed to hold up SNAP funds despite court orders, writing that food stamp benefits “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!”

READ MORE: ‘Sick’: Hunger Caucus Head Slams GOP for ‘Starving Children’ by ‘Weaponizing’ SNAP

 

Image via Reuters

 

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