Kristine Ward on Dolan-Donohue Collaboration in Attacking SNAP: Gospel? What Gospel?

Kristine Ward, NSAC

Kristine Ward, chair of the National Survivor Advocates Coalition, thinks, as I do, that His Eminence Timothy M. Cardinal Dolan tipped his hand about the involvement of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops in the current attack on SNAP, when he blogged this week in support of Bully Bill Donohue's slimy characterization of SNAP's David Clohessy as a con artist.  

Ward writes,

When the bishops circle their wagons around a jovial, back slapping, have a few beers with you wagon master prepared to pour as much and as many high powered attorneys’ fees plus muscle and venom as it takes in pursuit of a bare knuckle, wide net, fear inducing campaign against an ever-growing and effective band of victims the Gospel is not in them thar’ hills: self preservation is. 

Cardinal Dolan, with his blog posting, it seems to us, is taking the same approach political candidates take to their Super PACs: not running them, don’t really know what they are doing on my behalf (wink, wink), can’t help they are saying exactly what I want to, and boy do I love the dough they are socking into it.

Dolan as the hidden superPAC sugar daddy hiding behind (and controlling) the morally bankrupt political agent (i.e., the attorneys attacking SNAP): that strikes me as just about right.  And I totally agree with Ward's conclusion: with this level of pastoral leadership at the top of the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference, "the Gospel is not in them thar' hills."

Sad as it may be, for many of us who are Catholic and who are searching for gospel-based spiritual foundations, those foundations have to be found anyplace except our church now, with its current crop of leaders.