N.Y. Cardinal Timothy Dolan Defends Obama Invitation to Al Smith Dinner
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan defends his controversial invitation to President Obama to attend the annual Al Smith Dinner, Chris Lisee reports for Religion News Service. The invitation comes at a time when Catholic bishops are suing the president over the HHS mandate, “which they say abridge the religious freedom and conscience rights of faith-based employers,” Lisee writes. However, Dolan states that the dinner “is an occasion of conversation; it is personal, not partisan.”