Cardinal Timothy Dolan opened the Republican National Convention Monday night, praying for the leaders of both political parties.
The Catholic cardinal and archbishop of New York prayed in thanksgiving for “a country where freedom of religion is so cherished, where both Republicans and Democrats begin their conventions, heads bowed in prayer.”
Dolan prayed for those suffering from the coronavirus, for front line workers, for “our troubled cities and the police who guard them,” for the unborn and for “our elders in nursing care and hospice.”
“For our immigrants and refugees,” he continued. “Those lives threatened by religious persecution throughout the world or by plague, hunger, human trafficking, drugs or war.”
He concluded: “For we dare claim, in God we trust. Amen.”
The cardinal’s prayer came after he issued an August 18 statement addressing why he agreed to pray at the RNC. (RELATED: Catholic Nun Who Led DNC Prayer Said She Doesn’t Think Banning Abortion ‘Is A Good Policy’)
Some people have asked me why I agreed to offer a prayer at the RNC. Here’s my statement from last week. pic.twitter.com/zR6Te3SvU0
— Cardinal Dolan (@CardinalDolan) August 24, 2020
“As a priest, one of my most sacred obligations is to try and respond positively whenever I am invited to pray,” Dolan said in the statement. “Prayer is speaking to God, offering Him praise, thanking Him for His many blessings, and asking for His intercession; it is not political or partisan.”
“That is why I have accepted an invitation to pray at the Republican National Convention,” he continued. “My agreeing to pray does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate, party, or platform. Had I been invited to offer a prayer for the Democratic National Convention, I would have happily accepted, just as I did in 2012.”
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