In a blog appearing on the Archdiocese of New York website, Cardinal Timothy Dolan says his agreement to serve as Grand Marshall at next year's St. Patrick's Day Parade, which will allow homosexuals to march under their own banner for the first time, has put him in a lot of "hot water" with the faithful.

In an effort to explain his decision to accept the honor of serving as Grand Marshall, he argues that the decision to change the parade protocol was not his and that 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!"

He added: "I did not oppose the former policy; nor did I push, condone, or oppose the new one. While the Parade committee was considerate in advising me of the change, they did not ask my approval, nor did they need to."

He reminds his constituents that he has always supported the parade's former policy - which permits only banners to be carried that identify the group's Irish origin. This means no banners proclaiming a group to be pro-gay, pro-life, anti-smoking, etc. Gays - and anyone else, for that matter - have always been permitted to march in the parade, just not carry a banner identifying themselves as anything other than Irish. This means that even though gay activist groups accused the parade of being anti-gay, this was an entirely specious argument.

However, many of the faithful believe that Dolan should no longer support the parade and refuse the invitation to serve as Grand Marshall. Many of the reasons they cited he admitted to sharing, such as how this could be "another example of a capitulation to an 'aggressive Gay agenda,' which still will not appease their demands" and that people might think the Church no longer disapproves of homosexual relations.

"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," he writes.

"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. So, while actions are immoral, identity is not!"

As he reminds, the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that people with same-sex attraction are God’s children and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

To those who fear that the group publicizing its identity will do so in a way that promotes actions contrary to Church teaching, the Cardinal says he has been assured by parade organizers that the homosexual group involved will simply identify themselves as “Gay people of Irish ancestry.”

"If the Parade Committee allowed a group to publicize its advocacy of any actions contrary to Church teaching, I’d object. As Cardinal John O’Connor remarked, we do not change the Creed—and I’d add, the Ten Commandments—to satisfy political correctness."

He revealed that the Parade Committee was very worried about this decision, but that they were in a kind of "Catch-22" meaning the parade was never discriminatory in the first place, but the public perceived it to be that way and no amount of explanation seemed to dissuade this perception.

"I found their [the Committee's] sensitivity wise, and publicly said so," the Cardinal said. "If, in doing so, I have shown an insensitivity to you, I apologize."

As the Cardinal wisely pointed out, gay activists aren't at all satisfied with the new arrangement and are calling for parade officials to allow more groups to march in the parade. As a result, Guinness Brewery, who so famously withdrew its sponsorship of the parade last year says they may not reinstate their support unless other groups are allowed to march.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue is asking the faithful to continue to boycott Guinness and to "remember that this corporate bully tried to shove its secular agenda down our throats by punishing the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade for not allowing gays to march under their own banners in 2014."

It's goal, which is shared by many other such groups, is to sever the religious moorings of the parade.  Now Guinness wants more homosexual units to march before renewing its sponsorship.

As Donohue warns: "If it were to succeed, it would turn the parade into a diversity free-for-all, thus eviscerating its Catholic heritage."

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