Lawrence O'Donnell Rips Conservative Pundit Bill Kristol and Cardinal Dolan for Bigotry: VIDEO

Yesterday I reported that conservative pundit Bill Kristol said the decision to get on the marriage equality train by some members of his party will "earn the contempt" of the GOP base and called those choosing to support it "pathetic".

And Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York said gays are entitled to friendship but not marriage.

Last night, Lawrence O'Donnell gave them a piece of his mind.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

NYC Cardinal Timothy Dolan On Marriage In Catholic Church: Gays And Lesbians Are 'Entitled To Friendship': Video

ABC’s This Week host George Stephanopoulos asked guest Cardinal Timothy Dolan how he would respond to Catholic gays and lesbians who want to get married in the Catholic Church.

Dolan, who claims the church "is not an anti-anybody," replied:

"Well, the first thing I’d say to them is, 'I love you, too. And God loves you. And you are made in God’s image and likeness. And – and we – we want your happiness. But – and you’re entitled to friendship.' But we also know that God has told us that the way to happiness, that – especially when it comes to sexual love – that is intended only for a man and woman in marriage, where children can come about naturally. We gotta be – we gotta do better to see that our defense of marriage is not reduced to an attack on gay people. And I admit, we haven’t been too good at that."

Watch the clip, AFTER THE JUMP.

NYC Archbishop Dolan Deposed Over Sexual Abuse Scandal: VIDEO

Cardinal Timothy Dolan was deposed by lawyers for hundreds of people sexually victimized by Catholic priests in Milwaukee during Dolan's tenure as archbishop there, the NY Daily News reports:

In the closed-door deposition, Dolan faced down attorneys for 350 of about 570 people who say they were maltreated by clergy in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, which he led until 2009, when he became the Pope’s New York man.

Dolan’s spokesman said Wednesday that the leader of 2.6 million New York Catholics — who has been discussed as a possible candidate for Pope — welcomed the chance to address the issue.

“Today Cardinal Dolan had the long-awaited opportunity to talk about his decision nine years ago in Milwaukee to publicize the names of priests who had abused children and how he responded to the tragedy of past clergy sexual abuse of minors, during the time he was privileged to serve as archbishop of Milwaukee,” spokesman Joseph Zwilling said in a statement.

ABC7 was there when Dolan arrived home from his deposition in Milwaukee.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Anti-Gay NYC Cardinal Timothy Dolan to Bless Democratic Convention, One Week After Doing Same for GOP

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, an outspoken opponent of equality, will deliver the closing benediction at the Democratic National Convention one week after doing the same for the GOP, RNS reports:

The Obama campaign also revealed Tuesday (Aug. 28) that Sister Simone Campbell, the popular face of the recent “Nuns on the Bus” tour for social justice, will be addressing the Democrats in Charlotte, N.C., the night before Dolan’s appearance.

That is kind of a Catholic “two-fer” that threatens to upstage GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s Catholic outreach and highlights the importance of this swing vote in a deadlocked race.

The Catholic League's Bill Donohue clucks:

Over the past week, Cardinal Dolan has been hammered by liberals for accepting an invitation to give benediction at the Republican National Convention (RNC). Now that he will close both conventions, they look even more foolish...

...The fundamental difference between Cardinal Dolan and these critics comes down to one thing: he is a man of principle and they don’t know how to spell the word. He invited President Obama to the Al Smith Dinner, knowing he would receive flak from some on the right. Then he agreed to speak at the RNC, knowing he would be blasted by some on the left. Now he has accepted an invitation to speak at the DNC and none of his critics—on both the left and the right—can figure him out.

What this shows is that Cardinal Dolan is able to rise above the politics of the moment. But to those who view the world exclusively through the lens of power, this is completely unintelligible.

Anti-Gay NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan Conducting RNC's Closing Prayer

Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has confirmed that he'll be delivering the closing prayer after the Republican National Convention next week. His office insists, however, that he's not there to endorse any particular politics.

"The Cardinal made it clear to the RNC (and to the Democratic National Committee as well) that he was only there to offer a prayer, not to engage in any partisan politics and that he would be willing to accept a similar invitation from the DNC if they were to invite him to pray at their Convention as well,” a spokesman told CNN.

Odd that Dolan claims not to be endorsing any partisan issue, because he has been an outspoken opponent of marriage equality, discriminatory politics enshrined in the GOP's official party platform.

Gay-Hating NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan to Be Elevated to Cardinal

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who warned of the Communist threat from same-sex marriage in New York during the run-up to its legalization last year, will be among those elevated by Pope Benedict to Cardinal in a ceremony on February 18, City Room reports:

Pope Benedict XVI also named 21 other new cardinals on Friday. Eighteen of the new cardinals are under the age of 80, Reuters reported, and therefore eligible to enter the secret conclave to elect a new pope after Benedict dies. There are 120 cardinals who serve as papal elector.

Vatican Radio carried the official announcement and the names of all those who will be elevated in February.

Archbishop Dolan, who was named to succeed Cardinal Edward M. Egan in February 2009, is set to deliver a mass at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick on Friday morning and would respond to the announcement.

Dolan, who claimed to be deceived by politicians over the marriage equality vote after it happened, also said this:

This is a very violation of what we consider natural law that’s embedded in every man and woman and we’re really worried as Americans that it’s going to be detrimental to the common good.

And called it 'Orwellian social engineering', comparing it to polygamy:

To tamper with that definition, or to engage in some Orwellian social engineering about the nature and purpose of marriage, is perilous to all of us.  If the definition of marriage is continually being altered, could it not in the future be morphed again to include multiple spouses or even family members?

And suggested it was a Communist threat:

Last time I consulted an atlas, it is clear we are living in New York, in the United States of America – not in China or North Korea.  In those countries, government presumes daily to “redefine” rights, relationships, values, and natural law.  There, communiqués from the government can dictate the size of families, who lives and who dies, and what the very definition of “family” and “marriage” means.

He also put it same-sex marriage in the same category as marrying one's mommy.

Apparently it was enough anti-gay hate to get him a big promotion.