ThinkProgress is the blog of the Center for American Progress, the largest and most consequential leftie think tank in Washington. On many issues, I admire their work. But, they also seem to have developed a knee jerk hostility to the Catholic Church that is unhelpful politically and superficial intellectually. (Alas, in Washington, a "think tank" is not necessarily a place that values intellectual depth.) They posted an item yesterday in response to Cardinal Timothy Dolan's interview on the ABC newsweekly show "This Week," and castigated the cardinal for suggesting that gay men and women are "entitled to friendship" but not marriage. "Friendship" is no "skim milk" relationship to the Catholic mind. We often describe the self-revelation of Jesus Christ as the invitation to friendship with the divine Trinity. Besides, i thought Cardinal Dolan's comments on same sex marriage were really good, making the point that the Church leaders have not done a great job explaining their position in a way that it does not come out as merely anti-gay, and that the Church can never be anti-anyone. But, ThinkProgress can only see half-empty glasses when it looks at the Church. Good luck trying to get immigration reform passed without us!
