New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan said he is happy that the discussion over religious liberty and same-sex rights is coming to the forefront, but he wishes it were more civil.
"We've got to make sure that the rights of conscience and religious ability to publicly exercise one's religion is balanced with another good, namely the rights of people not to be discriminated against,"
Dolan said Sunday on "Meet the Press."
It is a "delicate balance," Dolan admitted, but added, it is easier to ignore religious freedom today than it is more popular issues.
He expressed appreciation for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to tackle the issue that has created heated controversy. Pence last week pushed through a "clarification" of the state's recently enacted religious liberty law that allows businesses to refrain from violating the religious convictions of the company's owner.
The debate has centered on individuals such as photographers and caterers who don't want to participate in same-sex weddings.
"I just wish we could do that in a temperate civil way instead of screaming at each other," Dolan said.
The archbishop of New York also was asked about President Barack Obama's statement at
February's National Prayer Breakfast that Christians should not be on a "high horse" thinking that only some Muslims are guilty of using religion for violence against others. He specifically pointed to the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition
"There are some that might have thought his remarks were off the mark," Dolan said. "I would simply say as an historian and as a believer, sometimes it is not all that bad to remind ourselves that we are not free from sin either."
Dolan said Obama's timing might not have been appropriate, "but I wouldn't say it was wrong."
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