In a pre-recorded Meet the Press
interview to air this Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York
congratulated Michael Sam on coming out gay.
Sam, 24, came out last month in
interviews with ESPN and The New York Times. The college
football player is a strong NFL draft prospect. If drafted, Sam
would become the NFL's first openly gay player.
“Michael Sam, from your home state,
the football player, revealed that he was gay, first in the NFL,”
David
Gregory said. “And you saw the celebration from the president,
the first lady, and they were saying what a courageous step that was.
How did you view it?”
“Good for him,” Dolan replied. “I
would have no sense of judgment on him. God bless ya. I don't
think, look, the same Bible that tells us, that teaches us, well
about the virtues of chastity and the virtue of fidelity and marriage
also tells us not to judge people. So I would say, 'Bravo.'”
Dolan was a leading opponent of New
York's gay marriage law, calling it “Orwellian social engineering.”
(Related: Timothy
Dolan calls gay marriage “Orwellian social engineering.”)