Timothy Dolan, the Roman Catholic
archbishop of New York, on Sunday prayed for the defeat of a gay
marriage bill in the Empire State.
The bill, officially introduced by
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, was approved by the Assembly on
Wednesday. Lawmakers in the Senate, however, are evenly divided on
the measure. On Friday, Cuomo said he believes he can address the
religious concerns of some GOP senators, adding
that he's confident New York will become the sixth – and most
populous – state to legalize the institution.
During Sunday's prayer service at St.
Patrick's cathedral in New York City, Dolan said: “Any presumption
to redefine that sacred vocabulary, I'm afraid is at our common
peril.”
After the service, Dolan told reporters
that he will continue to fight against what he called a “well oiled
and choreographed project” and denied he was motivated by animus
towards gay and lesbian couples.
“Our strong convictions are not anti
anybody, but simply pro marriage,” Dolan said. “We would just as
vigorously defend marriage from a demand by a heterosexual, or
anybody else, to redefine the very nature of marriage to accommodate
a relationship beyond that of one man and one woman.” (A video
report is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
Last week, Dolan
called the bill an “ominous threat” to society.
Lawmakers could consider the measure as
early as Monday.