Sitting next to Timothy Dolan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, the President and the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, exchanged jokes and poked fun at each other. Dolan, sometimes dubbed “The American Pope” is the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops based in Washington DC and which is heavily involved in U.S. politics. He is the most powerful Roman Catholic in America.
This fundraising dinner netted the Roman Catholic charity for needy children in New York more than $5 million from the 1,600 upscale attendees.
This was the 7th time that both candidates in a presidential race attended the dinner hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York (now in its 67th year).
Both candidates know that helping the Roman Catholic Church will also help their campaigns. It is the high-profile dinner not to miss. Rome has become so important to American politics that skipping this annual gala during the campaign would send the wrong message about the relationship of the candidate to the Roman Catholic Church.
And it benefits the Catholic Church in a number of ways. The presence of the two presidential candidates draws attention to Catholic charity work at a time when the nation is focused on the election, which increases the positive public profile of the church. It also disguises her real goal, political influence in order to increase her power and spins her involvement in politics as friendly and light-hearted. Such events also build a relationship with both candidates so that they will have a strong friendly relationship with whoever wins the election, even if they disagree with the candidate on key issues.
As the two candidates cracked jokes at each other, and about themselves, the audience enjoyed themselves by eating roast lamb, poached lobster and dark chocolate.
Acknowledging that political influence of the Roman Catholic Church in American politics, emcee Alfred E. Smith IV joked that he was considering renaming the Catholic charity “Super PAC for the Soul.”
“Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is.” Great Controversy, page 581
http://www.ktfministry.org/en/news/2971/obama-romney-linking-up-with-rome
Obama and Romney tone it down for charity dinner
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