The Archbishop of New York praised President Trump’s leadership efforts to help the religious community amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan welcomed Trump to his livestreamed Mass Sunday after the president had a conference call with over 600 Catholic leaders on Saturday.
“Our former neighbor from up the street is worshipping with us this morning,” Dolan said on Sunday. “Welcome, Mr. President…Saint Paul in the Bible exhorts us to pray for our leaders, and that we do.”
The Catholic leader said he preferred that Trump and parishioners at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan be at the service in person but acknowledged the social distancing required in one of the states hit hardest by COVID-19.
“The president has seemed particularly sensitive to the religious community,” Dolan told “Fox & Friends.” “I’m in admiration of his leadership.”
Trump called himself the “best [president] in the history of the Catholic Church” during the conference call with Catholic leaders and educators Saturday, Crux reports.
.@CardinalDolan Thank you for a great call yesterday with Catholic Leaders, and a great Service today from @StPatsNYC!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020
The president also pledged support for Catholic schools, as Dolan and other religious leaders say they are being hard hit as fewer people are able to give to the church amid job losses and other economic turmoil.
Dolan said it is the church’s sacred responsibility to help the hungry and the poor despite having lesser means to do so.
As of Monday, New York City reports over 158,000 coronavirus cases and over 12,000 deaths.
Author: Caleb Parke
Source: Breitbart: Cardinal Dolan says he admires Trump’s leadership on helping religious community recover from coronavirus
