Dolan: 'I'm going to preach about sex.'

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York got the attention of worshipers at St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday, when he started a homily the Daily News labeled as "fire-and-brimstone" by saying, "I'm going to preach about sex." And he did.

From the Daily News story:

New York's cardinal-to-be delivered a no-holds-barred sermon on morality Sunday, telling his flock to stand firm against popular culture’s message that sex outside marriage is okay.

“The one who, with God’s grace and mercy, tries his or her best to be pure and chaste is often thought of not as a hero, not a saint, but as a freak in our culture today,” Archbishop Timothy Dolan said at St. Patrick’s.

“The biblical teaching on sexual responsibility is countercultural,” he continued, hailing those who stay true to their moral compass.

“Anyone who tries his or her best to live it can expect a lot of temptation and even ridicule and criticism.”

Dolan linked “sexual immorality” with society’s ills — violence, sex crimes, disease and broken families — and called on priests to do a better job of encouraging the sexually virtuous.

...“The church has at times in the past, sadly, come across as some naysaying, puritanical nag, always giving a big ‘No, no, no’ to one of life’s greatest joys,” he said.

But modern society often reduces sex to “animal rutting” or its “most popular contact sport,” he said.

He didn’t mention any one show or star by name, but Dolan clearly seemed to be targeting the bedhopping that’s become regular fare on TV and reality shows like “Jersey Shore.”

“Truth be told, it is chastity and purity that liberates us, while immorality enslaves us,” he said.

Read the full story HERE.