‘Fat,
 balding
 Irish bishop’
 doesn’t
 have 
clout

Don’t rely on a “fat, balding Irish bishop” to speak out and defend the Church, a US cardinal has warned.

It is unclear whether the head of the Archdiocese of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, was just talking about himself, but he sent out a strong message not to rely on clergy to defend the Faith.

After facing criticism for not excommunicating New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for signing a bill that allows abortion up until the day of birth, Cardinal Dolan said he has little “clout”.

“Don’t yell at me, look at yourselves. You’re the only ones that can do it, okay?” he told a US radio station.

“You do something! Okay?” said Dolan.  “I don’t have much clout – some fat, balding, Irish bishop talking about defending the Church, talking about how hideous this abortion bill is.”

Faced from criticism from all sides, Cardinal Dolan said it would be “counterproductive” to excommunicate the governor. He said that when “committed, thoughtful, compelling lay people are speaking up”, that gets votes, but when a bishop speaks out people think: “they have to feel that way.”

For Cardinal Dolan, there doesn’t seem to be a future for fat, balding Irish bishops leading the Church.