Author Eric Metaxas, the Wilberforce biographer, remarked that, eventually, marriage redefinition would have a “chilling effect on religious freedom in America” as churches would refuse same-sex couples space and personnel for weddings. “Most thinking Christians realize gays have not been treated as Jesus would have wanted them to be,” he surmised, “But when it comes to the legal issue…if marriage can be anything, then it becomes nothing.”

Last Saturday [April 27, 2013] at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview granted Timothy Cardinal Dolan their most prestigious honor, the William Wilberforce Award. Since 1991, the Colson Center has stood as a leading nexus of evangelical thought in America. The organization saw fit to recognize the cardinal for his bold stance against the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate that requires all employers to provide insurance covering contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization for their employees. I had the privilege to interview one-on-one with his eminence as well as board chairman Dr. Timothy George and author Eric Metaxas. I asked all three about issues of life, religious freedom, and marriage.

When queried about the Obama administration’s latest compromises regarding the HHS mandate, Cardinal Dolan stated that he still had “major concerns” since the “accommodations are way less than satisfactory.” The Archbishop of New York worried that the rights religious citizens that object to the HHS standards would be narrowed not necessarily de jure but de facto. Nevertheless, he remains upbeat; the cardinal hopes that lawmakers will pursue a “legislative fix” to protect the consciences of Christians.

On the other hand, Cardinal Dolan reserves “broad philosophical concerns” regarding the conscience protection clause. “We have to go bidding with the government for our religious freedoms….We shouldn’t ever have to feel embarrassed to stand up for our human rights,” he declared, “As Blessed John Paul II noted, the freedom of religion makes way for all other political freedoms.” While Cardinal Dolan said he and his brother bishops in the USCCB are “not about to give up, we don’t want to be seen as pugnacious.” He described the HHS battle as an “intensely ecumenical movement,” especially since “it’s not just a Catholic issue; it’s an American issue.”

Regarding the battle for life, the Roman Catholic leader remarked, “The Gosnell hearings have pulled the rug out from abortionists.” The accepted silence of major news outlets on the grisly case met with a heartening “reaction.” “We seem to have the young people on our side,” Dolan observed. On the other hand, the redefinition of marriage has been more difficult since LGBT activists have adopted an argument from fairness.

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