Dolan seen as GOP's top prelate

The de facto endorsement of the Romney-Ryan ticket by the Catholic hierarchy became close to authoritative yesterday, as the Cardinal Archbishop of New York accepted an invitation to offer a benediction on the last day of the RNC, having gone out of his way to praise Paul Ryan as a "great public servant" whom he is "anxious to see in action."

So writes Andrew Sullivan on his blog today on the Daily Beast.

For a good number of Catholics - and not all of them progressives - the U.S. bishops have become adjuncts to the Republican Party. It is all quite sad. Dolan's move, be it naive or calculating, is not healthy for an already divided Catholic church.