Showing posts with label Al Smith Dinner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Smith Dinner. Show all posts

Friday, October 16, 2026

Highlights from the 81st annual Al Smith Dinner in NYC

 Highlights from the 81st annual Al Smith Dinner in NYC



FOX 5 New York

Oct 16, 2026
The star-studded gala at the Waldorf Astoria raised millions for Catholic Charities and featured some of NYC's most powerful and influential figures, including Mayor Mamdani, NYPD Commissioner Tisch, Archbishop Hicks, and Cardinal Dolan. FOX 5 NY's Sharon Crowley reports.


Saturday, September 20, 2025

The 80th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner


 The 80th Annual Dinner

This year’s Dinner will take place at the Waldorf Astoria New York on October 16, 2025.

The 80th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner

Thursday, October 16, 2025
New York, NY

The 80th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner benefiting women and children in need will take place on October 16, 2025, at the Waldorf Astoria New York, 301 Park Ave.

We invite you to join us for a lighthearted evening celebrating our Happy Warrior, Robert K. Kraft, and keynote speakers, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo.

Questions?

For general inquiries, please contact us at 646.794.3315 or AlSmith.Foundation@archny.org

For media inquiries, please click here.

View our 2025 Invitation & RSVP Card

To view photos of last year's dinner, please click here.

View our 2025 Invitation & RSVP Card




Since its first dinner in 1946, The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner has raised millions of dollars for New York’s most vulnerable women and children. The Dinner has featured renowned cultural, business, and political figures, including most major party presidential nominees during election years since 1960.

Today the dinner is a cultural landmark, a living memorial to one of New York’s most beloved sons, remembered as the first Roman Catholic presidential candidate for a major party and a four-term governor who catalyzed labor reform and social security legislation in America.



Friday, October 18, 2024

Kamala Harris’ skit with ‘SNL’ alum Molly Shannon at Al Smith dinner

 
Kamala Harris’ skit with ‘SNL’ alum Molly Shannon at Al Smith dinner

At this year's Al Smith charity dinner, Vice President Kamala Harris got a little help from Mary Catherine Gallagher. Ahead of a pre-recorded speech, the veep performed a comedy bit alongside Molly Shannon's '90s-era Catholic school girl character from "Saturday Night Live." Watch the full video here. 




Wednesday, October 16, 2024

The 79th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner

The 79th Annual Dinner

This year's Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner will take place on October 17, 2024. It is SOLD OUT. Thank you for your interest and support.

Dinner Details

Watch the Dinner




Livestream starts on October 17, 2024, at 7:30pm.

Watch the Livestream

Since its first dinner in 1946, The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner has raised millions of dollars for New York’s most vulnerable women and children. The Dinner has featured renowned cultural, business, and political figures, including most major party presidential nominees during election years since 1960.

Today the dinner is a cultural landmark, a living memorial to one of New York’s most beloved sons, remembered as the first Roman Catholic presidential candidate for a major party and a four-term governor who catalyzed labor reform and social security legislation in America.


Dinner Details

Thursday, October 17, 2024
New York, NY


The 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner benefiting women and children in need will take place on October 17, 2024, at the New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of Americas. The event will be hosted by His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York. The 45th President of the United States Donald J. Trump is the featured speaker with comedian Jim Gaffigan serving as the Dinner’s emcee. This year’s event is currently SOLD OUT. Thank you for your interest and support.

Questions?

For general inquiries, please contact us at 646.794.3315 or AlSmith.Foundation@archny.org



Saturday, October 21, 2023

Al Smith Dinner Raises Record $7 Million for the Underprivileged


10/20/2023

By: Steven Schwankert

Henry Kissinger and Rob Speyer honored at the evening’s event


Dr. Henry A. Kissinger (left) joined Cardinal Timothy Dolan as the keynote speaker at the 78th Alfred E. Smith Foundation Dinner at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan, October 19, 2023. (Screenshot from event livestream)


The 78th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, held Thursday night, raised a record amount of funds for its namesake, featured Dr. Henry A. Kissinger as its keynote speaker, and honored Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman Speyer, with the Happy Warrior Award. Mary Callahan Erdoes, vice chair of the Foundation’s board of directors, served as the evening’s host.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, participating in the Synod on Synodality in Rome this month, made a trip to New York to attend the dinner and returned to Italy shortly after its conclusion.

Known colloquially as the Al Smith Dinner, the event took place at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan and raised $7 million for the Foundation, which supports charitable endeavors throughout the Archdiocese of New York and beyond, including Catholic schools, migrant outreach, substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation, and pediatric care for those in need.

The annual event gives hope to the underprivileged people of the archdiocese. While, traditionally a lighthearted affair that aims to put unity ahead of politics, Thursday night took on a more serious tinge because of the recent violence in Israel.

Catholic-Jewish unity was a recurring theme throughout the dinner, with numerous attendees of both faiths pointing to efforts by the New York community to remain united during the current crisis. During the event, it was announced that $150,000 from the night’s proceeds would directly benefit the UJA Federation of New York.

Rob Speyer, chief executive officer of real estate company Tishman Speyer was honored with the 2023 Happy Warrior Award. The award gets its name from Al Smith’s nickname, given to him by political rival and future president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“The world needs more happy warriors, people who go out and fight for what they believe in with dignity, with love, and with joy,” said Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla introducing Speyer.

“Our people left the job site after the Pyramids. In fact, I can think of only one Jewish carpenter,” said Speyer, who is Jewish, making light of his involvement in real estate.

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, former Secretary of State of the United States, who turned 100 on May 27, offered the keynote presentation. Born in Germany, Kissinger grew up in the Washington Heights section of Upper Manhattan after his family emigrated to the United States in 1938.

“[Kissinger has] made it to almost every dinner since 1973, so we wanted to honor him this year, in his 100th anniversary,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan told reporters in remarks prior to the beginning of the event.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was slated to introduce Kissinger but was unable to attend after contracting Covid. Instead, E. John Rosenwald Jr., vice chairman of JP Morgan Chase, gave the introduction.
In his remarks, Kissinger recalled his previous speech at the Al Smith Dinner in 1974, while he was still Secretary of State during President Richard Nixon’s term.

“On that occasion, there was a public controversy about Senator Jacob Javits going to Cuba which was under sanction, without State Department permission. I was then Secretary of State and I commented about it at this dinner by saying “People ask me whether I was bothered by Senator Javits going to Cuba without sanction. The fact is, what bothered me was not his going, but that he came back,” a political joke that still evoked laughter almost a half-century later.

Kissinger then focused on more serious topics. Having just returned from China, Kissinger said he hoped the United States would use both diplomacy and military deterrence to prevent conflict between the two nations. “Much therefore depends on whether the leaders of the two countries can find a context in which they prevent such a conflict and I wish [President Biden] every success in the negotiations which he is about to undertake.”

Turning his attention to Russia and Ukraine, he said, “We have to cooperate in finding a solution that affirms the independence and freedom and the resistance to outside intervention of Ukraine. And we also need to build Russia back into the European system.”

After decrying the recent violence in the Middle East and expressing hope that the United States would continue to support Israel, he closed by saying, “The future is one of hope if America has confidence in itself…And on that basis, I hope we can build a peace of strength and reconciliation for the next decade.”

Special guests included New York Senator Chuck Schumer; New York City Mayor Eric Adams; State Attorney General Letitia James; New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban; Fire Department of New York Laura Kavanagh; and Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly.
Members of the clergy included Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia Permanent Observer of the Holy See To The United Nations
; Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia; Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn; Bishop Edmund Whalen, vicar for clergy of the Archdiocese of New York; and Monsignor Joseph LaMorte, vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York.

Cardinal Dolan closed the event, thanking all those in attendance and asking, “We render praise to Almighty God, without whom nothing is possible, with whom, nothing is impossible, whose help we ask in guiding us safely home, and in keeping us secure until next year. Amen.”

Alfred E. Smith was born into a Catholic family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1873. A Democrat, Smith served as governor of New York from 1919 to 1920, and again from 1923 to 1928. Smith ran for president in 1924 but failed to gain the Democratic nomination. In 1928 he became the first Catholic to be nominated for president by a major party. He faced Republican Herbert Hoover in the general election and lost by a significant margin, partly due to anti-Catholic prejudice and partly because of his support for repealing Prohibition. He did not hold public elected office again.

Pope Venerable Pius XII appointed Smith a Papal Chamberlain of the Sword and Cape in 1939. Smith died in 1944. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside.

Cardinal Francis Spellman established the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in 1946 to honor the former governor’s legacy. Learn more about the Foundation here.


Source



Saturday, October 20, 2018

Ambassador Nikki Haley: ‘It Would Be Tragic’ If Abuse Scandal Blinds People to Catholic Church’s ‘Good Works’



Ambassador Nikki Haley: ‘It Would Be Tragic’ If Abuse Scandal Blinds People to Catholic Church’s ‘Good Works’

By Melanie Arter | October 19, 2018 | 4:46 PM EDT




UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (Screenshot)


(CNSNews.com) - During her keynote speech at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner on Thursday, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said that while the Catholic Church is taking action to address the “moral failing” of the sexual abuse scandal, the church itself is performing miracles each day in places overseas that Haley has seen firsthand.

Haley said the issue of sexual abuse is one that affects not just the Catholic family, but the American family.

“Additionally, gathered here tonight are great leaders of the Catholic Church. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the serious difficulties facing the church. The issue of sexual assault is not limited to the Catholic family. It deeply touches the American family. The horrendous crimes that have been committed are harmful. There’s the devastation of the sexual abuse itself, and there’s the fact that the perpetrators of these crimes were people in a position of faith and trust,” she said.

“The church’s place must be with the victims that carry the pain with them. I know the church leaders recognize its deep responsibility to address this moral failing, and it is taking action, but there’s another point I want to emphasize. It would be tragic to allow the abuse scandal to blind anyone to the amazing good works the Catholic church does every single day,” Haley said.

The ambassador said while the Al Smith dinner raises millions of dollars for needy people in New York, “it goes way beyond that.”

“In the last two years, I’ve been to some very dark places where human suffering is on a level that’s hard for most Americans to imagine. I’ve been to the border between Colombia and Venezuela, where people walk 3 hours each way in the blazing sun to get the only meal that they will have that day. Who’s giving that meal? The Catholic Church,” she said.

“I’ve been to refugee camps in Central Africa where young boys are kidnapped and forced to become child soldiers and young girls are raped as a matter of routine. Who was in the forefront of changing this culture of corruption and violence? The Catholic Church,” Haley added.

Haley said she’s come across the Catholic Church “doing incredible work” to uplift “millions of desperate people” almost everywhere she’s been on humanitarian missions.

“It is serving God’s will. There are real problems, yes, but we must not lose sight of the miracles that are performed everyday. Those miracles are the way of the church. And as the proud daughter of Indian immigrants, who got the honor of representing my state as governor and our country as United Nations ambassador, I will say those miracles are the way of America,” she concluded.



Source





Thursday, October 27, 2016

Rigged Election: Hillary and Trump Caught Partying Like BFF’s With Kissinger at Jesuit Gala



ElectionOracle / US Presidential Election 2016

Oct 26, 2016 - 03:14 PM GMT

By: Jeff_Berwick






We have been very, very suspicious of Donald Trump since he began his political run.

Many believed he was an outsider who was our “only hope” to tame the US federal government beast. But it has become very clear he is not.

First, Wikileaks showed that Killary herself actually approved Trump to be her competitor. According to an email sent from an assistant at the Clinton campaign, Hillary was aware that Trump was going to run before the political process was fully underway.

Clinton advised the mainstream media to push his legitimacy as a “pied piper” candidate because she realized, after looking at the poll numbers, that she wouldn’t stand a chance at winning the presidency against any of the establishment republicans without making them “pied pipers” – it just so happened that Donald was the easiest to play the role considering his long history of friendship with the Clintons.

In addition, the mainstream media was more than complicit in creating a narrative that the 2016 presidential elections were about Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump from the get go.

But, barely reported in the media, was that after the 3rd presidential debate, Clinton and Trump went out for a night on the town together… and where they went is of great interest.

They went to an annual Jesuit function which is usually full of New World Order types.

THE JESUITS


One of the more interesting things that occurred right at the end of the Jubilee year in early October, was that the Jesuits installed a new Superior General, with the date to commence being actually at midnight on the end of Jubilee.

We found this interesting because there is plenty of evidence that the Jesuits are at least one major arm of what you can call the illuminati.

In fact, the Jesuits were founded in Spain by what various reports call “crypto Jews” – those who are Jewish but pretending to be Catholic. Certainly at that time in Spain it was safer not to be a Jew.

Even Wikipedia, which wouldn’t recognize a conspiracy if it were directly presented by its participants has this to say about the Jesuits:

… In the first 30 years of the existence of the Society of Jesus there were many Jesuit conversos (Catholic-convert Jews) including the second Father General Diego Lainez … The original founder Ignatius … said that he, “would take it as a special grace from our Lord to come from Jewish lineage.”

At the beginning of the Al Smith dinner party after Cardinal Dolan was introduced, a joke was even made by a speaker that “everyone in attendance is doing their part in supporting their charitable efforts and that it couldn’t be done without the support of many of the other devoted “Catholics” on stage like Henry Kissinger, Howard Rubenstein, and Mort Zuckerman” – all of whom are obviously Jewish so this remark was naturally met with a lot of laughter…

In fact, an extraordinary amount of controversy swirls around Jesuits. They are said to constitute the “Black Church” and thus adhere to the same Satanic religion as the world’s elite bankers supposedly hold.

The leader of the Jesuit order is commonly recognized in conspiratorial circles as the “Black Pope” whose signature staff is a crooked cross. Historically, the Jesuit Order has been seen as one that shirks no crime in expanding the power of the Church.
Lest this sound entirely outrageous, one must note that the Jesuits are, for instance, the inventors of concentration camps, which they established in Paraguay in order to incarcerate and then torture the native indians of the area.

But the litany of attributed Jesuit evil is even darker than that according to those who believe in the order’s continued malicious pursuit. The supposed founder of the Bavarian-based Illuminati, Adam Weishaupt, was a Jesuit.

In fact, the order is reputed to have been deeply involved in the Illuminati’s initial expansion, and chances are it is still deeply involved.

One more thing that highlights the evil of the Jesuits is their extreme oath of induction which all superiors must take in order to be elevated to the higher rungs of the organization. This is taken from the book Subterranean Rome by Carlos Didier, translated from the French, and published in New York in 1843 and reads in part,

“…promise and declare that I will, when opportunity present, make and wage relentless war, secretly or openly, against all heretics, Protestants and Liberals, as I am directed to do, to extirpate and exterminate them from the face of the whole earth; and that I will spare neither age, sex or condition; and that I will hang, waste, boil, flay, strangle and bury alive these infamous heretics, rip up the stomachs and wombs of their women and crush their infants’ heads against the walls, in order to annihilate forever their execrable race. That when the same cannot be done openly, I will secretly use the poisoned cup, the strangulating cord, the steel of the poniard or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honor, rank, dignity, or authority of the person or persons, whatever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agent of the Pope or Superior of the Brotherhood of the Holy Faith, of the Society of Jesus…”


One of the most poignant quotes regarding the malevolence of the Jesuits comes from Marquis de LaFayette 1757-1834; who was a French statesman and general who served in the American Continental Army under the command of General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.

His quote is as follows:

“It is my opinion that if the liberties of this country – the United States of America – are destroyed, it will be by the subtlety of the Roman Catholic Jesuit priests, for they are the most crafty, dangerous enemies to civil and religious liberty. They have instigated MOST of the wars of Europe.”

THE BIG BASH

When evaluating Jesuit behavior and influence, please keep in mind that both Donald Trump and Hillary’s VP, Tim Kaine, are Jesuit educated
. And it should be of GREAT interest, therefore, that practically on the eve of the US election, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton partied the night away at a Jesuit function that included such prominent Jesuit-trained attendees as Henry Kissinger.

Not only did the two not look like sworn enemies… they looked like two star crossed lovers going to their first prom.

We have long held to our stance that Killary will be the next President of the US. The amount of vote rigging, murders and shenanigans to even get her to where she is so far has been tremendous… and it won’t stop.

That said, if by some fluke, and the Diebold machines malfunction or people in the US wake up slightly and Donald Trump gets elected… it is pretty clear they are on the same team and, as we’ve said previously, nothing major will change.

So, if you were hoping that this election could change things in the US… get over that hope right now. It might change things, but only for the much, much worse.

This charade is being played right in front of everyone’s eyes and most do not understand what is happening or why jokes like the “Catholic” joke is actually funny to these elite people.

They are laughing at the peasants stupidity and lack of understanding, not because the men mentioned are Jews… anyone with half a brain knows that.

But while they laugh, we’ll be laughing all the way to the bank ourselves. Just because these sick people are formulating diabolical plans to enslave humanity doesn’t mean we can’t profit from their planned chaos. It’s better than sitting back in ignorance and making nothing.

Our analysis of these elite’s occult timelines which began with the Shemitah and culminated with the Jubilee, have helped us to accumulate around a 200% collective return on our portfolio in the last year.

Subscribe to The Dollar Vigilante newsletter HERE to continue to receive the best insights into the inner workings of groups like the Jesuits and other arms and actions of the world’s financial elite and how to protect yourself and profit from it.

The groundwork for global governance has been laid, don’t let them blindside you as they attempt to carry out their nefarious plot. Donald Trump even stated at the dinner, “We’ve got to come together, not only as a nation, but as a world community.”

Promotion of the globalist new world order.

They want to keep you ignorant and powerless because after all, knowledge is power.

Educate yourself by joining the worldwide group of dollar vigilantes who can help you expatriate and offer advice on how to protect yourself by purchasing precious metals, bitcoin and other hard assets here.

Anarcho-Capitalist. Libertarian. Freedom fighter against mankind’s two biggest enemies, the State and the Central Banks. Jeff Berwick is the founder of  The Dollar Vigilante, CEO of TDV Media & Services and host of the popular video podcast, Anarchast. Jeff is a prominent speaker at many of the world’s freedom, investment and gold conferences as well as regularly in the media.

© 2016 Copyright Jeff Berwick - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.





Saturday, October 22, 2016

Al Smith dinner reflects Church’s ability to bring people together


Christopher White

October 20, 2016

CRUX CONTRIBUTOR



Candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York at the Oct. 20, 2016, Al Smith Dinner. (Credit: Getty Images.)

Thursday night's Al Smith Dinner in New York, probably the last time Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will share a stage before the election, was a reminder that even in the midst of contentiousness, the Catholic Church still has the ability to bring people together and offer hope and a better way of engaging the world.


Commentary


NEW YORK-For the past year the hottest entertainment ticket in the Big Apple has been the smash Broadway musical Hamilton, where one-time allies turned rival Presidential hopefuls clash over their vision of the future of America.

But across town, a similar story (with a bit more star wattage but less hip-hop) took center stage last night at the 71st annual Alfred E. Smith dinner where Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton shared a meal and a dais with New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan as the only thing between them.

And while this campaign has been marked by a toxic level of cynicism fueled by personal insults and attacks, the two presidential hopefuls kept with tradition and came together to raise money for Catholic charities and provided a glimpse of something that has been largely absent from this race: a bit of humor (even if awkward at times) and an effort at civility.

The Al Smith Dinner dates back to 1945, honoring the legacy of the nation’s first Roman Catholic presidential candidate. Beginning in 1960 with Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, it’s become an occasion for presidential contenders to put politics aside for an evening and roast one another and themselves while raising millions for children in need.

Despite some awkward moments, both candidates made attempts to humor their opponent. At a nod to her large speaking fees from Wall Street executives, Trump remarked that “This is the first time Hillary is sitting down and speaking to corporate leaders and not getting paid for it.”

Meanwhile, Clinton fired back moments later by observing that “It’s amazing that I’m up here with Donald. I didn’t think he’d be up for a peaceful transition of power,” a reference to his reluctance to say whether he will accept the outcome of this election.

But after all was said and done, it was Dolan who took to the lectern to ease the felt tension and to remind the room of why they had gathered in the first place: New York’s children who are in need of the financial support of Catholic charities.

He also didn’t hesitate to add that among the evening’s attendees were a Mexican immigrant who relied on the Church’s charity works to learn English, and a woman who decided against abortion and found aid from the Church-a polite reminder that there are areas where both candidates remain out of step with the Church.

A 2012 election year Knights of Columbus-Marist poll revealed that 8 in 10 participants responded that they were “frustrated” with the tone of our politics. That same year, Dolan asked Republican nominee Mitt Romney and President Obama to sign a “Civility in America” pledge and to focus the presidential contest on the issues rather than personal attacks.

Four years later, “frustrated” seems to be an inadequate description of our present situation, especially for U.S. Catholics who have found serious faults with both candidates. Trump’s questionable stance on abortion and charges of sexual assault has divided traditional Republican voting Catholics. Meanwhile, the latest release of hacked e-mails from the Clinton campaign has led to allegations of anti-Catholic bias in the Democratic Party.

In August, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput took to his diocesan paper to highlight the “astonishing flaws” of both candidates and last month, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln Nebraska, made headlines by heeding that “No Catholic should feel obliged to vote for one candidate just to prevent the election of another.”

If there’s one thing that both this election cycle has revealed, it’s that something is seriously wrong with the way we do politics.

Yet despite the grim circumstances, the refreshing reminder from last night was that even in the midst of such contentiousness, the Catholic Church still has the ability to bring people together and offer hope and a better way of engaging the world around us.

As Pope Francis warned long before this campaign began, “Christians who are afraid to build bridges and prefer to build walls are Christians who are not sure of their faith.” The model taught by Francis-whose papacy is a master class in creating a culture of encounter-is for Catholics to be courageous witnesses to the joy of the gospel and to make it attractive to the world around us.

Such a proposal transcends partisan divides, and reorients us to matters of ultimate and final concern.

The negativity on the campaign trail and the disgust that most American voters have over this election will be over in less than twenty days. But the issues at stake-the marginalized workers, the immigrant in fear of being ripped apart from their family, or the woman facing a crisis pregnancy-will remain with us.

As Dolan closed out the dinner, his message suggested that it won’t necessarily be a campaign that will be there to meet these needs-it will be the Church. For Catholics of all political persuasions, this Al Smith dinner should be a reminder that faithful citizenship isn’t just a matter of what we do on November 8th-it’s what happens afterwards that really counts.




Hillary Clinton attemps to justify Popery at the Al Smith Dinner 2016 (Updated with Trancript of the Segment)




Go directly to the diatribe "patronizing" Roman Catholicism part of the speech: 
https://youtu.be/zMqox-OlcOY?t=15m40s

@ 15:40 mins. - Hillary Clinton said:
When I think about what Al Smith went through, it is important to just reflect how groundbreaking it was for him, a Catholic, to be my party's nominee for president.
Don't forget, school boards sent home letters with children saying that if Al Smith is elected president, you will not be allowed to have or read a Bible. Voters were told that he would annul Protestant marriages.  And I saw a story recently that said people even claimed the Holland Tunnel was a secret passageway to connect Rome and America to help the pope to rule our country.
Those appeals, appeals to fear and division can cause us to treat each other as the other. Rhetoric like that makes it harder for us to see each other to respect each other, to listen to each other, and certainly a lot harder to love our neighbor as ourselves. I believe the way we treat others is the highest expression of faith and of service. I am not Catholic, I'm a Methodist, but one of the things we share is a belief that in order to achieve salvation, we need both faith and good works.
You certainly don't need to be Catholic to be inspired by the humility and heart of the holy father Pope Francis, or to embrace his message. His message about rejecting a mindset of hostility. His call to reduce inequality. His warnings about climate change. His appeal that we build bridges, not walls. Now as you know, my running mate, Tim, is Catholic, d he went to Jesuit schools, and one of the ideas that I have talked about is this idea from the JESUITS, of the MAGIS, the more, the better.
We need to get better at finding ways to disagree on matters of policy while agreeing on questions of decency and civility. How we talk to each other, treat each other, respect each other.So I have taken this concept to of the MAGIS to heart in this campaign, as best as one can in the daily heat and back and forth of a presidential campaign, to ask how we can do more for each other and better for each other. Because I think for each of us, our greatest monument on this Earth won't be what we build, but the lives we touch. And that is ultimately what this dinner is all about. And it is why it has been such a great honor to join you all again. Thank you.
~^~ 

Related

@ 00:40 mins. through 01:25 mins., Hillary Clinton congratulates Al Smith IV for his work with Catholic Charities.

About Al Smith IV:
Smith has served as president of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in New York, 2005–2007,[10] as a past president of Kappa Beta Phi,[11] and he is a Knight of Malta.

Smith is the great-grandson of Al Smith, Governor of New York, and serves as the Director, Secretary, and Dinner Chairman for the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation,[4] as well as Master of Ceremonies at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.[5]

Source: Wikipedia

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Ahead of Al Smith Dinner, Cardinal Dolan says Hillary owes Catholics an apology



BREAKING Hillary defends partial birth abortion at beginning of third debateRead More




Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks with a reporter after The Bishop’s Respect Life Dinner on Monday night in Colorado Springs.


NEWSCATHOLIC CHURCH, POLITICS - U.S.Wed Oct 19, 2016 - 5:30 pm EST
Ahead of Al Smith Dinner, Cardinal Dolan says Hillary owes Catholics an apology




Lisa Bourne


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, October 19, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – New York Cardinal Timothy Dolancalled for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to disassociate herself from anti-Catholic statements made by her campaign chairman and said the remarks were “extraordinarily patronizing and insulting to Catholics.”

Asked about the anti-Catholic comments after speaking at The Bishop’s Respect Life Dinner on Monday night for the Diocese of Colorado Springs, Cardinal Dolan suggested that had other faith traditions been the target of the prejudiced remarks, there would have been a swift apology and absolute disavowal of them.

But as far as an apology from Clinton for the remarks demeaning Catholics, “Hasn’t happened yet,” Cardinal Dolan said.

Emails released last week by WikiLeaks showed Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta and Director of Communications Jennifer Palmieri, both Catholics, in conversations with activists from two left-wing organizations. In the emails, Catholics were debased, with their beliefs being called “severely backwards.” Conservative Catholics also were accused of “an amazing bastardization of the faith,” and Rupert Murdoch was mocked for baptizing his children as Catholics in the River Jordan.

The U.S. Church’s bishops were slammed in the emails as well, referred to as “a middle ages dictatorship.”

Share this article to spread the word!

Palmieri said in one of the emails she thought conservatives that had come to Catholicism did so because “they think it is the most socially acceptable politically conservative religion,” and that “their rich friends wouldn't understand if they became evangelicals.”

Podesta admitted to helping launch a “progressive” infiltration of the Church in another email, and he took an active role in attempting to incite a liberal Catholic revolt against the U.S. bishops.

“We created Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good to organize for a moment like this,” Podesta wrote. “But I think it lacks the leadership to do so now. Likewise Catholics United. Like most Spring movements, I think this one will have to be bottom up.”

The “Catholic Spring” Podesta referred to had been broached in the email by Center for Progress President Sandy Newman, who had pondered, how one would "plant the seeds of the revolution," or “who would plant them.”

Newman wrote Podesta:

Hi John. This whole controversy with the bishops opposing contraceptive coverage even though 98% of Catholic women (and their conjugal partners) have used contraception has me thinking … There needs to be a Catholic Spring, in which Catholics themselves demand the end of a middle ages dictatorship and the beginning of a little democracy and respect for gender equality in the Catholic Church.

The statements "are just extraordinarily patronizing and insulting to Catholics,” Cardinal Dolantold ABC affiliate News Channel 13 on Monday.

“If it had been said about the Jewish community, if it had been said about the Islamic community, within 10 minutes there would have been an apology and a complete distancing from those remarks,” he continued.

“Hasn't happened yet,” he stated.

The cardinal, who is chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-LifeActivities, then said he’d like to see the Democratic candidate disassociate herself from the offending comments.

“I'm hoping that she's going to distance herself from these very insulting remarks by her chief of staff," Cardinal Dolan said.

He also told the news station that he trusts people to be guided by their moral convictions, and he expects people to be "acquainted with the issues."

The Clinton campaign has not acknowledged the anti-Catholic emails, though they have been played down by at least one Democratic operative and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine, alsoa Catholic.

Catholics, some of who have also called for Podesta’s firing, have roundly criticized the email comments.Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks with a reporter after The Bishop’s Respect Life Dinner on Monday night in Colorado Springs.


Source


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Trump, Clinton to trade jokes instead of barbs at Al Smith dinner




FAITH 2016

Trump, Clinton to trade jokes instead of barbs at Al Smith dinner


By David Gibson | 24 hours ago




Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shake hands at the end of their first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on September 26, 2016. Photo courtesy of Reuters/Mike Segar *Editors: This photo may only be republished with RNS-ALSMITH-DINNER, originally transmitted on September 27, 2016.

NEW YORK (RNS) This has been an unconventional election by almost any measure, with both candidates garnering record high negatives from the voters and political newcomer Donald Trump — a real estate and casino mogul — lowering the bar on almost every previous standard of acceptable campaign rhetoric.

But the Catholic Church likes nothing better than to stick with tradition, and so Trump, the Republican nominee, and his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, will be headlining the glitzy Al Smith Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan next month to trade jokes (hopefully) rather than barbs in a custom that goes back more than 70 years.

“The presidential nominees will share the dais with Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and they will deliver the evening’s speeches in the spirit of collegiality and good-humor that has become a hallmark of the gala,” said a statement issued Tuesday (Sept. 27) by the New York Archdiocese and the foundation that runs the event.

The Oct. 20 dinner “honors a cause that transcends the polarizing political rhetoric of the day and exemplifies the vision of Gov. Alfred E. Smith, known as ‘The Happy Warrior’ for his ability to maintain his positive outlook even as he tackled the pressing social issues of his day,” the statement said.

The dinner’s namesake was the New York governor who in 1928 became the first Catholic nominee for president. Smith was known as a reformer and “man for the people,” but anti-Catholicism was still so virulent at the time and the pre-Depression economy of the 1920s roaring so fiercely that the Democrat was trounced by Republican Herbert Hoover.

A charitable foundation that takes his name was launched in 1946, two years after Smith’s death, and over the years its annual dinner has become “a ritual of American politics,” as historian Theodore H. White put it, where candidates of opposing parties would come together for a few hours of comic relief at the height of an intense campaign battle.

But the white-tie dinner itself has not been free of controversy, especially for its host. Dolan, for example, was excoriated by conservative Catholics in 2012 when he continued the tradition by inviting President Obama, whose stance in support of abortion rights and other issues outraged some.

READ: Cardinal Timothy Dolan defends Obama invitation to Al Smith Dinner

There was some precedent for Dolan to punt on an invitation to Obama: In 1996, then-Cardinal John O’Connor did not invite either of that year’s candidates because he did not want to give President Bill Clinton, an abortion rights supporter who was running for re-election, a church-sponsored platform that tends to show the candidates in a flattering light.

And in 2004, then-Cardinal Edward Egan did not invite either candidate, President George W. Bush or his challenger Democratic nominee, John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights.

But Dolan is an outgoing personality who tends to prefer engagement to picking fights, and he also enjoys an evening that can showcase his own deft talent for quips.

Four years ago, Dolan defended himself from the critics, saying the dinner is a time for civility, engagement and dialogue — and raises money for needy children.

“Those who started the dinner 67 years ago believed that you can accomplish a lot more by inviting folks of different political loyalties to an uplifting evening, rather than in closing the door to them,” Dolan wrote at the time.

He added that he believed he was also following the example of Jesus, “who was blistered by his critics for dining with those some considered sinners; and by the recognition that, if I only sat down with people who agreed with me, and I with them, or with those who were saints, I’d be taking all my meals alone.”

Whether Dolan will be criticized again this year, or in the same way, remains to be seen. The real interest may be on how the candidates comport themselves.

Trump has upended conventional Republican politics, especially its family values agenda: He is a thrice-married businessman with a legacy as a playboy and someone who has supported abortion rights and gay rights. He has made headlines by insulting ethnic and religious minorities, women and the handicapped, among others.

While Trump has said he will oppose abortion as president, many remain dubious, and some of his other statements have upset Catholic leaders.

Trump has also shown himself to be relatively thin-skinned when it comes to criticism or teasing, which is unusual for a candidate for such a high office, where calumny and comedy are daily fare.

And if Clinton is not quite the tummler that other candidates have been, she has shown an ability to tweak Trump, as she did in the first of three presidential debates on Monday night.


ABOUT DAVID GIBSON



David Gibson is a national reporter for RNS and an award-winning religion journalist, author and filmmaker. He has written several books on Catholic topics. His latest book is on biblical artifacts: "Finding Jesus: Faith. Fact. Forgery," which was also the basis of a popular CNN series.


Source