President Obama said, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"I have made it clear that the United States has a profound respect for people of all faiths. We stand for religious freedom. And we reject the denigration of any religion - including Islam."

It seems that some religions are handled more delicately than others by this administration.

Where is the freedom in a government mandating that a religious institution directly or indirectly subsidize a practice that is fundamentally in opposition to its tenets and core beliefs?

Washington Times:

"Cardinal Dolan has been critical of the Obama administration, saying the health care mandate is "strangling" the church's mission. More than 40 religious organizations, including the New York archdiocese, are suing the administration in federal court to block the mandate." 

Yet Obama has been invited to the Alfred E. Smith charity dinner in October.  There are many opposed to his attendance to this Catholic event.

Washington Times:

"If Cardinal John O'Connor didn't invite pro-abort Bill Clinton in 1996, and if Cardinal Egan didn't invite pro-abort John Kerry in 2004, then on what grounds could your Eminence find to invite Obama in 2012?" the petition asks Cardinal Dolan. The opponents, who refer to the president's invitation as "scandal," said Mr. Obama "has proven handily and has worked arduously since 2009 to act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles."

Isn't it time for the Catholic Church to make a stand?  Putting politics aside for a civil dinner is sometimes akin to abandoning your principles.  Never has the Church in America been trampled more than during this administration. Should not the "unprecedented" be responded to by an unprecedented gesture? The Notre Dame commencement, the Georgetown speech, and all the other 'civilities" that have been extended to Obama out of respect for the "office" seem to have generated little regard from the other direction.  Mutual respect flows both ways. 

Bruce Johnson