Cardinal Delivers Pro-Life Prayer at DNC

In case you didn't stay up late enough to see it, President Obama's speech at the DNC last night was followed by a benediction from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, one of the Catholic Church's most vocal abortion foes. He raised a few eyebrows with this bit of prayer, which some are calling a pro-life statement: "Thus do we praise you for the gift of life. Grant us the courage to defend it," Dolan said. "We ask your benediction on those waiting to be born, that they may be welcomed and protected."

Dolan drew criticism when he agreed to speak at the RNC, but insisted he wasn't partisan and that he'd gladly pray at the DNC too, ABC News reports. Organizers welcomed him, even though he'd publicly sparred with Obama over birth control—something Irin Carmon of Salon thinks he was referencing last night when he mentioned "religious freedom." Carmon also detected a "very coded kick" against gay marriage; Dolan said that "happiness is only found in respecting the laws of nature," and asked God to help us resist the temptation to "remake institutions you have given us." (More Timothy Dolan stories.)