Cardinal Timothy Dolan issued a blistering condemnation of the Democratic Party this week for turning into a “pup tent” that rejects Catholic teachings on “the dignity and sanctity of human life.”

The archbishop of New York took to the pages of The Wall Street Journal this week to lament changes to the “party of our youth.” An op-ed published Thursday noted that the same Democratic Party that once accepted the pro-life position of Rev. Jesse Jackson now ostracizes men like Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski.

“I’m a pastor, not a politician, and I’ve certainly had spats and disappointments with politicians from both of America’s leading parties,” the archbishop said. “But it saddens me, and weakens the democracy millions of Americans cherish, when the party that once embraced Catholics now slams the door on us.

Cardinal Dolan buttressed his points by citing the values espoused by Archbishop John Hughes, the first archbishop of New York (1842-64), and Dolores Grier, a famous convert and the first layperson to become vice chancellor of the archdiocese.

“The values Archbishop Hughes and Dolores Grier cherished — the dignity and sanctity of human life, the importance of Catholic schools, the defense of a baby’s civil rights — were, and still are, widely embraced by Catholics,” Cardinal Dolan wrote. “This often led Catholics to become loyal Democrats. I remember my own grandmother whispering to me, ‘We Catholics don’t trust those Republicans.’”

“Such is no longer the case, a cause of sadness to many Catholics, me included. The two causes so vigorously promoted by Hughes and Grier — the needs of poor and middle-class children in Catholic schools, and the right to life of the baby in the womb — largely have been rejected by the party of our youth. […] To Archbishop Hughes, Dolores Grier, and Grandma Dolan, I’m sorry to have to write this. But not as sad as you are to know it is true.”

Mr. Lipinski narrowly survived a primary challenge this week by Marie Newman for his Chicago-area House seat.

“A 51-49 race should give anyone a wake-up call that your constituents would … like you to maybe be a little more progressive when it comes to a woman’s reproductive choice, to my and my husband’s right to exist,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, a gay Wisconsin Democrat who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), The Hill reported Wednesday. “You should have someone [in Chicago] who has deeper blue values.”